Pavee Point was delighted to attend the Annual Congress at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), UK. Mary Brigid Collins, Primary Health Care Co-ordinator at Pavee Point was honoured to give the 25th Annual Mary Seacole Lecture, which this year focused on the health inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities.
The Mary Secole lecture was attended by nearly 600 nurses, health care support workers and nursing students. Mary Brigid spoke about the power that healthcare professionals have in tackling health inequalities.
“Traveller, Gypsy and Roma communities in the UK face similar health inequalities and barriers to Travellers and Roma in Ireland,” said Mary Brigid Collins, Pavee Point. “Health and other services need to understand the impact of racism and discrimination on Traveller and Roma families and their impact on health outcomes. One negative experience can shape a community’s relationship with a service. That is why a partnership approach between health services and Traveller organisations and groups working with Roma is fundamental to improve access and outcomes.”
Mary Brigid discussed the findings of the All Ireland Traveller Health Study (AITHS, 2010) and the successful work of Primary Health Care for Travellers Projects in Ireland. She detailed Pavee Point’s approach to health which is based on community development, partnership working and a focus on social determinants. She discussed the need for both mainstreaming and targeted approaches in order to support better outcomes.
Mary Brigid finished her lecture with some learning from the Irish context. She also emphasised the importance of implementation of national policy and the need for ethnic equality monitoring across all services. She stressed that ethnic equality monitoring is an effective tool to combat discrimination and support equality of access, participation and outcomes across all groups, including Travellers and Roma.
The RCN Congress offers attendees the opportunity to network, hear from keynote speakers and take part in debates about the issues affecting the nursing workforce.
Mary Seacole was a British nurse and businesswoman. She was famous for her nursing work during the Crimean War and for publishing the first autobiography written by a Black woman in Britain. You can read more about her life and work.