Pilot scheme to tackle diabetes in Walsall hailed a success

A two year project to tackle diabetes in Walsall has been hailed a success, with hundreds of participants seeing an improvement in their health and wellbeing.

The Diabetes Matters programme, delivered by housing association whg in partnership with the NHS community diabetes service, aimed to support people in the borough who had diabetes or who were at risk of developing diabetes.

As part of the pilot, which was funded by NHS Black Country ICB, four local residents were recruited as diabetes community champions. All four champions had lived experience of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes, which ensured they could connect with people in the local area and inspire them to access support services. In addition to this they were able to speak 15 cultural languages across the team, which allowed for dialogues to take place in the first language of the customer.

Living in the areas in which they were working also meant they were able to use their day to day connections to identify and engage people who were not currently taking up support services and as a result were struggling  to manage diabetes.

Over the two year project the champions knocked on the doors of 1,345 households in their target areas, engaged with 1,699 customers about what support they might need and signed up 237 residents to their programme. 95% of participants who gave feedback at the end of the programme said they would recommend the service to friends and family.

Connie Jennings, Director of Stronger Communities, said: “One of our key focuses over the next six years is social justice, and to transform lives by reducing inequalities. This programme is just one of the ways we are doing this, by providing culturally accessible support to those who face the poorest health outcomes. Not only have our champions improved the wellbeing of households in some of the most deprived areas of the country, they have also helped sustain tenancies through addressing wider issues that could lead them to losing their homes.

“We know that it is only through strong and effective partnerships that we are able to  improve the wellbeing of our communities and we look forward to building on our excellent relationship with partners.”

Donna Chaloner, Lead for Community Diabetes services for Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “It has been a privilege to work with whg supporting this diabetes programme.

“Together we have been able to combine the expertise of the specialist service with the local knowledge and enthusiasm of the champions which has resulted in significant positive gains for Walsall diabetic residents.”

The programme was recently highlighted as an example of best practice in the Tackling Inequalities Commission Report, produced by Diabetes UK.