Community Wellbeing Workers Service (CWWS)

Description

In response to growing demand on Adults’ Health and Care services, it has been identified that additional capacity is required to support individuals who would benefit from preventative or lower-level interventions. This new service will take account of learning from the previous service and aims to build on its successes. It retains several of the key features of the previous service such as community-based workers delivering short- term, holistic interventions to individuals and supporting them to reduce debt and maximise income and to navigate and access services across the community as well as the health and care system to build greater financial resilience. The new service will retain these core principles while introducing several developments designed to strengthen outcomes, improve sustainability, and respond to emerging local and national priorities. A key change is the move to a county-wide delivery model operating through four geographical clusters. This approach will provide greater consistency of service across Hampshire, create larger and more sustainable contract opportunities for providers, and support improved outcomes through a more coordinated service structure. The service will continue to adopt a strengths-based approach, working alongside individuals to build on their existing skills, networks, and community assets to improve independence and resilience. A further enhancement of the service is its emphasis on supporting individuals to navigate and access coordinated support across a broad range of local services. This recognises that financial hardship is often linked to wider social, health, and wellbeing challenges. The service will support individuals experiencing financial difficulties to access specialist financial advice where required, alongside services that promote employment, volunteering, and pathways towards work. It will also provide support for individuals living with dementia, those awaiting assessment, and their carers, helping them to access preventative support and improve long-term financial resilience. As with the previous service, support will also be available for individuals already known to Adults’ Health and Care whose circumstances are particularly complex and who would benefit from additional non-statutory support alongside statutory provision. Building on the previous model, the new service will broaden the scope of interventions available to include activities that support population health objectives. This may include facilitating access to smoking cessation services, substance misuse support, domestic abuse services, and other specialist interventions that can improve health, wellbeing, and financial resilience.