A deliberative approach to developing a Health Inequalities Strategy for North East London Cancer Alliance

Our input

  • Deliberative engagement
  • Fairer Society
  • Health

Cancer outcomes in North East London are significantly shaped by deep-rooted health inequalities linked to deprivation, ethnicity, disability, language barriers and uneven access to care. NEL Cancer Alliance (NELCA) required a Health Inequalities Strategy that was credibly informed by lived experience, addressed complexity across the cancer pathway, and had legitimacy with both communities and system partners.

Approach:

At the heart of the programme was a deliberative Citizens’ Panel, comprising 30 residents recruited through trusted community recruiters and community connectors. The panel was carefully designed to reflect the diversity of North East London, including variations in deprivation, ethnicity, age, and lived experience of cancer and healthcare. This ensured that those most affected by inequalities were directly shaping the strategy. Panel members participated in a structured series of four facilitated sessions, including a
full-day in-person deliberation.

These sessions combined:

  • Expert presentations to build shared understanding
  • Interactive Q&A sessions with experts and system leaders
  • Plenary discussions to explore collective perspectives
  • Small-group deliberation to deepen reflection
  • Structured prioritisation exercises to develop consensus

This deliberative design enabled participants to engage with complex evidence, weigh trade-offs, and arrive at informed, collective judgments – producing recommendations with both depth and legitimacy.

To ensure that the process captured experiences beyond those typically reached through panel formats, Claremont complemented the Citizens’ Panel with targeted, tailored engagement. This included working with:

  • People experiencing homelessness
  • People with learning disabilities and neurodivergent individuals
  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
  • Sex workers
  • LGBTQ+ individuals
  • People seeking asylum

The resulting strategy is structured around six overarching themes, each supported by an actionable plan outlining specific activities, timelines and measures of success. This ensures that the work generated through the Citizens’ Panel and wider engagement translate into tangible change across the cancer pathway.

Claremont continues to work in partnership with NELCA and system partners to embed and implement the strategy, supporting delivery while maintaining a strong focus on equity and accountability.

Impact

  • Over 100 residents engaged through deliberative and tailored engagement
  • Six resident-led strategic priorities agreed through structured deliberation
  • Inclusion of individuals with no prior engagement in screening or structured health
    research
  • Delivery of a clear, actionable Health Inequalities Strategy with governance,
    monitoring and evaluation frameworks
  • Establishment of a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) to support strategy
    implementation and accountability over the following three years.

More Work