An update on progress across our ICS Back to Health programme

We’re making progress with our partners on six ‘place’-based volunteering projects. Find out about these projects, from right across our Back to Health framework, which are helping patients attend appointments, getting them home as soon as they’re fit, and supporting them to live well in their communities.

Last July, Helpforce secured nearly £900,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund to work with five ICBs and a provider collaborative to set up projects to demonstrate how support from volunteers can improve people’s health and care, right across the patient journey. We’re also committed to sharing lessons during the three years of our ICS Back to Health programme to make sure that other places and systems can benefit.

Samantha Allen, Chief Executive at one of our partner ICBs, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, welcomed the programme: “We're already testing out how volunteers can add value to the work of health and care staff, as well as having a rewarding experience themselves. This funding makes it possible to use what we have learned and focus on areas where volunteers can make the biggest impact.”

Because we were able to build on our existing pioneering ICB partnerships, the projects are already up and running or soon will be, and we wanted to share this update.

Norfolk and Waveney ICB – preventing missed imaging appointments

Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System (ICS) was facing a waiting list backlog in diagnostics of over 25,000 patients, with over 40% of people waiting more than six weeks. One contributing factor was the waste and inefficiencies caused by missed appointments (so called DNAs or Did Not Attends).

Helpforce has supported three acute trusts within the ICS to set up volunteer-led call services to contact patients about upcoming appointments, sort out any barriers to attending or reschedule the appointment to make it available to somebody else. At Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NNUH), volunteers called 4,000 patients between May and October 2024, and brought DNA Rates for DEXA (bone density) X-rays to the lowest since May 2022.

Overall, there was a 28% relative DNA rate reduction and booking teams were able to increase the notice they gave patients about appointments from 10 days to five weeks. Although we can’t know if there is a direct correlation, since calls started, waiting list performance indicators for DEXA have moved closer to their target, reaching 99.9% at the time of our last evaluation.

Joshua Sperring, the Project Co-ordinator at NNUH told us: “The calls are more than a reminder, they provide an opportunity for patients to share their concerns, clarify details about preparation and tell us about the barriers they are facing. ​

“​This service reduces waste and improves productivity by ensuring space, staff and equipment are utilised as planned through rebooking patients who are unable to attend and offering the slot to somebody else. We have managed to avoid over 300 potentially missed appointments and the service has now been embedded within our radiology team.”

North West London ICB – supporting patients and staff in hospitals

We’re working with our partners in this ICB to run community-based projects in Hillingdon and Brent which, like Norfolk and Waveney, focus on getting people to appointments. In Brent, volunteers made 2,541 calls in the first six months (reaching 1,515 people). In Hillingdon there was a 17.7% relative reduction in the DNA rate compared to the 12 months before calls were being made.

We’re also working with the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to establish volunteer roles, including emergency department and ward helper volunteers.

Overall, there has been a 25% year-on-year increase in volunteering hours and a 20% increase in volunteer numbers. Ward helpers are embedded in eight wards at Chelsea hospital and nine at West Middlesex. 96% of patients said they were satisfied with support from a ward helper during their inpatient stay.

A Matron at West Middlesex Hospital shared her appreciation of the emergency department (ED) service: “The volunteer service has been a great resource for all of us in ED and we have received really good feedback from both patients and staff. ​

“ED is a very pressured and challenging environment and nursing staff have to prioritise their care accordingly. Having volunteers with us has meant that staff can focus on the medical care [patients] need.”

Sussex ICB – preventing deconditioning while in hospital

Muscle power can reduce by between 5 and 10% after seven days of inactivity and, with patients spending as much as 83% of their day in bed and 12% in a chair, they are vulnerable to significant deconditioning.

We’re working with East Sussex NHS Healthcare Trust to recruit reconditioning volunteers who will encourage patients to stay active. By taking them through simple bed and chair exercises, the volunteers will help patients maintain strength and function. And they will also encourage patients to get involved in exercises and activities, improving patient wellbeing.

The project is due to start in early March. The Trust and Helpforce are confident that, by supporting people’s recovery, as well as improving patient experience, this service will ensure people are fitter and able to go home more quickly than they would have without support from volunteers. We look forward to sharing our findings and lessons as they emerge.

North East and North Cumbria ICB – settle at home service after leaving hospital

People can often need support after they leave hospital, to keep them well and prevent unnecessary readmission. In this ICB, we’re helping regional voluntary organisation, North Tyneside VODA, set up a ‘settle at home’ service for people aged over 55. The service is for people on so called ‘Pathway 0’, which means that, although they don’t need support from social services, they may need some help as a result of their stay in hospital.

Volunteers check people have their medication and that their home is set up for their recovery, for instance that it’s warm enough and without trip hazards. They can also direct people to other sources of support in the community.

We’re learning a lot about making sure the interface between the hospital and community works well, so staff and patients know about and are confident about accessing the ‘settle at home’ service.

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB – keeping people well in their communities

In Cornwall, we’re building on our evaluation of their network of Community hubs, which saw some important results – in particular that 50% of people told us they would have approached a healthcare provider if they hadn’t had support from the hub. We’re now undertaking research into crucial elements of the voluntary sector infrastructure in Cornwall that supports health and care: the Community hub network and also the Community Gateway service, delivered with its partners by Age UK Cornwall. The Gateway offers a 365 days-a-year service, directing people to the support they need in the community.

The research will be completed by November 2025. It will clarify for our partners – including the ICB, local authority, the two NHS Trusts, and the voluntary sector – the role that the Gateway and hubs can play in helping Cornwall’s ambition to shift services from hospital into the community.

Foundation Group

We’re looking forward to starting work with the Foundation Group in the near future as part of the ICS Back to Health programme, building on our great partnership with one of the trusts in this provider collaborative, George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust.