Category

• Promising Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Prevention
• Mitigation
• Reduction
• Awareness

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Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (material)
• Provide benefit in-kind (experience)
• Increase income from benefits

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Keywords

• Cash-First
• Community Engagement
• Family Support
• Health, Physical & Mental
• Transport

Aim

• Identify barriers that prevent families from accessing healthcare appointments for their children.
• Test practical solutions to reduce barriers relating to transport, food and laundry.
• Improve equity of access to NHS services for families in Grampian.
• Use lived experiences to shape service improvement and wider organisational learning.

Summary

The Health Equity & Learning Project (HELP) is a test of change project led by NHS Grampian and Aberdeenshire Council. The project provides financial and practical solutions to barriers identified as preventing families from accessing essential NHS services, such as lack of funds or living rurally. It uses insights from families and frontline staff with lived experience to tackle issues relating to appointment scheduling, transportation and accessibility. The project aims to improve equity of access to NHS services in Aberdeenshire as well as the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH).

What difference does it make?

• Upfront transport funding enabled families to attend appointments they otherwise could not afford attend.
• Over 22 families had used the transport element by March 226.
• Over 400 families had used the food and meal support.
• Additional laundry equipment was being installed at RACH.
Support on wards was expanded through Archie Foundation volunteers.
• Healthpoint began routinely asking families about financial circumstances and directing them to Welfare Rights for support and advice.
• HELP learning is being embedded in wider NHS Grampian service improvement work.

Key take-aways

• Missed appointments can be for practical reasons such as transport costs.
• Families need to be asked about these kinds of barriers directly so that they can be provided with support.

 

Organisations

• NHS Grampian. • Aberdeenshire Council. • The Archie Foundation.

Location

NHS Grampian region (Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital support available Grampian-wide).

Contact