Charity CEO’s call for joined-up approach to healthcare following cuts to award-winning service…

From July, funding for The Living Well Partnership in West Norwich PCN and East Norwich PCN will be directed to local councils. The charities involved in the successful partnership, Norfolk Citizens Advice, Age UK Norwich, Mancroft Advice Project and Equal Lives, have been hit with the impact of this change, which include loss of staffing and reduced capacity to help residents.

Speaking to Chris Goreham on the BBC Radio Norfolk Breakfast Show, Mark Hitchcock, CEO of Norfolk Citizens Advice and Dan Skipper, CEO of Age UK Norwich shared their concerns about how this decision is a step-back for local partnerships between health, care and the VCSE.

Mr Hitchcock said “At a time when demand on our service is higher than ever before, we all need to build better. However, this decision means less support to Norwich people and a weakening of the charity sector.”

The charities involved provide approximately 7,000 support activities per year, supporting patients who have long term health conditions, disabilities or live in deprived areas. The service won ‘Social Prescriber of the Year’, ‘Social Prescribing Team of the Year’ and ‘Social Prescribing Innovation of the Year’ chosen from services across Norfolk & Waveney. The partnership includes other services cited as examples of best practice in the Chief Medical Officer’s 2023 report. 94% of patients recommended the service to others.

Mr Hitchcock continued “We’ve been working with people with the most complex issues they can face in society. This contract loss has significantly reduced our capacity for casework, which means we’ll only be able to provide information, and people will have to find their own way through life. Our work is key to people’s health. We work creatively with our VCSE partners and different parts of the healthcare system, but in this case – it’s a real step back.”

Mr Skipper followed later in the programme, talking about the city’s areas of deprivation, where residents face a reduce life expectancy of a decade, when compared to more affluent areas.

“The Integrated Case System exists to bring together VCSE, hospitals, district councils, primary care, secondary care, and having a plan about how we managed the population’s health and wellbeing. How can we have one part of the NHS give us an award, and another cut the contract, particularly with our skills around health inequalities, one of the NHS’s top priorities?”

Social prescribing helps people get support with a variety of factors that impact their health. Only 20% of a person’s overall health is linked to NHS care, other factors like lifestyle, physical environment and socio-economic factors having a larger influence.

He continued “There are local key strategies for health inequalities – that’s housing, finances, poverty, education, employment – it’s not just about physical health and they’re all the things as charities we specialise in.

There are lots of flavours to social prescribing, but our partnership upholds accredited advice model, meaning tackling the actual issue causing the symptoms. Losing this contract will limit our ability to do that.”

Central Norwich PCN and Norwich North PCN have continued their partnership with the Living Well Partnership until 31^st March 2025. The charities affected continue to work closely together with partners in the Norwich Health & Wellbeing Partnerships and wider county to promote the impact of accredited advice and case work.

Listen to the full interviews here: Chris Goreham - Help with homes - BBC Sounds

Mark Hitchcock from 1:19:00

Dan Skipper from 2:18:20