Virgin Care: Our Essex children and families community service model should be adopted by others in a post-pandemic world, report shows
Health and social care providers across the UK should consider our ‘Civic Health Model’ in Essex as part of their post Covid-19 response to combat health inequality and break the barriers this poses to social mobility, a report published today (6 October) states.
The study by the Social Mobility Pledge, a campaign founded and led by former Secretary of State for Education Justine Greening, says the pandemic should act as a ‘wake-up moment’ as it highlights how health and wellbeing can have a real and stark impact on poverty and lack of opportunity.
And it adds that the care model adopted by our colleagues at Virgin Care in Essex, in partnership with Barnardo’s for Essex County Council and the NHS, could be a force for good nationally as it partners with local people and organisations improving lives.
The report praises the service for:
Focusing on achieving health outcomes rather than simply undertaking activity, with important measurables like how ready children are for starting school and healthy lifestyles rather than number of contacts, which is used to judge the performance of the service by commissioners
An approach that involves collaborating with local people before they need support to proactively promote more positive health and social outcomes
Working with volunteers and developing their skills through practical experience and training, and providing career opportunities for those who want them
Significantly increasing the number of volunteers working with the service a this engages local communities and families.
Reducing the number of nurse vacancies in the service by training local people in partnership with local universities, providing volunteer and paid placements and bringing about online training through its trainer service, The Learning Enterprise (TLE).
Employing and training Looked After Children in the care system to get into health and social care (see case study)
Read more
Source: https://virgincare.co.uk/news/our-essex-children-and-families-community-service-model-should-be-adopted-by-others-in-a-post-pandemic-world-report-shows/Watch the video:
