Dr Sarah Blower, YH ARC Best Start lead and Assistant Professor of Child Development and Family Wellbeing, and Dr Kate Morton, YH ARC Research Fellow, have recently engaged in a rewarding Knowledge Exchange project with Dr Joseph Witney (GP) and Helen Christmas (Public Health Consultant) in Hull.
Sarah and Kate supported a service evaluation and development of a policy brief about a groundbreaking new service to improve access to GP appointments and holistic care for families with young children. The drop-in service, delivered by Dr Witney, is hosted twice weekly at a Family Hub in Hull. The hub is situated in an area of higher socioeconomic deprivation, to target the best care where it’s most needed. Parents can discuss concerns affecting themselves and their family, without a time restriction, and can return to see the same GP over time. More than 50 families have used the service, with profound impacts for parents and young children.
The policy brief has been shared with MPs, All Party Parliamentary Groups, policy managers, health committees and Integrated Care Boards, amongst others, with the aim of sharing best practice and encouraging adoption elsewhere. This has already generated wide-ranging impacts, including invitations to input into inquiries about access to Primary Care. This is a fantastic example of a successful Knowledge Exchange project between passionate partners in research and practice. If you would be interested to know more, please contact kate.morton@york.ac.uk