Over £15,000 in funding has been made available to staff at Newham Hospital in the first round of funding of the Well Newham Challenge.

Seven projects are being funded by Newham Council which aim to improve the health of borough residents by addressing the non-medical, social factors that can negatively impact their health.

Speaking on the collaboration, Councillor Neil Wilson, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care, said: “Social Prescribing is a key pledge of Building a Fairer Newham, the Manifesto of May 2022, and this is a part of our work to expand the reach of social prescribing across the Borough.”

In order to be eligible for the funding, each team had to demonstrate how their project will help improve and overcome social determinants of health, such as language and culture, social interaction and inclusion and housing and living.

The seven projects funded in this round come from different teams across Newham Hospital and will be supported by the hospital’s quality improvement team in their development, delivery and evaluation.

Well Newham Challenge: Round 1

Caring for cardiac patients: This project will involve patients attending routine cardiovascular disease appointments who might benefit from targeted help to meet income and financial challenges arising from unemployment or poor housing and housing and living standards.
Couch-to-5K support: Provide a supported Couch to 5k community with facilitated group running sessions and provide related health information from health professionals.
Improving literature: This project will review existing patient literature and, if necessary, create a series of leaflets for those who are at risk from colorectal cancer. Leaflets in community languages will be co-produced with residents and voluntary sector partners..
Managing diabetes: To improve diabetes management for patients from the Asian community, the team will develop a carbohydrate exchange list, specific to the Asian / Bangladeshi community containing the community’s most popular foods.
Medicines translations: Translate medicine instruction labels and supporting information into community languages.
A matter of balance: Develop a falls program based on the “matter of balance” programme, which is designed to reduce fear of falling and improve activity levels among participants, to reduce falls risks at home and improve their strength/balance.
Improving gestational diabetes care: Improve the peer support and education provided to women with gestational diabetes, especially those with other barriers to accessing services (language and social complexity for example).

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