VCMA project - A Health Collaboration with National Energy Action

Description

The Warm Homes, Healthy Futures (WHHF) is a programme of work that will connect health professionals and local public health bodies with domestic energy advice and other specialist services to improve health by supporting people to live in warm and safe homes. It is timely, much-needed, evidence-based, multi-year, and GB-wide. The reasons for this being a single source are listed below: - Tackling health inequalities and fuel poverty simultaneously at this scale (achieved through this project), requires the coordination of a national organisation who is connected both regionally and locally to GDNs and other trusted intermediaries within their network areas, including NHS and Local Authorities. National Energy Action (NEA) is the national fuel poverty charity and they are well established, respected and trusted, whilst also being the only supplier who can deliver this project. There is no other national supplier who has the partnerships and relationships within the energy industry that NEA currently has, to be able to achieve the outcomes set out in the project and effectively respond to this critical need - NEA is the only supplier able to mobilise quickly, due to the partnerships and relationships they already have established. They have a long track record of delivering successfully, to establish a national programme of work that can facilitate, replicate, and coordinate models and mechanisms for delivering effective healthy housing advice, support, and interventions - As the leading fuel poverty charity in the UK, with a unique reputation, purpose, leadership, network, and skillset - NEA is expertly placed to deliver this programme - They also have direct links into Government and Ofgem and NEA's extensive work with these players and the health sector, industry, frontline services, and directly with the communities it represents, routinely identifies and responds to sectoral priorities and policies influencing the health agenda - NEA represents the 6.5 million UK households unable to heat and power their homes sufficiently for good health, well-being, and comfort. NEA has decades of experience of working across all four of the Gas Distribution Network areas, delivering projects and services across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and closely with its sister charity Energy Action Scotland in Scotland. NEA represent more than 500 cross-sector members across Great Britain and is the central point for stakeholders on fuel poverty-related issues. No other supplier can achieve this level of reach and impact, from a health perspective, in the tight timeframe available. Lot 1: A contract has been put in place for Warm Homes, Healthy Futures (WHHF) project, it is an evidence-based, multi-year, GB-wide project which has been agreed between GDN's - NGN, Cadent, SGN and WWU and the supplier NEA. It will connect health professionals and local public health bodies to energy advice and other specialist services, to support people to live in warm and safe homes and improve health. The project will align actors and activities to tackle health inequalities and fuel poverty simultaneously. To gain maximum traction with local health partners and greatest social and health return on investment, we would use the NHS England Core20Plus5 approach to guide the project and unlock health sector partnerships. This is an existing framework for action across much of the NHS that closely mirrors VCMA priorities around low-income areas, priority demographics and cold homes related health conditions. Although this framework has been developed for use in England, NEA believe that the same model can also be applied to target those worst affected by cold homes in Wales and Scotland. The Project will improve health by addressing issues caused by living in cold damp homes by undertaking the following activities. The target is to engage with 30,400 unique beneficiaries throughout the life of the project. With an 80/120 split across delivery years, this will mean the project will reach 12,160 unique beneficiaries in Year 1 and 18,240 in Year 2 through a omni channel advice service. Energy advice and support teams, working directly with health professionals and local public health bodies in deprived and overlooked communities across England, Wales, and Scotland, will support people with cold home related health conditions, reduce consequent morbidity and mortality by establishing strong local energy and health partnerships, with trusted intermediaries. Via the delivery of a connected series of support/ interventions: • Training to provide better understanding of challenges and referral routes. • Advice, direct with clients to bring about improvement. • Interventions, service appliances, via national partners, to address safety and economic factors. • Education referral to PSR and provision of CO advice. It is expected that benefits will be achieved to health both physical and mental, and consequential savings will be achieved as a result of avoidance/reductions in primary and secondary care by the NHS. Additionally, the following outcomes will be achieved over the course of the programme which will be tracked quarterly. The aim is to reach 24,000 people, with consequential improvements as follows: Improvements to health and wellbeing and improved awareness-achieved by: • Advice and support on energy efficiency and fuel debt. • Benefit Entitlement Check (BEC) for clients. • Claim support for clients where an additional claim is identified in a BEC but they are unable to make a claim themselves. • Physical works to enable practical measures to proceed i.e., loft clearances/ hoarding support. • Servicing of appliances, to ensure safe operation. • Community activities to deliver energy efficiency and CO advice to clients. • Protection from CO by provision of CO alarms to vulnerable clients.