A trailblazing scheme to help patients at a Blackpool doctors’ surgery is paying dividends in its first few weeks.
Staff at Arnold Medical Centre on St Anne’s Road identified that some of their patients have issues in their lives, like unemployment and loneliness, that are impacting on their health but doctors can often only treat the medical symptoms rather the root cause.
So, working with Social Enterprise Solutions in Blackpool, patients can now make an appointment with a community navigator that helps them address underlying issues.
For some people that means getting back into the world of work while others have taken up volunteering opportunities with local charities.
Picture: The Mayor and Mayoress of Blackpool join the High Sheriff of Lancashire, John Barnett MBE DL, at the launch of the new project with doctors and patients at Arnold Medical Centre, along with the community navigator Margaret Seddon (centre)
The innovative scheme is backed by United Utilities Community Fund through the Community Foundation For Lancashire and runs until the end of the year.
Tony Carr, from Social Enterprise Solutions, said: “Early indications are that patients are getting a real benefit from the service. When something happens in life, like losing your job or having a big operation, it can knock you for six and it is not always easy to get back on your feet. This can then has a knock-on effect on your health.”
Meriel Carrdus from Arnold Medical Centre, added: “We are very pleased to be working in partnership with Social Enterprise Solutions to bring wider support and help to our patients. Those that have accessed the support have been quick to feed back to us how much it has helped them.”
