On 19 and 20 February, Voluntary Health Scotland attended, exhibited and held an event at the 10^th annual Gathering.  Across the two days, we met many passionate people from across the voluntary and public sectors, and were delighted with people’s commitment to tackle health inequalities. The full report from the day is now available to view – The Gathering Report.

At the event, Voluntary Health Scotland launched its make a difference… campaign to raise awareness of the work in the voluntary sector to tackle health inequalities. Visitors to the exhibition stand told us how they were working to address health inequalities and made pledges of the work they will undertake in the future.

Voluntary sector work and pledges to tackle health inequalities

The VHS session at the event, A Fairer, Healthier Scotland: A Way Forward Together was delivered with partners from NHS Health Scotland and the Community Health Exchange (CHEX).  The event focused on the underlying causes of health inequalities, what we can do to best address these, and the recognition that way we organise our services and resources can make a difference. The Gathering presentation slides and Keynote speaker presentation from the event are now available to view.

The session inspired lively discussion and a number of observations and themes emerged from the day:

• Unequal societies are broken societies.
• We need to focus on strengthening community solidarity.
• Dignity should be at the heart of any framework to address health inequalities.
• People and communities should be connected to policy and planning.
• There should be a focus on supporting and advocating for policies that will make structural changes and support those in poverty.
• We need to use a variety of different types of evidence to make desirable changes and influence policy.
• Making sure the voluntary sector uses the levers of influence and power in the right way.

Click here to read the full report – The Gathering Report.