Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the National Academy for Social Prescribing, spoke at the launch of Equi’s new report, Faith in the NHS: Better Health, Greater Trust, Lower Costs.
The report calls for a faith-literate approach to healthcare and highlights the role that faith-led and community organisations can play in bridging the gap between the NHS and patients of diverse faith backgrounds.
Kamila shared reflections on the report and insights from over 30 years as a GP, alongside Dr Sahira Dar (President, British Islamic Medical Association) and Oscar Davies (Researcher, Equi):
“We live in a multicultural nation, yet the NHS remains largely biomedical in its focus and often assumes that treating everyone the same delivers equitable care. This report demonstrates why faith literacy matters: it helps build trust, improves engagement and supports more personalised care.
“As Chair of the National Academy for Social Prescribing, I believe social prescribing offers a 'missing link' between people, faith communities and the NHS. We look forward to working with Equi to help strengthen faith literacy across social prescribing and the wider health system.”
At NASP, we welcome Equi's recommendations that the Department of Health and Social Care should consider:
· ensuring that patient data captures faith routinely
· collating and sharing good practice in faith-literate healthcare
· explicitly and consistently including faith within NHS training and guidance on the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector.
With support from the Sir Halley Stewart Trust, NASP is working closely with The Good Faith Partnership and a wide range of faith groups to improve links between the NHS and faith organisations.
