Call for evidence - inclusion health

NHS England’s National Healthcare Inequalities and Improvement Programme is collaborating with teams across the NHS and wider partners to develop a framework for NHS action on inclusion health, which will distil best practice and clarify role expectations on this agenda.

The framework is intended to support leaders in national and regional teams as well as local systems to identify specific priority actions to tackle health inequalities faced by inclusion health groups. It will help to contextualise the agenda within current NHS priorities and provide greater clarity of roles and responsibilities across the NHS and with partners, to promote partnership working between agencies. The aim is to publish the framework in September 2023. 

The framework will focus on inclusion health groups. Inclusion health includes any population group that is socially excluded. This can include people who experience homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system and victims of modern slavery, but can also include other socially excluded groups.

Read the draft inclusion health principles which have been informed by a series of engagement activities and a literature review.

Platform now closed for submissions:

Thank you so much for your case studies and contributions. We have now closed the platform for new submissions. If you have case studies you would like to share please email scwcsu.healthimpandineq@nhs.net.



NHS England’s National Healthcare Inequalities and Improvement Programme is collaborating with teams across the NHS and wider partners to develop a framework for NHS action on inclusion health, which will distil best practice and clarify role expectations on this agenda.

The framework is intended to support leaders in national and regional teams as well as local systems to identify specific priority actions to tackle health inequalities faced by inclusion health groups. It will help to contextualise the agenda within current NHS priorities and provide greater clarity of roles and responsibilities across the NHS and with partners, to promote partnership working between agencies. The aim is to publish the framework in September 2023. 

The framework will focus on inclusion health groups. Inclusion health includes any population group that is socially excluded. This can include people who experience homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system and victims of modern slavery, but can also include other socially excluded groups.

Read the draft inclusion health principles which have been informed by a series of engagement activities and a literature review.

Platform now closed for submissions:

Thank you so much for your case studies and contributions. We have now closed the platform for new submissions. If you have case studies you would like to share please email scwcsu.healthimpandineq@nhs.net.



Case Studies

To submit your case study, you will be asked to create a public screen name and share your email address with the NHS. If we require any further information, we will contact you via email. Please be aware this is a public platform and your submission will be viewable by those who have access to this link. 

Please link your case study to one or more of the frameworks five inclusion health draft principles: 

1) Commit to action on inclusion health

2) Understand the characteristics and needs of inclusion health groups locally

3) Develop the workforce for inclusion health

4) Developing integrated and accessible services for inclusion health

5) Demonstrate impact and improvement for inclusion health

When submitting your case study please answer the following questions:

1)  Permission: Do you give permission from the individual/group to share this case study? Please ensure submissions are anonymised.

2) Permission: Do you have permission from your organisation to share this case study? Do you have permission from any partner organisations also named to share this case study?

3) Permission: Do you give permission for NHSE to share this case study and publish it as part of the framework? 

4) Logo: Would you like to share your logo for use? If yes, do you give permission for it to be published with your case study in the framework?

5) Organisation/s: What organisation/s were involved? 

6) The challenge: What was the issue you were trying to solve? Include which Inclusion Health Group the initiative focused on and its level i.e. community/locality/system

7) The approach/solution: What did you do? What help did you receive? How did you go about delivery?

8) Insights and impacts: What evidence proves it worked? What difference it makes to the Inclusion Health Groups? How did this improve experiences, access and inclusion? How did this improve their health and help address health inequalities?

9) What people said: Any quotes or feedback from service users, staff, management or decision makers

10) Tips for success: Approaches or links that make a difference or lessons learned.

11) What next: What are you doing next?



Thank you for sharing your story with us.
CLOSED: Thank you so much for your case studies and contributions. We have now closed the platform for new submissions. If you have case studies you would like to share please email scwcsu.healthimpandineq@nhs.net.

  • Hospital, health inclusion, hostels, homelessness, dental hygiene and hope

    by Ben Jameson, over 1 year ago

    The Health Inclusion Pathway, Plymouth (HIPP) is a multi-disciplinary team that works between the community and University Hospital Plymouth.

    The service was commissioned on the back of the PL1 report which looked at health inequalities and access to services for people experiencing homelessness and other issues in Plymouth. People experiencing multiple deprivation struggled to access care, and services were under strain. The team is a co-delivered venture, with Livewell Southwest, Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, University Hospitals Plymouth, Plymouth Alliance and the surgeries at St Levan Road and Adelaide St. We are supported by Pathway UK.

    The team is made up... Continue reading

  • Homeless Health Services North Devon

    by Louise Scantlebury, over 1 year ago

    Jack is a 55 yr old gentleman who has been known to the Freedom Centre in Barnstaple and the North Devon Rough Sleeper Outreach Team for over 15 years.

    In North Devon multiple agencies have joined together under one roof at the Freedom Centre in Barnstaple to work in partnership to meet the needs of those experiencing homelessness including those who are sleeping rough, sofa surfing, boat and van dwellers and those who are vulnerably housed. The team consists of statutory and voluntary sector organisations including; The Freedom Community Alliance, North Devon Council, Barnstaple Primary Care Network, Royal Devon University... Continue reading

  • Moving on from Methadone: Depot Buprenorphine Case Study in Wakefield

    by Tom Wright, over 1 year ago

    Traditionally Methadone has been first line opiate substitute prescribing, however Turning Point has increasingly introduced Buprenorphine as a treatment option for clients with opioid dependence, following a successful pilot in 2021.

    Turning Point initially piloted the use of Buvidal in 2021 in Wakefield and now have in excess of 70 clients prescribed Buvidal (and growing), with only one client from the whole cohort who continued to use opiates. Clients are presenting in much better health and report to be re-engaging with families, living better-adjusted lives, and giving back to the community. The success of the project has led Camerus to... Continue reading

  • Engaging vulnerable groups in substance use treatment: DAWS Plus programme

    by Tom Wright, over 1 year ago

    In Westminster Turning Point have a well-established assertive outreach programme which prioritises engaging with individuals which services often fail to reach, who need extra support to get to a position where they can access structured treatment- often due to them having low recovery capital and complex social problems such as rough sleepers, and people with substance use and mental health issues. We call this project ‘DAWS Plus’.

    Westminster City Council is running a system change project supported by a Changing Futures Grant to pilot excellence in the implementation of Integrated Care in one Local Authority ward in the City. Changing... Continue reading

  • Tackling increasing alcohol harm: Fibroscan pilot in Turning Point’s Leicester City Service

    by Tom Wright, over 1 year ago

    Alcoholic liver disease accounts for the majority of alcohol-specific deaths. A FibroScan is a simple and non-invasive procedure used to accurately assess the health of the liver and gives the opportunity to identify poor liver health at an early stage. Fibro scanning can also be used in outreach activities and can extend service reach people who have not previously engaged in treatment but who are at higher risk (for instance; rough sleepers, military personnel, those with poor mental health).

    The use of FibroScan technology by the Turning Point Leicester City service was initially funded by Leicester City Council with the... Continue reading

  • Reducing drug-related deaths in rough sleepers: Increasing naloxone provision in Oxfordshire

    by Tom Wright, over 1 year ago

    In Oxfordshire, Turning Point has used universal funding to enhance existing harm reduction work including expanding the availability of naloxone. In 2021/22, 2,467 naloxone kits were provided to service users, families and friends; including 73 service users who are subject to a court mandated Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR), and 212 rough sleepers.

    Oxfordshire has increased naloxone distribution to opiate users through a comprehensive harm reduction approach and trained local stakeholder professionals in Naloxone distribution.

    • 1,154 (98.21%) of Opiate Drug Users in treatment received naloxone within last 12 months with average 2.3 kits distributed per person
    • 43 Police Officers trained to... Continue reading
  • Partnership working: SUMH teams in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland

    by Tom Wright, over 1 year ago

    In 2021 an audit identified 55% of 3804 service users across Turning Point's Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland in treatment as having a mental health treatment need. Across the service, 320 clients (8.4%) were also identified as high-risk based on their existing risk assessment.

    This level of cross-over between mental health and substance use should therefore be properly reflected in service provision and integration. In response, the Substance Misuse and Mental Health project (SUMH) was set up by the local service provider in September 2021 for an initial 6-month pilot to seek to test out approaches to better integrate substance misuse... Continue reading

  • Engaging minority communities within substance use treatment: the Sikh Recovery Network (SRN)

    by Tom Wright, over 1 year ago

    Working alongside community/faith-based partners the Sikh Recovery Network (SRN), Spinney Hill Recovery (SHR), Turning Point, and community leaders, they have opened doors to culturally sensitive mainstream treatment such as co-delivered bilingual (Punjabi/English) peer-led alcohol recovery groups at the local Gurdwara in Leicester.

    Proactive engagement with the Sikh community via East Park Road Gurdwara has provided Turning Point with a deep understanding of community-specific substance use issues, notably poppy seed dependence and hazardous/dependent drinking among older men. Grassroots media/networks are key to raising awareness/engagement among minority communities. Turning Point and SRN have recorded a podcast series on substance use issues (Spotify/YouTube)... Continue reading

  • Outreach Inclusion Health Provision for those who are homeless or vulnerably housed in Somerset.

    by Andy Lloyd, over 1 year ago

    Outreach Inclusion Health Provision for those who are homeless or vulnerably housed in Somerset.

    In Somerset we recognise that people who are homeless or vulnerably housed experience some of the most severe health inequalities and report much poorer health than the general population. Many have co-occurring mental ill-health, drug and alcohol dependence and physical health needs, and are likely to have experienced significant trauma throughout their lives. We know that people who experience homelessness are also likely to sit within other inclusion health groups definitions including drug and alcohol dependence, being vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers... Continue reading

  • Integration of a GP into the rough sleeping outreach team in Newcastle.

    by John McGonigle, over 1 year ago


    Integration of a GP into the rough sleeping outreach team in Newcastle has led to improved health outcomes for many clients. The shockingly low expectancy and problems accessing primary care for people experiencing homelessness (PEH) are well documented and previously in Newcastle the rough sleeping outreach team had no specific primary care input. This led to the predictable problems of struggling to get timely access to primary care for PEH and thus a concern that the opportunity to treat both acute and long term health conditions were being missed. Following funding secured by Newcastle City Council through the Rough Sleeping... Continue reading

Page last updated: 15 Jun 2023, 02:36 PM