Amongst a range of interests Gurch Randhawa, Professor of Diversity in Public Health and Director of the Institute for Health Research, focusses his research on patient-centred care pathways, health inequalities and organ donation and transplantation.

These areas of expertise made him a key witness of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Stem Cell Transplantation’s inquiry titled No Patient Left Behind: The Barriers Patients Face When Accessing Treatment and Care. The report looked to deepen understanding of how a patient’s geographical location, socioeconomic background and ethnicity can lead to inequality and hesitancy in accessing treatment.

The APPG, of which the stem cell charity Anthony Nolan is the secretariat, published the findings in late May, after evidence was submitted between August 2020 and January 2021. An online parliamentary oral evidence session took place in February this year and, in total, the APPG received accounts from more than 40 patients, family members, clinicians, charities and researchers.

Following a call for written evidence, Professor Randhawa submitted a portfolio of research spanning 20 years, providing an overview of the challenges and opportunities in public engagement in organ donation, and how the lessons could be applied to stem cell donation and transplantation.

On being selected as an evidence giver, Professor Randhawa said: “I was honoured to be invited as one of the four witnesses to provide oral evidence to the APPG. It was a humbling experience.

“I provided evidence – which was previously featured in the 2019 MadeAtUni LifeSavers campaign by Universities UK (UUK) – that shows how we can develop culturally competent approaches to conducting research, and developing public engagement activities that reach out to all sections of the UK’s diverse population.

“I had previously been commissioned by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) to co-design and develop the world’s first Faith & Organ Donation Action Plan; I set out how the learning from this plan could inform equity in stem cell donation and transplantation by ensuring community ownership of health and social care issues.

“While successive governments have referred to tackling inequalities, community co-design, levelling-up and ‘building back fairer’, these aspirations will only become meaningful if we develop sustainable and properly resourced partnerships that enable communities to shape the solutions to improving healthcare awareness and access to treatment.”

From the evidence submitted, the report proposes 12 recommendations, categorised into five areas for improvement:

• Personalising care
• Supporting patients emotionally and financially
• Better demographic data capture
• Improving outcomes through research
• Investment in the stem cell register

The report explores recommendations to address the challenges, calling on Government and the NHS, to work with patients, charities and other stakeholders to make changes such as investing in research and making sure care is culturally appropriate.

Mark Tami, Chair of the APPG on Stem Cell Transplantation and MP for Alyn and Deeside commented: “We saw many of the same barriers and inequalities being highlighted in the written and oral evidence of this Inquiry and I am grateful to the patients, family members, clinicians, charities, and researchers who took time to share their personal and professional experiences of the barriers patients can face.

“I hope the findings from this report will act as a springboard to encourage more research and a renewed focus on understanding and overcoming barriers to accessing treatment and care, and I would welcome conversations with decision-makers in all four nations on their approach to tackling them.”

For more information about the APPG on Stem Cell Transplantation, and to read the report in full, click here.

To find out more about research conducted at the University’s Institute for Health Research, visit: www.beds.ac.uk/ihr