So I have to request you be patient for a little longer. Here’s a third take on the changes intended for the National Health Service and how these changes take it into the arms of the Christian church, and how they can help re-establish the church in its centuries-old role as centre-piece of the good in a local community.
A newspaper report in April 25 said this:
The NHS is attempting to ease the pressure on GPs and A&E by sending a new type of health worker door to door in deprived areas to help detect illnesses before people need urgent care.
Community health and wellbeing workers (CHWW) are already deployed in 12 areas of England, with 13 others to follow, in an attempt to improve poor and vulnerable people’s access to care.
Each worker is responsible for 120-150 households, usually on a council estate, which they visit once a month to help residents with money, isolation and housing problems, as well as their health.
Wes Streeting, the heath secretary, is examining the scheme as he pulls together ideas to help “fix” the NHS that may be included in the forthcoming 10-year health plan. 1 The article points out these CHWWs ‘are not clinically trained staff, like doctors, nurses and health visitors. They are mostly recruited from the communities they work in and trained up for the role.’
It quotes the program managed of the National Association of Primary Care as follows:
‘CHWWs are supporting residents to access earlier and more appropriate forms of care, often in community settings.
‘They’re also helping to address wider determinants of health – like housing, finances and loneliness – which are frequently the root cause of escalating health issues that end up in A&E.
‘Their job is to build relationships with the people in their households and with health professionals and NHS services locally.’
Nothing in the article mentions the church. But what a nice job for someone as a CHWW, with formal or informal links to faith communities.
The idea, the potential is exciting. But reality check – how many churches are actually anything like ready to take up this opportunity?