Abstract
The first virtual mid-year conference organised by the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) was held on the 19 September 2020 hosted by the BAPIO North-West regional chapter. The conference digital platform used was Gurukul Education (https://gurukuleducation.online/). There were 736 registrations and 178 attended through the virtual conference hall and 803 attended the live streaming viewing facility. The conference was focused on aspects of Covid-19, from the current status in the UK and India, public health aspects of the pandemic, vulnerability of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population, initiatives taken to reduce the impact on general practice or mental health services and routine non-Covid care. Strategies on the reduction of risk in the workplace, formal risk assessments, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and wider societal education initiatives were incorporated. The need for ongoing research in differential adverse outcomes in BAME population was evident, as well as in prevention measures such as vaccination.
Highlights
There was a preconference Hatha Yoga workshop by Hemalatha Dadi who took the participants through an awareness session including the basics of yoga, as practiced by the Isha Foundation[1], setting a relaxing atmosphere for the rest of the conference
The conference participants were welcomed by the Chair of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) JS Bamrah followed by a traditional Indian lighting of lamp by Ramesh Mehta, President of BAPIO
Ramesh Mehta described the challenges faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic and praised the efforts of BAPIO Institute for Health
Summary
There was a preconference Hatha Yoga workshop by Hemalatha Dadi who took the participants through an awareness session including the basics of yoga, as practiced by the Isha Foundation[1], setting a relaxing atmosphere for the rest of the conference. The session chaired by Parag Singhal and Parveen Sharma, heard from Professor Kevin Fenton, who shared the public health recommendations following his review on the impact of COVID19 on the British population.[4] He explained that the risk of Covid[19] is strongly associated with age, male gender, deprivation, South Asian origin (Bangladeshi have 1.5 to 1.9 times higher risk), poor socio-economic status, presence of long term medical conditions and the type of occupation He appealed to key stakeholders for provide targeted advice to their staff during risk assessments and the need to develop a culturally competent system for all institutions. He requested the system to implement the lessons learned from the first wave, prioritise and invest in a sustainable medical workforce and pleaded to improve the working culture with a supportive Covid-19 secure environment
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