Residents in one of the most deprived areas of London are benefiting from an innovative new community outreach scheme imported from South America.
The initiative involves community health and wellbeing workers going to families’ homes, delivering healthcare advice and ultimately connecting people better with their local NHS and community support services.
Following on from its launch in 2021, an evaluation of the scheme’s first year found that those who had been visited by staff at least once used local healthcare services 40% more than those who hadn’t been paid a visit.
For cancer screenings and NHS health checks specifically, uptake was increased by 82% with immunisation statistics also getting a 47% boost.
The research also suggests the project can help reduce pressure on general practice with local GP services seeing a 7.4% average drop in appointments per household, as a result of the community workers directing people more efficiently to the right avenues of care.
The scheme was piloted in Churchill Gardens in the capital, which suffers from severe levels of health inequalities, illustrated most starkly by its 15-year difference in life expectancy with its neighbouring community, Belgravia.
Chair of the National Association of Primary Care which helps run the scheme, Dr Caroline Taylor, said: “Health and wellbeing inequalities experienced by communities up and down the country are now more evident than ever. Urgent, proactive and tailored action is needed to support those who are most at risk.
“This uncomplicated and cost-effective scheme from Brazil has shown to significantly improve outcomes by offering residents personalised support to navigate and access the health and wellbeing services they need.
“Health and care services are under tremendous pressure, but we must make sure that patients do not bear the brunt of these challenges. We are calling for this initiative to be rolled out to even more neighbourhoods and communities, helping to improve the nations’ health and wellbeing, and reduce the pressure on overstretched healthcare services.”
Dr Matt Harris, a clinical senior lecturer in public health medicine at Imperial College London which also helps run the scheme, was a GP in Brazil and brought the scheme over to the UK.
He said: “It is incredible to see the positive effects it is having on the health and wellbeing of the residents at Churchill Gardens. The community health and wellbeing workers become experts in the needs of their individual micro-area, and deliver proactive care which offers a solution to the fragmented and reactive care system that we so often have to navigate.”
Since its initial success, the scheme has been rolled out in West Yorkshire and Cheshire, with further expansions for Norfolk and Cornwall also in the pipeline.
