Who we are
Community Connexions is a patient and public engagement programme that seeks to foreground the lived experiences of local communities in Birmingham and Solihull regarding their health and access to healthcare services. This helps to adapt our services to better meet local needs, inform future health research and develop understanding for prevailing health inequalities across these regions.
Funded by Clinical Research Network (CRN) West Midlands, the programme is led by:
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust (BCHC)
- Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust (BCHFT)
- Aston University is a key partner
Our aim is to actively listen, share understanding and collaborate with a broad spectrum of community and voluntary organisations from faith organisations, local charities groups, mutual aid groups and community forums.
To better understand the:
- Needs and priorities of local communities.
- Health behaviours.
- Barriers that lead to poor engagement with health services and/or research.
What we do
Vision
- Informing future health research and diversifying current recruitment.
- Collaborative working with various service providers.
- Capturing voices of the communities through community / faith organisation partnerships.
- Co-creating mechanisms / projects for improved healthcare outcomes.
Birmingham Footprint
The geographical area of Birmingham is large, so to maximise impact and strategically identify the areas in which the community connexions team could network and engage in the 1st phase we chose the following areas:
- Aston/Newtown/Lozells
- Handsworth
- Northfield
- Sparkbrook/Sparkhill
- Small Health
- Alum Rock
- Saltley
- Washwood Heath
- Ward End
- Bordesley Green
- Smethwick
- Sutton Coldfield
Community Connexions Steering Committee (CCSC)
The committee includes representation from:
- Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Black Country Healthcare Foundation Trust
- Aston University
- West Midlands Clinical Research Network
- BVSC
- Healthwatch Birmingham
- Birmingham City Council
- Black Country ICB primary care representative
- University of Wolverhampton
- University of Birmingham
- Community representatives from partner organisations(VCSE)
Our team
|
Dr Fatima Zakia |
Urfan Siddiqi |
|
Dr Christine Burt |
Dr Celine Benoit |
|
Roger Leek |
Awards and Recognition
| 2024 |