The HIP Wellness Team is a peer led service, which works within primary care and the community to prevent the development of both physical and mental ill health. It also strives to teach all local residents the tools to keep themselves well, and also to spot ill health and manage it.
The multi-faceted service is supported by health coaches, social prescribers, first contact physios and uses a volunteer coordinator to recruit and manage volunteers and bring together existing local community partners and healthcare providers.
Through the creation of a centralised team we aim to develop a program of work that supports and promotes holistic health, well-being and self empowerment. The aim is to reduce loneliness and improve other measures of health and well-being for all residents. The wellness team will work to build connections resident to resident, residents to wellness team and wellness team to stakeholders and local organizations. This will also give the team a more detailed understanding of the needs of the Isle of Dogs and to address health inequalities.
Method of delivery
Through the support of local GP’s, patients registered on the Island are invited to become a volunteer. This network of volunteers are then supported to develop groups and activities, which they will then run. They will also be encouraged to attend existing projects. Projects which provide people with different experiences and opportunities will be prioritized. The emphasis will be on offers that support mental and physical health, plus improve social connectedness and support healthy lifestyles. Some of these projects will be free, and some will be given funding for materials, an instructor, equipment etc. The projects will be inclusive of different groups of people – young, old, multi-ethnic. These projects will complement existing health initiatives and organisations, e.g., child obesity plan.
The wellness team also have a role to help our practice staff feel valued, supported and happy.
Our long term aim is to co-produce a shared creative, community space which will be the central hub of the community, serving to inspire, engage and support the local community. It will offer residents the opportunity to access evidence-based lifestyle advice, health coaching and support, so to help them make long lasting behaviour changes which improve their physical and mental health.
| Lifestyle Medicine pillars covered: |
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| Audience | Physicians, Healthcare Professionals, Patients, Public | Funded? | Yes – The project is was initially funded through the NHSE PCN DES Funding, some funding from the charitable Healthy Island Trust Grant, and core PCN Funding. The health coaches, physiotherapist and volunteer co-ordinator are being funded through the ARRS (additional roles reimbursement scheme) |
| Details of any successes or challenges: | This programme has been warmly received by patients, and health care professionals, as well as being welcomed by local community stakeholders. One of the successes has been that the programme is very much a co-production, in partnership of the users of our service. The service is unique in its design as it serves across a large primary care network, in a very deprived area of London. The biggest challenge was developing this project through the pandemic, the heart of this project is developing connections and building relationships with people and local communities. The development process was supported by NHS England’s time for care team, who helped us create robust referral pathways and integrated it within primary care. Our next challenge is to grow and create more capacity to support more people, but we believe the peer-led approach will make this programme long lasting and sustainable. |
| What key performance indicators are you utilising? | “Number of pts referred into each of the services (health coaches, physio, social prescribers and volunteering groups) Change in GP attendance ONS4 Eq5dl questionnaire patient satisfaction |
| Are there any opportunities currently for BSLM Members to scale or sign post Patients? | Yes, we can take referrals and see pts in person/on line |
| Sector | NHS |
| Approving Body | Primary Care Network |
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