Common Ambition Bristol Highly Commended at the HSJ Partnership Awards

Common Ambition Bristol has been Highly Commended in the ‘Most Effective Contribution to Integrated Health and Care’ category at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025, in recognition of its outstanding work to improve HIV healthcare for marginalised communities and effective collaboration with the NHS.

African and Caribbean heritage communities are disproportionately affected by HIV in the UK. Common Ambition Bristol – which is shaped and delivered by community members – aims to reverse these HIV health inequalities locally by reducing stigma and increasing HIV testing and access to PrEP, a drug which reduces the risk of getting HIV.

Its impact includes setting up the first African and Caribbean heritage community HIV and sexual health testing clinics in the South West, which are very well attended. To encourage testing, the team go out to barbershops and Black-owned businesses in Bristol and run targeted community events and social media campaigns.

These activities have resulted in African and Caribbean heritage communities locally having an improved knowledge of HIV and increased engagement with sexual health services.

Due to the success of this way of working, other healthcare services want to replicate Common Ambition Bristol’s approach to addressing inequalities across different health conditions – the team is now producing a toolkit to support this.

Common Ambition Bristol is community-led and co-produced alongside Brigstowe, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, African Voices Forum, Bristol City Council and the University of Bristol. It is supported by Bristol Health Partners’ Sexual Health Improvement Programme (SHIP) Health Integration Team.

Rami Ghali, CEO of Brigstowe said:

“I’m thrilled that Common Ambition Bristol has been highly commended by the HSJ. Brigstowe is the lead partner, but the project has been a labour of love for many people from the NHS, community organisations, Bristol City Council, University of Bristol and paid members of our African & Caribbean heritage communities.

“I want to say a huge shout out in particular to our Community Members who have directed Common Ambition Bristol including deciding what services we provide to communities that have been historically underserved. Through Common Ambition Bristol we are building the trust of African & Caribbean communities which has enabled us to increase access to sexual health services (including HIV testing) and reduce HIV stigma.”

David Dravie-John, Director, African Voices Forum Ltd and Community Researchers Supervisor, said:

“On behalf of the African Voices Forum Ltd, we are extremely delighted for the recognition which the Common Ambition Bristol project has received. As this project focuses on the African and Caribbean descendants communities, it clearly shows the dedication, commitment and awareness this project has portrayed. It further shows the hard work of all the partner organisations, volunteers and staff inputs, love and concerns for the project.

“We are grateful to the HSJ award for recognising our strong participation, approaches and dedication. Thank you.”

Dr Lindsey Harryman, Consultant in Genitourinary Medicine, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“We are very thankful for the recognition of Common Ambition Bristol’s innovative approach by the HSJ Partnership Awards. It has been and continues to be an honour to work with this group of dedicated and talented people and organisations. It’s a unique privilege to be able to work collaboratively with the African and Caribbean heritage community in Bristol and embed their voice and experience to drive meaningful change in not only our sexual health service but the wider University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust’s patient experience.”

Dr Fiona Fox, lead for the qualitative evaluation of Common Ambition Bristol at the University of Bristol said:

“We are delighted that Common Ambition Bristol has received this recognition for effective contribution to Integrated Health and Care. It reflects the hard work and effort that has been sustained by all partners over the past four years to ensure that the co-production has remained the driving force for Common Ambition Bristol.

“The University of Bristol, NIHR ARC West and the Health Protection Research Unit are proud to be the Common Ambition Bristol evaluation partners. We have been able to explore the process of co-production over time, as well as the impact of interventions on increasing access to and uptake of HIV testing in African and Caribbean heritage communities in Bristol. We are grateful to the HSJ awards for recognising the value that Common Ambition Bristol brings to addressing HIV inequities amongst minoritised communities in our city.”

Councillor Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee at Bristol City Council, said:

“A huge well done to everyone at Common Ambition Bristol for achieving this commendation. It’s fantastic to see their important and impactful work being recognised – this shows the value of community-led action in tackling health inequalities. The work Common Ambition Bristol do is instrumental in reducing the stigma of HIV and increasing access to testing among African and Caribbean heritage communities.

“Across Bristol we know that around 60 per cent of people who are HIV positive are diagnosed late, and that we have communities who are disproportionately affected by HIV including the African and Caribbean population. It is incredibly important that we continue to break down the stigma around HIV and encourage residents to get tested.”

See the full list of HSJ Partnership Award Winners and those Highly Commended.