About Us
We are the Student Inclusion Health Society. Our aim is to empower students to engage in inclusion health initiatives through capacity building workshops and community-based partnerships. We have been working to set up placements which address Inclusion Health, and are now looking to recruit members of the student body to take part and run these placements.
Please get in touch if you're interested in joining - we'd be delighted to hear from you.
Placements
Hopscotch
Hopscotch is an organisation focused on the provision of services for women who are facing inequalities and abuse. Hopscotch, since 2020 has been working with Afghan refugee women, supporting them in finding community and belonging within the UK.
Students are provided with the opportunity to run targeted sessions for Afghan women - focused on the needs of the group. For example, we are currently running a childhood nutrition session focused on healthy eating using Afghan ingredients!
North Central London Asylum Seekers
We have partnered with North Central London health inequalities and communities team with the aim of bringing together students and asylum seekers to overcome barriers to health care. Possible projects include leading presentations on health literacy/common health conditions, helping to bring more nutritious food into hotels or taking part in weekly workshops aimed at building trust and self-advocacy amongst asylum seekers and refugees.
Find&Treat
Find&Treat is a specialist outreach team that works to identify cases of TB in the community and support patients in taking a full course of treatment. Homeless people have the highest rates of TB, a disease which is associated with poverty and inequality. Find&Treat work as a multidisciplinary team and include former TB patients who work as peer advocates, nurse specialists and technicians.
Students will undertake a survey of the skills of the homeless population. Many of these people have much to contribute to healthcare and beyond. Often these skills are unacknowledged, and as a student workforce we can contribute to combatting this.
Lewisham Refugee Centre
Lewisham refugee centre provides free advice and emergency support to refugee, asylum seeker and migrant communities. They additionally provide wellbeing support and community sessions. Students can contribute via helping clients access NHS and dental support, education of surrounding GPs in Lewisham and Greenwich re enabling access to those without immigration status. Additionally there is the possibility of doing research with the communications team.
St Mungo's
St Mungo's provides homeless accomodation, support group and activities. Students may run group activity sessions, healthcare signposting and healthcare assessments for the homeless.
Primary Care: Polypharmacy
Polypharmacy is a growing problem, with many patients taking unnecessary medications. This has both an impact on the patient, with a high burden of side effects, and also is costly to the NHS. Excess medications also involve a large carbon footprint.
Students will be placed with a GP practice in Islington to carry out an audit of polypharmacy and review medications through home visits. This will develop student understanding of primary care and gain greater insight into patient experience.
Primary Care: Art Therapy
We will work with a GP practice in Islington and Dr Tamsin Ellis to support young people in care with low level anxiety and mental health problems.
Students will work with an art therapist lead to set up and organise the therapy group and survey the impact, considering how we can best support people in care and what interventions are successful in addressing mental health.