Roundtable on unmet needs of ethnic minority patients

In 2021 the BCA commissioned the University of Hertfordshire and Clearview to undertake research to determine unmet health and care needs among patients from minority ethnic backgrounds. On Wednesday 23 November, our CEO Ropinder chaired the Blood Cancer Alliance (BCA) roundtable looking at the findings of that research and discussing the challenges of health inequalities in this field. The key findings of the research demonstrated:

• A need for better and more inclusive information and support
• That personalised care needs to reflect cultural diversity
• The complexity of blood cancer is challenging when coupled with language and communications challenges, as well as multiple factors leading to disadvantage in particular ethnic groups
• There are additional barriers to access and diagnosis among patients from ethnic minority background
• We need to improve data to better understand the causes of disparity in need and experience

You can read the reports in full here. 

The roundtable was also joined by Arnie Puntis from the NHS Race and Health Observatory, which supports national bodies in implementing meaningful change for ethnic minority communities, patients, and the health workforce. Arnie discussed some of their strategies and priorities, including their work in driving policy change and influencing leadership.

We were also lucky enough to be joined by MP Jess Phillips, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Blood Cancer, who discussed experiences in her constituency, as well as priorities of the APPG in tackling health inequalities. It was also great to hear firsthand experiences from a patient representative, Katherine Tsang, who highlighted the importance of addressing disparities and inequalities across care.

The research undertaken by the BCA highlights the particular challenges faced by blood cancer patients from an ethnic minority background and the breadth of work needed to address them.

At Lymphoma Action, and following our health inequalities research in 2021, we are committed to doing what we can so that everyone, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds, can receive the highest quality treatment and care for lymphoma.

Along with the other members of the BCA, we will be exploring our next steps and continuing to engage with policy-makers.

Published: 8 December 2022