The leadership of the Nishkam Group had a vision, a dream, a passion to make health more equitable in a deprived inner-city area of Birmingham. So, 10 years ago the Nishkam Healthcare Trust (NHT), based on Soho Road, Birmingham was launched.

The NHT’s proposition is unique – it was not vying to compete with the NHS, but to compassionately complement it and enable services to be more accessible to so many disenfranchised residents who feel out of touch.

 

In line with its values, to mark the momentous occasion of being a decade old, celebrations were held on Wednesday 18th January for all, which included free health checks and the opportunity to speak to dentists, GPs and pharmacists and integrative counsellors about healthy living, and an array of refreshments.

The evening saw a gathering of key stakeholders, staff, supporters and friends over delicious refreshments, and heard from some of the senior leadership team as to their thoughts on the decade past, and also on the future ahead.

Dr Manvir Kaur Hayer, Renal Consultant and Chair of Nishkam Healthcare Trust, said, “This is a major landmark for the Nishkam Healthcare team and I am proud to say, they are doing an amazing job. The team goes above and beyond to help improve health outcomes and assist other partners to address deep-rooted health inequalities.

“The model created is ambitious, innovative and, right now, very much needed. We need greater access into communities, the whole ethos of the Integrated Care System is to do what is being modelled right here in Birmingham – we are trail-blazing as always. I wish all of the Nishkam Healthcare team every success for the coming decades.”

Nishkam Healthcare Trust Directors, Prof Steve Field, GP & Chairman of Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust & Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, and Mr Ranjit Sondhi CBE, former Chair of Heart of Birmingham PCT,  vice-chair of the former Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG, and lay member of the former Black Country and West Birmingham CCG spoke passionately about the decade of successes, and the one major target still not met, that of a GPs onsite, and both married the idea of Nishkam ‘Selfless Service’ and what the NHS was set up to do in the first place.

Finally Bhai Sahib Bhai Dr Mohinder Singh spoke to everyone about the hard work that had created the Nishkam Healthcare Trust back in 2013.

Read the full article and see all the photographs in the February edition of The Phoenix Newspaper