WIREDGOV

Health Innovation North West Coast has won a prestigious award for a project aimed at mitigating the impact of fuel poverty.

The award was made by PrescQIPP, the not-for-profit company that supports the NHS in delivering excellent medicines-related care.

Health Innovation North West Coast and its partners NHS Cheshire and Merseyside received the accolade in the health inequalities section of the awards.

And the team landed the gold award for the best presentation of the five category winners.

More than 1.5m people in Cheshire and Merseyside, where the project was focused, have a medical condition that makes them especially vulnerable to poorly heated homes.

The work identified ‘trailblazer’ sites in Knowsley and St Helens where multidisciplinary teams delivered various targeted interventions involving healthcare, housing and financial support.

Rhiannon Clarke, who led the work for Health Innovation North West Coast, said the award acknowledge a collaborative approach to a pressing problem.

“We're delighted. This is a piece of work we’re particularly proud of so it’s fantastic that it’s been recognised.

“Our strength is in bringing together teams from all parts of the health and care community to focus our energies on tough challenges.

“The fuel poverty initiative is already making sure that people with respiratory conditions are getting as much support as they deserve.”

The project in Cheshire and Merseyside is part of NHS England’s Innovations for Healthcare Inequalities Programme which tackles inequalities in deprived and under-served communities.

Project teams, comprising clinical and non-clinical expertise, work with their local communities to identify and minimise healthcare inequalities through projects to improve access to the latest health technologies and medicines.​

You can read more about the work here.