The Coventry Local Health Link Workers scheme

1. The Coventry Local Health Link Workers scheme A presentation for the URB_Health peer review workshop By Rebecca Blyth Budapest 27 September – 30 September 2006

2. Presentation overview • Project background • The scheme in Coventry • Local Health Link Workers in action • Impact and results so far • The future

3. The city of Coventry • Coventry has 31 priority neighbourhoods experience significant levels of deprivation, ranging in top 10 and 20% across England as a whole • Coventry’s 6 Health Action Areas (1996) experience worse health outcomes and poverty scores, and make up 25% of the city’s population • Coventry’s population is circa 300,000 • 7.6% of the population of Coventry are South Asian and 2.0% are African Caribbean

4. Local Health Link Workers • 35 recruited from across the 6 Health Action Areas since November 2004 • 8 men, 27 women • 2 Afro-Caribbean, 3 African, 8 of Asian origin, 15 white British • Age range 22 – 56 • 1 physical and 1 learning disability • 2 week core training programme, bespoke additional training plus NVQ Level 2 in Customer Services

5. Coventry’s Local Health Link Workers have diverse cultural, ethnic and ability backgrounds

6. The role of the Local Health Link Worker • Sign post to services and social care agencies • Accompany to appointments where necessary • Act as a bridge and facilitate communication between local communities and health and social care providers • Health Promotion (5 a day, smoking cessation, obesity) • Encourage uptake of e.g. flu vaccination, screening etc.

7. Placements – wide range of health, educational and social welfare settings • Sure Start and Early Years nurseries • Primary schools • Extended secondary schools • Health Centres and GP surgeries, sexual health clinics • Community Nutritionists • YMCA • Youth Offending Service • Healthy Walks scheme • Older peoples community mental health • Refugee Centre • New Deals for Communities • Access to health services review

8. Ferdosh promoting the local flu campaign in a local bingo hall

9. All the Local Health Link Workers are involved with healthy walks in their own communities

10. Althia has extensive experience of local community involvement and has been working as a Local Health Link Worker at Sure Start

11. Jassi, Jaspreet, Parveen and Shazia promoting their role and healthy eating at a local health fair

12. Ferdosh works with a wide range of ethnic ladies as part of her work encouraging ladies to attend the Well Women’s clinic

13. Some results so far… • Increase of between 2 – 5% uptake of ‘flu vaccine where the Local Health Link Workers are active • 2 child protection issues and 2 issues of domestic violence uncovered • Increased awareness of health care services and screening through local temples and mosques and social settings • Local Health Link Workers involved with smoking cessation and healthy diet and eating programmes in all areas • The Local Health Link Worker project won the HSJ award for Reducing Health Inequalities in November 2005.

14. Future plans… • Future career plans for the Local Health Link Workers themselves are developing • Nursing • Dietetics • Health Promotions • Teaching • Some of the Local Health Link Workers will metamorphose into the new government NHS Trainer roles

15. Patricia Hewitt MPSecretary of State for Health “Coventry PCT have proved themselves to be right at the forefront of the transformation taking place in the NHS” Coventry Evening Telegraph 04/01/06