Swindon Health Ambassadors – Annual Report
Health & Elder Ambassadors support
people on a one-to-one basis to make
healthy lifestyle changes to eat more
healthily, manage weight, be more
physically active, stop smoking, drink
sensibly and reduce stress and
anxiety. They support those aged 16+
who live in the most deprived
communities throughout Swindon or
are vulnerable to other health
inequalities. Their work is based on a
2004 Department of Health White
Paper ’Choosing Health’ and uses
evidence-based behaviour change
principles, as well as the
Ambassadors’ own knowledge of the
communities in which they live and/or
work. Launched in 2009, this Swindon
Borough Council project has been
funded by NHS Swindon. From April
2013 Health Ambassadors will be
funded by Public Health which is now
part of the council.
Health Ambassadors
Alex Scott - Swindon and as Elder Ambassador
M: 07824820596
“I really feel I moved
forward to being more
healthy - Thank you ”
“I found the sessions a useful
platform to make lifestyle
changes to improve my health”
Client Feedback Form Sept 2012
Client Feedback Form Aug 2012
Statistics – Snap-Shot:
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(Apr ‘12 –Mar ‘13)
We have added 212 new clients this year, 41% living in the 2 most deprived quintiles
82% of new clients were classed as Overweight or worse
52% are aged 46 or older ( with 39% being over 50 and 9% over 65 )
33% are from black and minority ethnic communities
Clients’ General Health scores increased by an average of 26% ( This is calculated by clients saying how they
feel as a score out of 10 – before and after our service )
• The average improvement in a client’s health and emotional wellbeing (WHO 5) was 31%
• 38 Ex-Offenders enrolled for support in Swindon as part of our partnership with Wiltshire Probation
( additional to the 212 new clients )
Matt Glover- West Swindon and Central
M: 07769281785
Mel Bond – Penhill, Pinehurst & Central
M: 07769281802
Munira Jeewanjee - Swindon and as Elder Ambassador
M: 07824822654
Pepi James – Highworth & Upper Stratton
M: 07824823355 (currently on Maternity Leave )
Raana Bodman - Central Swindon
M: 07769281667
Sam Harper - West Swindon
M: 07818510515
Tracy Parker - Penhill
M: 07824822721
Craig Tuck - Works in Probation with ex offenders
T: 01793 536612 ext 1658
Weekly Drop ins at
St Peter’s Church, Penhill on
Wednesdays and Fridays 9.30 – 11.30am
West Swindon Library, Link Centre on
Thursdays 10am – 12pm
Other locations across town by appointment
Your health, your choice
Mr Shahid Khan, 64, from Park North is one of
the many clients who have been really pleased
with this service:
‘ I can’t praise Alex – my Health Ambassador enough for the encouragement, sensible advice
and information I received ’.
Mr Khan was able to lose weight and start
feeling much healthier by looking at what he
was eating and at how little he was ‘moving’
and make changes over a few weeks. He used a
pedometer, which he was given, and gradually
increased his walking until he was walking
many more steps per day than usual.
‘ I was heading for a very unhealthy future but
now feel inspired to take care of myself for the
rest of my life ’.
An exciting new part of our project is involvement
in national campaigns – especially those aimed at
older people. Recently we fronted the Ovarian
Cancer Awareness campaign, in Swindon, aimed
at women over 50. The Ambassadors and
Champions were trained to give talks, engage with
the public and organise events to inform in a way
that gave people the important information in a
friendly and safe way. Pictured opposite: Health
Champion Sulakshana with Kalpana at an event
aimed at women of all cultures.
“My food shopping is totally different now
…… I highly recommend this action plan”
Jane – aged 56
“ I feel confident to continue with what i'm
doing because I have all the information
now “
Health Champion:
Nick.
Client Feedback Form Aug 2012
Priorities for the next quarter:
• Launching our Let’s Get Cooking programme in Central Swindon and The Parks – aiming to do
Healthy Cooking demonstrations for isolated over 55’s – including cooking and eating together,
promoting friendships and helping social isolation
• Continual improvement with follow up of clients – Most effective is proving to be with case studies
including photographic or filmed evidence
• Targeting people and areas less likely to use the health service – e.g. asylum seekers, ex-offenders and
people in supported housing – as these are people that will need the service – e.g. continue drop in at
Booth House and the Harbour Project – Use Health Champions in these spaces to build relationships
• We will look for campaigns to support and bring to the communities of Swindon. This will follow on from
the breast cancer awareness in over 70’s (part of our Elder Ambassador service) and the recent ovarian
cancer awareness campaign we fronted locally
• To continue working with locality leads
For information contact: Peter Kent, Health & Elder Ambassadors Co-ordinator
Mobile: 07824 868437
Email: pkent@swindon.gov.uk
“ It's good to be a part of anything
that is serving the community in
such a positive way, reaching out
to people who need it the most
and to the general public certainly
gives me a sense of pride.
Everyone I have had the pleasure
to meet in the council have
welcomed me with open arms and
they all show great compassion to
each other and the members of
our community that they serve . “
We are pleased to announce another very successful year
which saw The Swindon Health & Elder Ambassador
Service gaining even more recognition and positive
feedback as we developed our project further. As we enter
our 5th year in the communities of Swindon we now
expect to add around 250 new clients each year. Currently
working with slightly less Health Ambassador hours (due
to a team member’s job progression and to maternity
leave) , we still added 212 clients this year; many of these
are very vulnerable people.
We are now recognised by many agencies across the
town and referrals are often received from these, including
The Dept.of Work & Pensions and LIFT Psychology. We
also accompany a local nurse on her health checks
around the more deprived areas of Swindon and enrol
people who are advised to make changes to their current
lifestyle to improve their health; these checks are mainly
aimed at 40 – 74 year olds.
We are continually striving to find vulnerable people who
are not accessing services already and do this by
attending - for example, Booth House for the homeless
and The Harbour Project for asylum seekers and
refugees. We are also constantly reminded that health
inequality is not just about the area where a person lives
but also vulnerability due to mental or physical disability.
Through events this year, we have engaged with 1,026
people and signposted 618 of these to other services.
Information giving has become an important part of our
service and one which links us with colleagues within the
Localities Team. Within One Swindon we are contributing
towards ideas that will shape future engagement –
especially focused on health inequalities.
The primary issue that a client presents to us is still
mainly around diet and exercise (around 90%) but it is
encouraging that 10% of new clients have initially brought
other issues – for example, smoking cessation and
emotional health issues. We have also used training
around alcohol issues to support people who are worried
about their levels of alcohol consumption. We know that
other issues often present themselves during our
intervention – especially around emotional health and in
particular loneliness.
We are excited to be launching our Let’s Get Cooking
programme in Central Swindon and The Parks. We will
organise cooking demonstrations to isolated people aged
over 55, help them cook together , encourage friendships
and also encourage them to eat healthier together longterm. I feel this indicates a new maturity with our project –
where we can combine health issues with community
activities.
The Best Be Clear campaigns have been a great way for us
to give important information to people about certain cancers
and we have involved our new Health Champions
( volunteers ) in a very positive way. Initially, we used female
volunteers to talk to older ladies ( aged over 70 ) around
breast cancer awareness.
A couple of these volunteers were so good at organising
themselves and engaging with members of the community
that I invited them to become Health Champions. We were
then given the opportunity to front an ovarian cancer
awareness campaign aimed at over 50’s. This time the
whole team ( including the male Ambassadors and
Champions ) were trained around ovarian cancer issues.
With this knowledge we were able to engage with people
through talks, presentations and 1-2-1 work. It was very
motivational to think that anyone who became aware of this
cancer and was worried might go to the doctor earlier and
this potentially could save lives.
As we look for future campaigns to support we are mindful
that our 1-2-1 activities are still the main focus of our work.
The relationship which builds up with a Health Ambassador
over several weeks is invaluable in gently guiding someone
towards a healthier lifestyle . Our aim is always that a client
has all the information they need to maintain any
improvements in both their physical and mental health.
Letter received recently from one of our clients
Hi Mel,
Thank you for all the care and kindness you have shown to
me over these last few weeks. I have only come this far due
to your patience and understanding. It is so nice so many
people are seeing the weight loss and asking me how I have
lost it. I have mentioned your name and told them that it is
not a diet but help and guidance on the food that is more
healthy and good for you and the benefits of certain foods
and it is up to you whether you take this information on board
or not and plus the fact that your Health Ambassador is there
with you all the way and helping you to plan meals and to
help advise on exercise too.
Thank You
Client – Penhill
For information contact: Peter Kent, Health & Elder Ambassadors Co-ordinator
Mobile: 07824 868437
Email: pkent@swindon.gov.uk