Outreach champions raise awareness in communities
Outreach champions raise awareness of NHS Direct in local communities
Over the last year, NHS Direct has seconded nine front line members of staff to spend one day a week doing outreach work in local communities. Their role is to raise awareness of NHS Direct’s telephone and online services, and help patients and the public to understand when and how they might use them.
NHS Direct’s outreach champions also develop and maintain relationships with local organisations, such as Local Involvement Networks (LINKs), voluntary and community groups, local businesses and schools.
Jan Stitson, Health Advisor and Outreach Champion for the London area, has recently run a number of workshops with new students at Greenwich University to demonstrate NHS Direct’s range of online health and symptom checkers. Jan explains: “Greenwich University attracts a large number of foreign students and in many cases, English is not their first language. They often find it easier to understand written rather than spoken information, which makes the online health and symptom checkers ideal for them”.
Elaine Jackson, Clinical Team Leader and Outreach Champion for the North East, has been involved in making a DVD for the gypsy roma and traveller community in County Durham, aimed at giving them more information about health services and how to access them. The DVD is part of a project funded by Mental Health Matters, a mental health charity in County Durham. It will be given to members of the gypsy roma and traveller community who pass through or stay at one of the six designated campsites in the area.
If you have an event which you would like to invite an outreach champion to speak at, please contact your local NHS Direct Regional Director.
Outreach Champs
How NHS Direct staff are working hard to raise awareness of our service amongst the wider population of England
Symptom checkers
National Head of Clinical Content, Information and Development Enid Povey discusses the benefits of our health and symptom checkers, and a user gives feedback
