London, It’s Time to Talk.
WHISTalks arrives in London — and our first conversation is one the city needs to have.
Launch · WHIS London · WHISTalks WHIS London Team · 14th April 2026
Something is beginning in London. On 14th April, the WHIS London team is proud to launch WHISTalks — a live online, community-powered platform dedicated to the conversations that matter most to our health, our dignity, and our shared future.
This is not just a platform launch. It is a declaration of intent that London’s communities deserve a space where their voices are heard, where difficult truths are spoken with care, and where knowledge is shared not just downward from institutions, but upward from the people who live with the consequences of how healthcare is delivered.
We begin, as any honest conversation must, with a topic that is long overdue: patient safety, dignity, and equity in healthcare.
Why Now? Why London?
WHIS — the World Health Innovation Summit — has been connecting communities and building platforms for health and wellbeing since 2015. Our model is simple and radical in equal measure: we believe that the people most affected by health inequalities are also the ones who hold the most important knowledge about how to address them.
London is one of the most diverse cities on earth. It is also a city where health inequalities are stark, where race shapes outcomes in maternity wards, GP surgeries, and emergency rooms, and where too many patients and carers have learned often the hard way that speaking up about racism in a clinical setting can come at a cost.
WHISTalks London was built for exactly this moment. Gareth Presch, Founder and CEO of WHIS, has been clear from the outset about the platform’s purpose:
“Health is not just a personal journey it is a community one. When we create spaces where every voice is heard and every experience is taken seriously, we don’t just improve outcomes. We transform lives. That is what WHISTalks exists to do.”— Gareth Presch, Founder & CEO, WHIS
It is in that spirit that the WHIS London chapter led by a team of women who understand both the power and the urgency of this work is opening its doors on 2nd April.
Meet the WHIS London Team
Behind every great platform are the people who build it — not from boardrooms, but from lived experience, community trust, and an unshakeable belief that things can and must be better.
Roxanne Lavie — Founder, Qassandra & WHIS London Host Roxanne brings international perspective and fierce advocacy to the WHISTalks stage. As Founder of Qassandra and co-host of our launch session, she is the driving force behind bringing the Racistometer tool — originally developed in France — into the UK conversation about patient safety.
Julie Jaye Charles CBE — Foudner, Start Change, Social Impact Leader & WHIS London Host Julie brings decades of experience in social impact, healthcare advocacy, and community leadership. As co-host of our inaugural session, she will frame racism in care as the patient safety issue it truly is — with clarity, compassion, and an unwavering focus on practical action.
Together, Roxanne and Julie embody what WHISTalks London is all about: lived knowledge, community trust, and the courage to hold space for conversations others would rather avoid. The wider WHIS London team advocates, community organisers, health professionals, and storytellers stands behind them, and behind every person who joins us on 2nd April 2026.
Our First Session: A Conversation We Cannot Afford Not to Have
WHISTalks London · Inaugural Session
This WHISTalks session explores patient safety, dignity, and equity in healthcare, and how patients and carers can recognise when care may be becoming compromised.
Hosted by the WHIS London Chapter, Roxanne Lavie (Qassandra / WHIS London) and Julie Jaye Charles CBE (WHIS London) bring together healthcare advocates and community voices for an open and constructive discussion on recognising risks in clinical encounters and supporting safer care.
A key focus of the discussion is the “Racistometer”, a tool first developed in France to help patients recognise when their care experience may be deteriorating and support better decision-making in healthcare environments.
The conversation will explore how tools like this might be adapted responsibly for the UK context, supporting safer and more respectful healthcare experiences for patients, carers, and clinicians.
This session is not about blame or criticism of healthcare professionals or organisations. It is about learning, awareness, and improving patient safety and care quality across health systems.
This Is Just the Beginning
Our launch session on 2nd April is the first of many. WHISTalks London is building a programme of conversations that will address the full landscape of health inequality and community wellbeing — from maternity care and mental health, to power and consent in clinical settings, to the role of communities in driving systemic change.
We are also working to grow our local chapter network, partnering with community organisations, social prescribers, schools, businesses, and anyone who believes that a healthier London is possible — and is willing to help build it. In partnership with the Global Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA), Qassandra** and Start Change, **WHIS London is positioning itself at the intersection of community care, lived experience, and genuine accountability.
This is not a top-down initiative. It is a community-up one. Every person who watches, shares, asks a question in the chat, or reaches out to get involved is part of what makes WHISTalks work. You are the platform.
Be Part of Something That Matters
On 14th April, WHIS London opens its doors and we are inviting you in. Whether you are a patient who has navigated a difficult clinical encounter, a carer supporting a loved one, a health professional who wants to do better, or simply a Londoner who believes your community deserves more: this session is for you.
Watch live on LinkedIn, Facebook, or YouTube. Join the conversation in the chat. Share the session with someone who needs to hear it. And if you want to go further if you want to host a WHISTalks event in your community, contribute to WHIS Inspire Magazine (Coming soon), appear on the WHIS Podcast, or help shape the future of our London chapter we want to hear from you.
This is what community looks like. Join us - register here.
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WHISTalks London · Presented by WHIS · ESTB 2015