Blogs
Sharing thoughts and eureka moments
Reflecting on our work, what we’re learning and the latest about the health challenges we focus on.
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Families and Food: how can we help families swim against the current?
22 June, 2018
Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity and Shift have been working together, as part of the Charity’s new childhood obesity programme.
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What listening to communities in Southwark told us about child obesity
12 June, 2018
Josephine Namusisi-Riley from PACT, a partner for our child obesity programme, explores what they’ve found out about this issue by listening to their communities.
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Supporting our mission with impact investing
09 May, 2018
Our Director of Finance and Investment David Renton writes a blog that explores our impact investment journey and looks at how we contribute to better health outcomes.
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A new Taskforce to impact on multiple long-term conditions
16 April, 2018
Our Director of Funding, Jon Siddall discusses our new Taskforce on multiple long-term conditions and the impact it will have on people living with this complex issue.
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Protecting children from junk food marketing
27 February, 2018
Caroline Cerny from the Obesity Health Alliance on the vulnerabilities of current rules meant to protect children from junk food adverts.
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Balancing priorities for a healthy school
27 February, 2018
Liz Robinson from Surrey Square School in Southwark, on schools’ unique position to influence childhood obesity and connect with families.
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London's obesity lottery
27 February, 2018
Chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver on the opportunities for London to be a world leader in tackling childhood obesity.
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Protecting those at greatest risk
27 February, 2018
The Food Foundation’s Anna Taylor and Robin Hinks reflect on how great initiatives depend on investment and leadership.
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Towards the tipping point - no more permissiveness
27 February, 2018
Eric van der Burg, Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam approaches childhood obesity as an epidemic, sharing insights from how the city achieved a declining trend in rates.
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Environmental influences on children's weight
27 February, 2018
Shirley Cramer of the Royal Society for Public Health addresses the factors contributing to the obesogenic environment and what it’ll take to prevent it.
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Can the voluntary and community sector lead the change we need in health and care?
19 February, 2018
To improve care for people with long-term conditions, our sectors must come together more often, listen better and learn from one another, write Jo Bibby and Kieron Boyle.
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A whole-system approach to health inequalities must start with being honest
15 February, 2018
Our Partnerships Manager Rowena Estwick attended the recent Health in All Policies (HiAP) 2018 conference and has written a blog on the important place honesty has in shaping a whole-system approach to health inequalities.
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Multiple long-term conditions – the price of success?
15 January, 2018
Dr Martin McShane, Chief Medical Officer Clinical Delivery at Optum has written a blog for us on how shifting approaches and the use of data science can improve care for people with multiple long-term conditions.
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What we are asking the Mayor to do about health inequalities
15 December, 2017
Our Partnerships Manager Rowena Estwick has written a blog on the Mayor of London's new draft Health Inequalities strategy and its welcomed focus on childhood obesity.
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A different approach to health for Portuguese speakers
21 November, 2017
Dr Vikesh Sharma on the insights from our partnership to engage with the local Portuguese speaking community around health.
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Creating a good food culture at school
20 November, 2017
Dela Foster and Stephanie Wood, from charity School Food Matters, on creating a better food culture in schools to help tackle child obesity.
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How do you hone your approach to tackling big health challenges? Test with others
20 November, 2017
Our Chief Executive Kieron Boyle, on how we're testing approaches as part of the development phase of our childhood obesity and multiple long-term conditions programmes.
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Helping people live their lives to the full
19 September, 2017
At the end of 2016, I was asked to lead the development of a programme on multiple long-term conditions here at the Charity. It has been a voyage of discovery for me. How do you get to grips with one of the greatest challenges facing medicine and society today?
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Our focus on multiple long-term conditions
19 September, 2017
In Lambeth, just one person out of every five people who has diabetes only has diabetes. That is to say, living with many long-term illnesses - chronic conditions like hypertension, coronary heart and kidney disease - is increasingly the norm.
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Five lessons from Australia on working with communities
07 September, 2017
Following his recent trip to Australia, our Chief Executive Kieron Boyle reflects on lessons learned and what it takes to work well with communities.
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Looking after patients includes looking after their environment
23 August, 2017
Our Collection Manager Imogen Gray writes a blog for supported project Breathe AHR detailing how we have embedded art into healthcare throughout our long history.
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Latest health stats remind us it is all about life lived well
16 August, 2017
Our Programme Director Mike Wright discusses the role we’ll play in helping to tackle the growing issue of multiple long-term conditions.
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What is behind the local childhood obesity corridor
03 August, 2017
Our Head of Evaluation Rob Parker shares patterns we've seen on what sits behind our high local child obesity rates.
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The importance of community engagement in tackling childhood obesity
26 July, 2017
Phil Veasey, Public Health, Community Engagement, and Sports Development Consultant explores the behavioural changes needed to involve residents in the issue of childhood obesity.
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Tackling childhood obesity in an urban, diverse and deprived setting
19 July, 2017
Sarah Hickey, Childhood Obesity Programme Director explains our ambition to make a step-change impact on local obesity, working with anyone who can help us achieve this goal.
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Behavioural science can help us fight childhood obesity
17 July, 2017
For a long time obesity was categorised as a problem of information and willpower. However, what food people eat, and how much of it, is profoundly influenced by simple cues in their surroundings.
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Growing the evidence base on place-based health
16 June, 2017
Our Chief Executive Kieron Boyle discusses the value of being place-based and the impact it has on the complex health issues of our time.
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Solving poverty
30 May, 2017
Dr Emma Stone, Director of Policy and Research at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, writes for us on the impact of poverty on people's health, reflecting on our latest report.
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People, place and partnerships in health
12 May, 2017
Health issues today are as complex as they have ever been. They relate not only to people’s physical and mental health, but also to what people perceive a healthy life to be in the context in which they live. This suggests to us two important points: that people and place matter.
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Three lessons from transforming mental health in Lambeth
12 May, 2017
In Lambeth we realised a few years ago that despite the big efforts and money we were putting into mental healthcare – particularly acute care – we weren’t getting great health outcomes.
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Changing the game for people with long-term conditions
20 April, 2017
“I wait weeks to get a double appointment. I write down all the things I need to say but I don’t get time. I am told I am only allowed to mention two symptoms.” Tina is in her late 50s.
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A new focus for the Charity
07 March, 2017
Over the past nine months, we've been developing a new strategy at Guy's and St Thomas’ Charity. It's an ambitious plan and one that could make a real difference - not only in South London, but well beyond.
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Seven things we did in 2016 that we’re rather proud of
13 December, 2016
At Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity we’re hugely fortunate to get to do what we do. So, as December is the internationally recognised month of lists, we share with you seven things we’re rather proud about this year. Continue reading...
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Using every bit of support to beat cancer
07 November, 2016
As I type this, I realise this month sees not one but three awareness campaigns for types of cancer – lung, mouth and pancreatic.
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Lessons from the frontline of health innovation
12 September, 2016
This is the second instalment in my series of blog posts where I share some of the key lessons we’re learning from our work supporting new ideas in health.
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Winning hearts and minds through communications
09 September, 2016
In south London there are 56% more new cases of schizophrenia and other psychoses diagnosed each year when compared with the average in England. Continue reading...
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How communications helped with the success of my health innovation
09 September, 2016
I was recently asked to speak at the Charity's communicating in health seminar, sharing my experiences of how communications can help a project to reach its innovation goals. Continue reading...
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Can creating health rather than treating illness ever be the new normal?
16 August, 2016
This was the question ringing in my ears as I returned from the 2016 meeting of The Creating Health Collaborative. Continue reading...
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Creating the foundations for a digital revolution in health
12 August, 2016
For the past few years we, like many others, have been particularly interested in the opportunities that digital technologies can create in health. Continue reading...
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How our funding is improving Evelina London
09 August, 2016
As the charity for Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – and with that, Evelina London Children’s Hospital – supporting the very best care for children and their families is a key focus of ours. Continue reading...