Together We Can 2026: a summit for health equality

You can find the agenda and speaker profiles for this year's health equality summit below.

Introduction

At University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), we are determined to make health equality and inclusion a lived reality for the communities we serve — reflected in day-to-day decisions, experiences and outcomes, not simply set out in strategy.

In Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, the life expectancy gap between our most and least deprived communities is 12 years. This difference is largely avoidable, and it is a powerful reminder that all of us have a role to play in narrowing the gap.

Since our last Health Equality Summit in 2024, we have made important progress including strengthening our focus on prevention, deepening partnership with communities, developing and sharing Trust-wide learning on the Accessible Information Standard, building equity into how our first of type patient administration system uses and captures data, and embedding equity into our continuous improvement approach so  tackling inequalities becomes part of how we work every day.

This work is making a difference, but we are clear there is much more to do, which is why we are coming together again. Our 2026 Summit is an opportunity to reflect honestly on where we are, learn from evidence and lived experience, and build the relationships and shared commitment needed to go further and faster.

The voice of our communities is woven throughout the programme. Thank you to our UHL Health Equality Partnership partners and all contributors for the insight, challenge and leadership you bring.

I encourage you to use the day to connect, listen and learn and to leave with at least one action you will take back into your area of work. Together, we can turn commitment into sustained change and make health equality and inclusion a reality for all.

Richard Mitchell, Group Chief Executive

Agenda

9:30am – Welcome and why it matters: Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer

9:45am – Inspiration through action: project showcase

  • From inequality to impact: improving breast cancer outcomes for Black women in Leicester – Dr Olubukola Ayodele
  • Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme – Annette Olalobo
  • Homelessness, the acute setting and partnership working – Bernadette Wharton and Danisha Champaneri
  • HeyGen AI Translation: community evaluation – Karl Mayes

10:45am – Comfort break

11:05am – Keynote speech – Leading in healthcare, trusted in communities: together we can – Professor Ruw Abeyratne, Director of Health Equality and Inclusion

11:40am – Debate: “This house believes that health inequalities can be addressed with existing resources and skillset”- Professor Nilesh Sanganee, Dr Natalie Darko, Professor Sanjay Agrawal, Rob Howard

12:30pm – Lunch/networking and stalls

1:30pm – Facilitated breakout sessions:

1) Data-led quality improvement: embedding health equity into the 8-step approach
2) Maternity – anti-racism approaches and their potential application beyond maternity
3) Working with the VCSE to reduce inequity – towards practical partnership models.
4) Addressing inequalities in cancer care/support: community connectivity, co-design, and signposting to peer support
5) Enhancing culturally responsive end-of-life care
6) Speaking up: empowering patients

2:40pm – Comfort break

2.50pm – Wash-up/reflections

3:10pm – Closing remarks: Professor Ivan Browne

3:30pm – Event Close

Our speakers

Ruw joined UHL in June 2022 as the Trust’s first Director of Health Equality and Inclusion. In this role, Ruw leads on the trust’s approach to understanding and addressing health inequalities within our population and ensuring that our services are truly inclusive and accessible. Ruw is also a consultant in Geriatric and General Medicine with clinical interests in frailty, ‘front door’ geriatrics and surgical liaison.

Ivan was, until recently, the Director of Public Health for the City of Leicester and was at the forefront of the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is currently a Professor of Public Health at De Montfort University, an Associate Non-Executive Director at UHL, and a member of the NHS Assembly.

Dr Olubukola Ayodele is a Consultant Medical Oncologist at UHL who specialises in the management of breast cancer. She is an honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester. Her clinical research fellowship in drug development was from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, following internal medicine and specialist oncology training in the Republic of Ireland. Her research focus areas are in cancer inequalities, access to clinical trials and the generation of real-world evidence. She is a recipient of multiple awards including the 2025 AACR Arti Hurria Geriatric Oncology award and the 2021 ASCO Conquer Cancer Endowed Merit award.

Annette Olalobo is the Programme Manager for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, with over 25 years’ NHS experience. She has a clinical background as a specialist nurse in screening and acute medicine, and also works as a Professional Clinical Advisor for NHSE Screening Quality Assurance. Annette has contributed to research on inequalities in AAA screening uptake, highlighting the impact of deprivation on attendance and informing approaches to improve equitable access.

Bernadette Wharton is a registered nurse specialising in homelessness and substance use. Employed by Inclusion Healthcare and holding an honorary contract with UHL she works at the intersection of homelessness, primary & acute care. Bernadette has extensive experience in frontline practice, operational management & strategic leadership. Her approach centres around building innovative partnerships and adopting system wide approaches to the care of some of our most vulnerable citizens. She is passionate about advocating on behalf of, and improving access for, marginalised groups that can fall through gaps.

Karl Mayes is Head of Patient and Community Engagement at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. He began his career as a registered nurse in North London. Karl took an extended break from the NHS to study medical anthropology, focusing on South Asia, after which he worked in research with Newham Healthcare and conducted community fieldwork among Hindu communities in Leicester. Karl has also held roles in equality and human rights in both UHL and primary care. He is committed to promoting fairness, tackling inequalities, and ensuring healthcare services are shaped by the communities they serve.

Danisha has 17 years of experience across the NHS, spanning operations, commissioning, and contracting. She has led improvement programmes and worked in partnership across organisations and systems. Known for her collaborative and pragmatic approach to improving both patient experience and overall system performance, Danisha works closely with clinical, operational and system partners to deliver practical, sustainable change.

Dr Nilesh (Nil) Sanganee is a highly experienced Leicester-based General Practitioner and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire (LNR) ICB Cluster, appointed in October 2025. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Leicester and a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners

Natalie specialises in health research and practice that addresses equality, equity, and inclusion of underrepresented and minority groups. She has extensive experience in leading and delivering research within the field of health inequalities.

Professor Sanjay Agrawal is a Consultant in Respiratory and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Leicester. Sanjay is also chair of the Royal College of Physicians’ Tobacco Special Advisory Group and is NHS England’s national speciality adviser for tobacco dependency.

Rob has a career-long commitment to tackling inequalities within the context of the wider determinants of health. He has worked in the voluntary sector (welfare rights, housing and health), the NHS (Regional Associate Director for NICE, Public Health Registrar), and the Civil Service (Food Standards Agency) and for Local Authorities (Leicestershire County and now Leicester City Council). He is an Honorary Assistant Professor (Consultant) at the University of Nottingham.

UHL Prevention Report

At UHL, we work to prevent ill-health, as well as treating it, for the population we serve. We achieve this by systematically identifying people at risk of preventable diseases or infections, and providing interventions or treatment to reduce or eliminate these risks. Our prevention work aligns with the 10 Year Health Plan for England, which emphasises the importance of a shift from sickness to prevention. It is done in collaboration with our healthcare partners including the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board, voluntary sector organisations, patients and local authority public health colleagues.

The annual report showcases our prevention work, and how we are working to improve health equity for our communities.

Join the UHL Health Equality Partnership

We encourage community leaders and organisations to help us tackle health inequalities in the area. The UHL Health Equality Partnership (UHEP) was set up in early 2024 to advise the Trust on its growing programme of work to reduce health inequalities. Already, 40+ individuals and organisations have signed up to join us, but we are keen to grow and strengthen the Partnership further. If you are interested in joining the Partnership, or would like to find out more, please contact us at [email protected]

Any follow-up comments or questions from the Summit may be sent to [email protected]