Flourishing communities is a partnership between Limehouse Project, Praxis, Women’s Inclusive Team and THCVS, addressing the health inequalities experienced by global majority women accessing sexual and reproductive health care in Tower Hamlets. The project is funded through the National Lottery Healthy Communities programme.
Work with women
The project focuses on working with women from global majority communities. Limehouse Project is supporting the Bangladeshi Community. Praxis is supporting migrant women and asylum seekers. Women’s Inclusive Team is supporting the Somali community.
THCVS is advocating for and representing the organisations in the health and social care sector.
Work with health system partners: The project has collaborated with the sexual and reproductive health services:
- Public Health Sexual Health Commissioner.
- All East Sexual Health Service.
- Ambrose King Centre.
- Barts Maternity Services.
- Women’s Hub.
Steering Group
Each organisation has recruited and supports a steering group of women to ensure that their voice is central to the work of the project.
After the initial insights research the women worked with partners to discuss potential solutions to the issues raised. The women collaborated with the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in the borough to bring the findings from the initial research to discuss with GPs and practice staff to create a dialogue of solutions.
Outcomes
PCN’s advertised their services to the VCS organisations. Enabling the women to access websites that they did not know how to navigate. 5 women gained employment. Closer working relationship between the PCN’s and the VCS to address improved patient outcomes. The steering groups continue to meet to oversee the programme.
Women involved in the projects have attended the place-based partnership to share their lived experience of maternity services. The partners have also attended the borough scrutiny committee to profile the work of the project and share their lived experience of maternity services.
Resources
Research with communities
The project started by asking women about their experiences of sexual and reproductive health. The findings were shocking but unfortunately aligned with the national research findings. These findings supported discussions with the steering groups to identify the areas that they would like to focus on:
- Cervical screening.
- Pregnancy and maternity.
- Menopause.
The project also looked at:
- Access to services.
- Contraception.
Resources
Work with GP practices
The steering groups and GPs in two PCNs met together to explore how we could create solutions. In order to facilitate the discussions they created a menu of conversation sheet to make it easier for the women to have the conversation with the GPs.
Work with health system partners: The project has had some unexpected outcomes as the women talked about not feeling they are part of the NHS services as their communities were not visible in the staff teams. During the discussions a solution was that the practice manager sends the job adverts to VCS organisations to encourage proactive recruitment. 5 Somali speaking women were recruited to roles in the PCNs.
Resources
- Tools for working with the Health System (coming soon)
- Health literacy resources (coming soon)
Champions
9 women trained as Cervical Screening champions, 3 women from each organisation. They worked with a cervical screening nurse and THCVS to design the sessions and the materials they needed.
The women have also been trained in breast awareness and contraception.
Work with health system partners: The project worked with the PCN leads to identify how the project could support improved patient outcomes and build trust in residents accessing prevention screening. The champions supported the training of professionals in PCNs and maternity care on working with global majority women’s health needs and ways to communicate that reduce stress and anxiety about discussing personal issues.
Resources
Cervical screening workshops and community conversations
The women delivered culturally accessible conversations in community languages to enable women to open up and discuss their concerns in Bengali, Somali and Arabic. The women ran the sessions with other voluntary sector organisations.
Work with health system partners: Working with GPs and cervical screening nurses to run workshops in GP practices with women who had not had a screening. Working with health professionals to bust myths and raise awareness of the importance of screening.
Working with PCNs
The champions and partners supported health awareness events in GP practices.
Work with health system partners: The sessions involved collaborating with other screening services:
- Bowel screening.
- Quit smoking.
- Community health checks.
Events
The project team hosts regular events to raise awareness across many health issues, bringing together VCS organisations, researchers and mental health services.
Work with health system partners: Bringing together organisations and health professionals.
Maternity drop in sessions – The partners run monthly maternity drop in sessions in the partner’s venues. The sessions covered:
- C sections.
- Gestational diabetes.
- Birth plans.
Work with health system partners: Working with Barts to empower women and improve their experience in maternity care.
Menopause Workshops – The partnership works with Holistic Health Nutrition to raise awareness of the symptoms of menopause and how to manage them using natural approaches as well as discuss using HRT.
Work with health system partners: Improving awareness of support services both for residents and staff. The project links VCS organisations and health professionals to strengthen referral for women.
Community training events
- Contraception.
- Cervical screening.
- Pregnancy.
- Maternity.
- Menopause.
Work with health system partners: Working with sexual health services to raise awareness with women and encourage them to challenge community myths.
Health literacy project
The initial research and continuous insights gathering has identified that women need information through a range of sources. In order to provide this support the project started by using Instagram live and now is working on a portfolio of resources that can be used by women and health professionals, including videos.
Resources
- Links to Instagram live.
- GP care group – Somali videos with Dr Farah Bede.
- Health literacy resources (coming soon)
Research
The project supported the London Ambulance service to gather insights into women’s experience of 999, 111 and ambulance services during pregnancy.
Resources
- LAS report (coming soon)
Key partners
- Women’s Inclusive Team (WIT).
- The Limehouse Project.
- Praxis.
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- GP Care Group
- Tower Hamlets Community Education Provider Network (CEPN).
- Barts maternity services.
- Sister Circle.
- Social Action for Health.
- Healthwatch Tower Hamlets.
- Positive East.
Special thanks to:
- Queen Mary’s University of London Dr Megan Clinch in supporting the first year evaluation.
- London College of Communications MA students and Professor Alison Prendiville for their support with design technics in developing the system maps and personas.
- Accountability – The project reports to the sexual and reproductive health steering group and Living Well workstream. For further information contact: alison.robert@thcvs.org.uk or FC@limehouse.org.uk.