Highly commended
Reducing Ethnicity-Based Health Inequalities in Breast Cancer – Equitable Access to Wigs and Prosthetics
Summary of work
Despite NHS procurement frameworks providing the infrastructure for equitable wig and prosthetic provision, Black and global majority women with breast cancer consistently face a disadvantage – wigs unsuitable for Afro-textured hair, poorly matched prosthetics, and culturally inappropriate patient information. This is not a procurement problem – it is a behavioural one, playing out differently in every region across the country, and largely invisible to the organisations with the power to change it.
We designed a multi-level advocacy programme for Gilead UK operating across three interconnected fronts. At the community level, we activated charities to engage on this issue – bringing key national charities alongside specialist grassroots organisations to build a coalition with credibility and reach. Regionally, we equipped commissioners with the evidence and practical tools to address variations in their patch – directly catalysing a trust-level pilot. Nationally, we built the political and institutional visibility needed to shift the issue from overlook to unavoidable – securing a ministerial commitment to prioritise Afro-Caribbean suppliers in the forthcoming wigs framework renewal.
These results are tangible, traceable and sustainable: a trust-level pilot, a formal ministerial commitment; and concrete action to deliver tailored support for global majority patients from key charities.
Judges’ comments
This entry from Gilead and Incisive Health was brilliantly put together. They had a clear strategy, with community insights from grass root groups. The judges liked their inclusive approach. They pulled levers for system wide change and it was a shining example of what good looks like.
