Inclusion health event | News and events

Over 70 representatives from local NHS teams, local authorities, voluntary organisations and community groups recently came together to explore ways to improve the health and wellbeing of those who may be socially excluded and who may experience poorer health due to risk factors such as living in poverty or because they have experienced trauma in the past.  

Whilst Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Royston are home to fantastic research institutes and world-leading health facilities, there can be stark differences in the health and wellbeing of communities. The group came together to discuss how to tackle the differences inclusion health groups face in terms of access to healthcare services, experiences of using them and the outcomes they receive. Such differences are known as health inequalities .  

As part of the inclusion health event, attendees learned about some brilliant local initiatives. This included the Homeless Health Hub in Peterborough, led by Light Project Peterborough with fund ing from NHS Charities Together, NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and Peterborough City Council, with support from the Integrated Neighbourhoods team. This Health Hub provides health and care assessments as well as giving ongoing access and referrals to a range of necessary NHS health and care services. On board the bus, people who experience homelessness can get dry blood spot testing, eye tests, treatment for wounds and infections, and more.  

The Wildflowers Project, an outreach clinic for vulnerable women, also in Peterborough, provides “head to toe healthcare ”. It recently launched a women-led cervical screening and colposcopy clinic, dedicated to fostering a safe space for sex workers who may have had traumatic experiences in the past .    

Working with North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and supported by NHS England, Wildflowers has increased cervical screening uptake among the people it works with from 19% to 95%, and the team is on target to screen 100% of the women due a test by the end of 2024.  

Changing Futures Cambridgeshire and Peterborough directly involves people who are more vulnerable with service planning and policy making processes, making sure their voices are heard so that services , including health and care, can better meet their needs.  

Jon Bartram, Programme Director at NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care Board , which hosted the event, said: “ We want to help everyone across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Royston get the healthcare they need. That’s why we were pleased to host this brilliant event, so that teams across the Integrated Care System could learn from each other about improving the health and wellbeing of some of the most vulnerable people in the area.”