March seen the inaugural meeting of the new ARC NWC Seldom Heard Forum.

ARC NWC’s Dr Shaima Hassan, who is leading and co-ordinating the forum, tweeted” Excellent start for our first Seldom Heard Forum, with great speakers reflecting on ethnic minorities, mental health and the lived experiences shared by our public advisers.”

Over sixty attendees heard personal experiences of co-production, the value of research and the importance of being engaged in studies. In addition, wider issues such as access to health care and beliefs when discussing treatment options were also highlighted. One attendee commented: “Language barriers are not just interpretation. It’s conceptual and service specific. People need flexibility in the service they receive.”

Organisations including Mersey Care, Mary Seacole House and Shap Ltd discussed their own strategies to engagement and raised the issues many seldom heard groups face.

Selina Wallis, lead for public engagement, said: “We need to be proactive to reach under represented voices. Lack of cultural understanding can lead to reduced service use.”

It is envisaged that by providing opportunities for engagement with seldom heard communities, study findings will be more representative of the service users / residents they are meant to help once implemented.

The next forum will take place in the coming weeks and registration details will be provided in advance.