Burnley NHS initiative bridging gaps in local healthcare access

A collaborative project in Burnley has been helping to bridge gaps in healthcare access for underserved populations over the past two years.

Burnley East and West Primary Care Networks (PCNs), as well as VCFSE (voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector) partners, have been carrying out more than 500 health checks and providing clinics to groups of vulnerable people, including those affected by homelessness, refugees and asylum seekers, and veterans.

This work, funded by Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) and led by NHS health inequality clinical leads, clinical directors, and Primary Care Network managers, targeted areas with a higher-than-expected rate of urgent and emergency care hospital admissions and high levels of deprivation for focused interventions.

Burnley East PCN clinical director Yas Naheed said: “Fuel poverty, poor nutrition, and unemployment in parts of Burnley have been known to contribute to poor health outcomes, while the mix of urban and rural areas can present challenges for people regarding transport and access to services.

“Often, vulnerable groups struggle to engage with traditional services as they fear authority, judgement and stigmatisation.

“We have developed a multidisciplinary approach working with East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Burnley Council, social services, and VCFSE organisations such as Church on the Street, so that there is a holistic approach to helping people with what matters most.

“This work has given vulnerable and seldom-heard residents immediate support via social prescribers, we helped people with undiagnosed conditions, no GP registration, and language barriers access services, and we addressed nutrition, housing, mental health, and more.”

In one of the 526 health checks carried out as part of this project, Barry, a 52-year-old man recently released from prison, attended a Living Well clinic at Church on the Street.

He has asthma but wasn’t taking any asthma medication and his problems were being exacerbated because he wasn’t registered with a GP, as well as facing housing and benefit challenges.

Lucy Astle, health inequality lead for Burnley East PCN, said: “The risk of unmanaged asthma is unnecessary A&E attendance, possibly hospitalisation, and in extreme cases, particularly during winter, the risk of death.

“Our collaborative team of NHS workers and local partners registered Barry with a GP, completed an Enhanced Health Check and asthma review, arranged for him to have access to asthma inhalers, and connected him with housing and benefits support.

“He said that it was nice to see staff who care, didn’t judge him and understood what he was going through.”

Following the initial phase of this work, the team will continue to offer open access clinics in the targeted parts of Burnley at venues such as Church on the Street, New Neighbours Together, Gateway and Healthier Heroes. It is anticipated that this will increase GP practice referrals for those who need them. 

The ICB plans to collaborate more with primary care networks across Lancashire and South Cumbria to share and grow this type of partnership working to reach people in the community who need more support to access health services.