23 Suffolk and North East Essex ICS | ‘Our Journey Together’ late 2020 COVID-19 vaccines became available, and from the outset it was apparent that not everyone had equality of access to the vaccine, whether through a lack of knowledge or assurance about its safety, time away from work or caring responsibilities to access a clinic, or worries about what the experience might involve. The ICS co-produced a detailed Equality and Health Inequalities Impact Assessment to better understand the challenges and what would help overcome them. As a result, local people and communities collaborated with health services to provide information to help people make informed decisions, and to deliver welcoming and adaptable vaccination sites. These measures saw a marked and rapid upturn in vaccination rates for groups that had previously had low uptake. To enable everyone to live well requires concerted efforts both to understand the causes of health disparities, and to prevent their effects. The ICS’s campaign ‘Uncomfortable Truths’xxi in 2023/4 brought together a broad range of stakeholders at three events to explore why as system leaders we need to address culture to improve outcomes; how effective we are at tackling the systemic injustice in our health and care system; and what we ‘Can Do’ individually and together to rebel against systemic injustice in health and care. This ‘call to action’ identified 22 actions that we can all take individually and collaboratively, and every partner organisation in the ICS was asked to self-assess their progress on these actions, to celebrate their achievements so far, and to identify the next steps on their journey. Picture – ‘Uncomfortable Truths’ event in Ipswich, May 2024 Health inequalities are not limited to health and care service delivery, people from underserved communities are also under-represented in research. Without diverse participation, research studies may not be representative of, or effective for all population cohorts. The Suffolk and North East Essex Research Engagement Network (REN) is coordinated by NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB in collaboration with Thinklusive. The Network identifies local people who are passionate about equity in research and provides free training to become a research champion to increase the diversity of research participation to benefit their communities. Voices of those experiencing imbalances of power Good relationships are vital for people who need care and those who support them. Working together well enables the early identification of potential risks and the targeting of care and support for people and communities. However, inter-professional and inter-agency relationships with power imbalances can make it difficult for the less powerful party to express their views or negotiate effectively, often leading to unresolved tensions or long-term conflict. This can particularly be the case for the VCFSE sector, social care providers, people and community representatives, elected and non-executive leaders, and other stakeholders outside statutory health and care services. Recognising these issues, the
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