Healthy London Partnership has launched a new toolkit to help decrease the health inequalities faced by Londoners in the most deprived and underserved communities.

The practical online resource will support GPs, practice managers and others working in primary care establish a thriving workforce that includes social prescribing link workers, care coordinators and health and wellbeing coaches in their local areas.

Grouped together as Personalised Care roles, the toolkit outlines how they can focus on the wider social, economic and environmental factors that affect people’s health and wellbeing; addressing the avoidable, unfair and systemic differences in health outcomes people in marginalised and minority communities experience compared to other groups.

Dr Hina Shahid, a London-based GP and Chair of the Muslim Doctor’s Association, led the work during her time as the Primary Care Network adviser in the HLP Social Prescribing and Personalised Care team; and coproduced the toolkit with social prescribing services and NHS leaders across London.

“It has been a privilege working with HLP and partners across the system to co-produce a toolkit that brings insights and innovation from the frontline on how the personalised care roles can practically and effectively reduce health inequalities. With the ongoing cost of living crisis, we hope this toolkit will be valuable to colleagues who want to holistically support their patients and communities, especially those at the margins of society.” Dr Hina Shahid.

The comprehensive toolkit includes the latest policies, guidance, best practice, checklists and case studies that will support Primary Care Networks and managers to embed these non-clinical roles as a way of tackling health inequalities, and ensuring those most in need of support get it in the right place, at the right time and by the right person.

Some key highlights include:

• Guidance on identifying population health needs and groups of people who could benefit from social prescribing
• Top tips for developing a proactive social prescribing strategy
• The impact that the personalised care roles make to patients and communities
• The support, training and relationships the roles need and tips for good supervision

Browse the toolkit in our Personalised Care section.