Black African and Black Caribbean Cancer Patients and Carers Report to BME Cancer Communities. 

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has served to place an even brighter spotlight on Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) health inequalities. As an organisation, we primarily focus on cancer, but have learned from our service users that health inequalities are not driven by a single issue.  It was of concern to BMECC when, in early March 2020, our service users, families and friends began to report COVID-19 associated hospital admissions, followed by an increasing number of deaths within weeks of hospitalisation. BMECC also noted that ethnicity was listed as a risk factor for increased mortality among the black and minority ethnic community. As an organisation, we are delighted to see that this report is embedded in a discussion about the wider social and economic factors that contribute to health inequalities.