PHD Project: Empowering the Local Community in Pollards Hill

In this case study, South-West London Integrated Care System (SWL ICS) Digital Pioneer Fellow Dalanya ‘Dee’ Morris, Community Health and Wellbeing Champion for the East Primary Care Network, shares how her project is helping to assist and empower the local community by providing digital and social engagement that caters to their health and wellbeing needs.

Project Summary

Pollards Hill, recognised as one of the most deprived wards in South West London, faces several challenges that impact the health and well-being of its residents. This project supports the community by tackling key issues such as the cost-of-living crisis, digital inclusion, mental health, social isolation, and loneliness. In line with NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 strategy, we are also focused on reducing health inequalities and fostering community cohesion by strategically using local resources.

Project Objectives

The project began after identifying a pressing need in the community of Pollards Hill through health data and input from the community, partners, and stakeholders. By utilising community-based assets, existing services and partnerships, we aim to encourage and support community cohesion within Pollards Hill. This involves identifying and providing appropriate services that meet the community’s needs. Additional work offered through the project includes planning and delivering events to address health and well-being, fostering community engagement, recruiting volunteers, building self-sustaining projects, empowering residents, and promoting partnership work.

Some challenges we have encountered include a lack of space and resources for events, as well as resistance from key partners in engaging and managing events collaboratively (particularly when dealing with individuals with complex needs). Despite this, we have successfully delivered a number of events over ten months, addressing the identified needs, improving the community’s health and well-being, and participating in ten other community events.

Dee has been a real asset to the local neighbourhood team at Pollards Hill over the past 12 months. She has been able to assist the team in supporting a number of vulnerable customers on the estate and has made a real difference in some complex cases.

Gavin Rodgers
Senior Neighbourhood Housing Manager 

Impact/Outcomes

Since beginning digital drop-in sessions, we have successfully managed to engage with many members within our community while supporting people who are digitally excluded to get online and use the NHS App. Other delivered initiatives include:

• A successful three-day liver cancer screening event, where the community accessed vital health resources to meet the NHS’s needs
• Coffee mornings for carers
• Cancer support groups for individuals impacted by cancer
• Cost of living events
• World Awareness Day for Health and Wellbeing
• Weekly digital drop-in sessions to support access to data, devices, the internet, and the NHS App
• A weekly walk-and-talk group that consistently engages a minimum of ten participants, resulting in a 90-minute increase in their weekly exercise. This has been successfully running and self-sustaining for eight months through the work of six volunteers.

Enjoy the walk a lot and the company that I walk with. Just one of the best things Dee has done for us [the community]. Absolutely brilliant. I always look forward to it every Saturday.

Patient

By identifying service gaps, we have effectively organised targeted projects to address those needs. I have encouraged professional collaboration to support the community better and have sought additional funding. Successful bids have enabled us to provide the community with data, access to devices, and essential goods and services, further expanding the scope and impact of these projects.

Lastly, Asset-Based Community Development was used to build strong relationships with key partners, stakeholders, and community members. Agreed key performance indicators (KPIs) and project outcomes have been exceeded within the first few months, while we have also established excellent collaborations with other essential services and support networks.

Next Steps

Our goal for the year ahead is to continue working towards our planned KPIs and outcomes through close collaboration with stakeholders and partners. This will involve expanding our digital drop-in sessions to five new locations across various services and continuing to organise health and well-being events and projects tailored to the community’s needs.

The project also serves as a model for the role of Community Health and Wellbeing Champion and has the potential for broader implementation across boroughs. To support this, we are planning a formal evaluation that measures the project’s overall impact, in terms of time and resources saved.

Dalanya ‘Dee’ Morris is a Fellow from Cohort One of the SWL ICS Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme.

The SWL ICS Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme supports change makers employed by NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary Sector organisations in South-West London to design and lead health and care transformation projects underpinned by digital innovation. Funded by the South-West London Integrated Care System, the programme builds on DigitalHealth.London’s Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme but is specifically for staff employed by NHS, Local Authority and Voluntary Sector organisations in South West London.

To find out more about the other Fellows in Cohort One of the SWL ICS Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme, please refer to our innovation directory.