Gypsies & Travellers have the worst health outcomes of any other group in this country. Their life expectancy is much lower, children are more likely to die prematurely and mothers to lose their babies. But those people who are providing health care services often know very little about Gypsy & Traveller culture or their attitudes to health care. The East of England and Cambridgeshire in particular have very large Gypsy & Traveller populations. So the need for information to help improve services and outcomes was identified.

Ormiston Travellers Initiative ( Cambridgeshire ) worked in partnership with Cambridgeshire PCT and local Gypsy and Travelling Communities to produce an information guide for health professionals on the health of Gypsies and Travellers.

The guide is aimed at primary care, secondary care, hospital and community staff as well as other allied health professionals. It has been developed to help them understand how and why members of Gypsy and Travelling communities may behave in certain ways regarding their health and health care. It also sets out recommendations for health professionals to consider when working with individuals from Gypsy and Traveller communities.

Although developed for health professions - it would also be useful to anyone working with Gypsies & Travellers.

To download a free copy of the booklet click here (Adobe/PDF, 1.7MB)

You can also download a poster advertising the booklet here (Adobe/PDF, 1.3MB).

If you want to find out more about the information in this booklet, please contact Jacqueline Bolton, email