Working together to support health and wellbeing in Pollards Hill

We are pleased to share that a new role has been created which will support Better Working Futures participants in Pollards Hill with their health and wellbeing.

Poor health and wellbeing are major barriers to many individuals who are looking for employment. Moat Foundation, the social investment arm of housing association Moat, has funded a new community-based Health & Wellbeing Link Officer role, in partnership with the NHS, East Merton Primary Care Network, and Pollards Hill Community Committee (PHCC).

Dee Morris, who has recently been appointed to the role, will work across five different locations and services in Pollards Hill. She’ll be pioneering a new collaborative way of working to support the health and wellbeing of local residents.

Dee has a passion for helping people along with a wealth of experience working in prisons, charities, communities, and foster care. In the first year Dee is hoping to achieve improvements in customer health, particularly around isolation and loneliness, healthy living and eating during the cost-of-living crisis, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.

When asked what her role will entail, Dee said:

“I will be a customer champion, bringing the voices and needs of Pollards Hill residents to all key health and wellbeing service providers. I’ll then collaborate with these stakeholders to meet those needs and address barriers to accessing these health services.”

In her new role, Dee will have an integrated relationship with all key stakeholders and partners to either bring a health and wellbeing focus to their activities or launch new services in their setting. This approach should lead to more community support opportunities which we can signpost Better Working Futures participants towards for accessible local help with their health and wellbeing.

Dee added: “I’m excited to introduce new creative services and training that reflect the voices, views, and health needs of residents to improve their quality of life and future hopes.”

Mumtaz Samad, Head of Moat Foundation, said, “We are so pleased to be a key partner in the Pollards Hill Community Health Link Worker initiative. It’s the first collaborative multi-agency project of its kind in Pollards Hill, and I am proud that this project evolved from the findings of our Customer Priorities Survey which we took to the Pollards Hill Community Partnership Forum. This forum was set-up by Moat Foundation and PHCC to encourage better coordination and collaboration of community agencies and services, which this project is a great example of.”

Communities Lead for East Merton Primary Care Network, Dr Sekeram Mohan, added: “As a GP and Communities Lead for the East Merton Primary Care Network, the Health and Wellbeing Link role is really exciting and will further embed and develop our local partnership in supporting the residents in Pollards Hill. Identifying local assets and communicating is the recipe for successful implementation and supporting our community. We look forward to seeing this role develop.”