Health Advocacy

*This service is currently unavailable, but we hope to offer it again in the future.

We have a team of paid Health Ambassadors who are people with learning disabilities.

The Health Ambassadors speak up about health issues that impact on the lives of people with learning disabilities. They go to important meetings with health bosses and they talk to groups of people with learning disabilities and autism and about what they want.

Health Advocacy

They focus mainly on:

Annual Health Checks
- What is an annual health check?
- How do you get one?
- What is the benefit of having one?
Cancer Awareness and Cancer screening
- What is cancer?
- What are the different cancers?
- What you should do if you think you have cancer?
- What help can you get?
- What can help prevent you getting cancer?
Covid-19
- What guidelines should you follow to stop the spread of Coronavirus?
- What can you do to prevent yourself catching coronavirus?
- What is the vaccine and how can you get it?

The Ambassadors might talk about other health things, like how to stay healthy, healthy food and healthy lifestyles, and how to get the flu-jab.

The Ambassadors have made Easy Read guides – you can read them here.

Health Ambassadors Programme

South East London CCG have funded a Learning Disability and Autism Health Ambassadors Programme in the following London Boroughs:

Lewisham
Lambeth
Southwark
Greenwich
Bromley
Bexley

Lewisham Speaking Up are working in partnership with Advocacy in Greenwich and Advocacy for All to deliver the project.

Lewisham Speaking Up will support two Health Ambassadors with learning disabilities to deliver the work: one from Lewisham and one from Lambeth. Health Ambassadors will make sure people with learning disabilities and autism know about:

Annual Health Checks
Cancer screening
Flu and Covid vaccination

They will work together with NHS professionals and talk to people with learning disabilities to find out what is difficult about getting good support with Health. They will work hard to try and make things fairer and more equal.

To find out more about the Health Ambassadors programme, please get in touch.