Working together for better lives: case studies

The Working Together for Better Lives case studies aim to demonstrate how organisations across mid and south Essex are coming together to work in partnership to improve people’s lives.

The case studies highlight work taking place locally towards the prevention, transformation, and collaboration agenda.

We will be showcasing a number of key projects taking place across mid and south Essex, regularly throughout the year. We will be uploading new case studies to our YouTube playlist, as well as this page, so please check back regularly for new projects.

Southend Integrated Healthcare for Homeless Initiative

The ‘Southend Integrated Healthcare for Homeless’ Initiative has been spearheaded by local GP surgeries and other local organisations, to provide better joined-up care for those affected by homelessness in Southend.

Southend GP, Dr Haroon Siddique, who works within the Southend West Central Primary Care Network, led the development of the initiative, supported by Edel Spruce an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, to better support the health and care needs of some of Southend’s most vulnerable people.

Primary Care Networks (PCNs) offer a new way of organising care, bringing together all health and care services in a local area to deliver more joined-up care to local populations. The ‘Southend Integrated Healthcare for Homeless’ initiative, is one example of this new approach.

The aim of the initiative is to reduce health inequalities for rough sleepers, to support them in not only recovering from life on the streets, but to also help them lead more meaningful lives.

Partners from the NHS, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, food banks, soup kitchens, hostels, outreach teams, hospital, mental health and substance misuse providers have collaborated to build this new integrated service. The initiative has already seen positive outcomes by maximising opportunities to deliver preventative health initiatives, such as Hepatitis C, respiratory, blood pressure and COVID-19 testing. Word-of-mouth from clients has consequently attracted others who were unsure or previously hesitant in accessing healthcare services. This in turn has helped to reduce avoidable use of crisis services while ultimately reducing premature deaths.

The Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership is also delighted to announce that the initiative has been shortlisted for ‘Primary Care Innovation of the Year’ at the national HSJ Awards 2021.

The award recognises the outstanding contribution to healthcare in what has been an exceptional and challenging period across the sector. You can read more about this via our press release.