New Year is a fresh start for many of us, marked with the usual wishes of good health and a significant pressure to join a gym! For Peabody colleagues, creating healthier, wealthier and happier communities is fundamental to everything we do, all year round.
Working with residents to improve their health and wellbeing is an important part of this. There are longstanding health inequalities here which worsened during the pandemic. Getting people involved in enjoyable activities on a regular basis is key to them developing lasting healthy habits.
Despite the popularity of these interventions, they are not for everyone. People with the poorest health outcomes often face complex socio-economic problems. Our Positive Steps Thamesmead programme, supported by VINCI Facilities, aims to help people facing major issues by helping addressing the root causes of their problems.
Positive Steps Thamesmead has also had a wider impact, relieving pressure on oversubscribed GP services, enabling local partners to deliver more support, and providing volunteers with the opportunity to build skills and confidence while connecting with their community.
Independent research has demonstrated the value of having services delivered locally in Thamesmead, and is enabling us to continue conversations on social prescribing with the London Borough of Bexley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Our work is making a real difference, but we know that to bring about lasting impact, a step change is needed on how health services are delivered to people in Thamesmead.
