Living Well Service driving to meet wellbeing needs

A mobile health and wellbeing service aimed at improving health outcomes, CWP’s Living Well Service is proving to be invaluable to the local community.

Formally launched in summer 2022, the service identifies areas where health outcomes are poorer, or engagement with other services is lower. It then works alongside communities to provide vital health and wellbeing support that best meets their needs.

The service’s launch grew from the successful roving COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Cheshire, commissioned by the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System (ICS) it covers all nine PLACE areas, aligned to local authorities.

Operating as a drop-in service on specially designed clinic buses, Living Well provides a broad range of physical health checks including blood pressure and pulse checks, cholesterol checks and blood glucose and BMI checks, as well as a direct referral into Talking Therapies. and COVID-19 vaccinations.

The service can also connect people with other local services such as help with finances, social care, diet and lifestyle.

CWP director of operations, Suzanne Edwards, explains:

The Living Well Service is built on the principles of listening to under-served communities and meeting their needs by bringing the right services to them. The way this service has been embraced by local people, as well as partners across the health and care system has been fantastic.

Jayne Wood, director of vaccine and testing operations, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, said:

“Cheshire and Merseyside is the country’s second largest ICS, with 33% of people living in the most deprived 20% of neighbourhoods in England. This service has demonstrated superb partnership working and is an excellent example of system-wide working. Ensuring services are shaped by the needs of our population is so important and this is at the heart of Living Well Service’s vision.”

The Living Well Service has gone from serving a population of just under one million people across Cheshire to serving to a population of 2.7million.

Partnership in action

Since mobilising the health screening and mental wellbeing offer across Cheshire and Merseyside in June 2022, the Living Well Service has delivered 340 clinics in identified under-served communities, providing:

• Over 10,000 COVID-19 vaccines

• Over 370 first doses

• Over 340 second doses

• Over 7,000 physical individual health tests (Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, BMI, Glucose, Pulse check)

• Over 400 referrals to primary care for action

The success of the service has not gone unnoticed with a site visit from Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, and national award recognition by scooping ‘highly commended’ at the recently Health Service Journal, Partnership Awards in the ‘Estates Optimisation Project of the Year’ category.

Suzanne Edwards said:

The service would not be possible without the excellent links we have with our partners from across the region and we are proud of our integrated approach to improve outcomes for local communities.