Cadent, the UK’s largest Gas Distribution Network with over 11 million customers, has today announced a major new landmark partnership with an NHS Charity. For the first time, Cadent, with its Foundation, will work directly with Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Charity and through this strategic partnership, will create a brand new ‘Well & Warm’ service.
A £2.4m grant will fund the new service, designed specifically to support 100k of the most vulnerable people living in the city over the next two years, delivering crucial support for those in fuel and general poverty who would otherwise struggle to leave hospital or remain healthy and warm at home.
The newly created ‘Direct Access to Wellbeing Services Team’ (DAWS), will deliver fully funded financial, energy and carbon monoxide advice, as well as help promote early health messages to keep people well at home. Bespoke in-home energy efficiency interventions and income maximisation will also be provided in partnership with Act on Energy. The past few years have resulted in the West Midlands’ fuel poverty rates reaching the highest levels in the UK (19.5%) and with hospital waiting times continuing to soar, coupled with the additional financial pressures on the city council, the initiative aims to support those most in need, vulnerable patients leaving hospital and rehabilitating at home. Freeing up bed space is also challenging, with some patients medically able to leave hospital but without care facilities in place to do so. This new project will also deliver direct benefits to the NHS, helping to free up all-important bed spaces. It will also significantly boost community healthcare services, providing patients, once they have returned home, with additional support to prevent repeat hospital visits.
Suzanne Cleary, Chief Officer for Strategy and Partnerships at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our vision at BCHC is Best Care: Healthy Communities. The BCHC Charity exists to go above and beyond what the NHS can provide with the resources that we have. By working in partnership with Cadent, we can help to address health inequalities and the underlying causes of poor health, in which poverty and housing are significant factors. This project will help our most vulnerable patients and users to get the best out of the NHS services that we provide and ultimately, help people live well for longer within their communities.”
Mark Belmega, Director of Social Purpose & Sustainability, at Cadent, added: “Poverty rates and health are intrinsically linked and for those sadly living in fuel poverty, it really does have a significant knock-on effect to so many different areas of their lives. We are all incredibly excited about this flagship partnership with Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Charity. Not only is this the first time we’ve worked directly with the NHS but also being able to collaborate with our Cadent Foundation, means we’re able to significantly extend the reach of the programme.
“The past few years have been challenging for public services in Birmingham and through this initiative, we will target vital energy, income, benefits and safety advice to those that need help the most and hopefully, have a direct and long-term impact on both the NHS and fuel poverty rates in the city.”
Mandeep, DAWS beneficiary and mother of six from Birmingham, said: “Before being introduced to the DAWS Team, my family had no heating or hot water for several months as I could not afford to have my boiler repaired. It has been incredibly difficult for us to not be able to bathe or keep warm, even to wash, we would have to fill up buckets of water. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what my family has been through. If it wasn’t for the support I received from this team, I wouldn’t be here today.”
The DAWS service is funded by a £1.7 million grant from Cadent, alongside a further £700,000 from the Cadent Foundation which will supply the energy advice partner, Act on Energy. The new team will operate within the NHS as part of Birmingham Community Healthcare Charity, working in the community and at hospitals across Birmingham, to offer a single point of contact for ‘well and warm’ advice and support, including a variety of fully funded financial, energy efficiency and carbon monoxide safety support.
Birmingham Community Healthcare is the charity for Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and has funded over £1 million in enhancements and projects from small items like books, toys, and games, all the way up to large projects such as our green gym at Moseley Hall Hospital and rehabilitation playground at West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre.
The Trust that BCHC Charity supports is Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – known as BCHC – and its 5,000 staff are dedicated to delivering the best care they can to those using its services, and to helping build healthy communities.
The team deliver more than 100 different NHS services for people of all ages – from birth through childhood and adult life to older years. BCHC provides core community health services for the 1.1 million people of Birmingham and also a range of specialist rehabilitation and dental services for the 6.5 million people across the wider West Midlands region.
BCHC Charity is a member of NHS Charities Together who work with a network of over 230 NHS Charities across the UK, to help the NHS go further for staff and patients. By leading national fundraising campaigns and supporting NHS Charities in their work, it helps the NHS to go above and beyond what would normally be possible and ensure that everyone can have better healthcare.
Cadent is the UK’s largest gas distribution network with a 200-year legacy. We are in a unique position to build on strong foundations whilst encouraging the curiosity to think differently and the courage to embrace change. Day to day we continue to operate, maintain and innovate the UK’s largest gas network, transporting gas safely and protecting people in an emergency. Our skilled engineers and specialists remain committed to the communities we serve, working day and night to ensure gas reaches 11 million homes from Cumbria to North London and the Welsh Borders to East Anglia, to keep your energy flowing.
Here at Cadent we support the Government’s plans to reach Net Zero by 2050. That means we’re backing the introduction of hydrogen as a low carbon alternative to natural gas for the future. We know people love the controllability of gas and, with our network already in place, it makes sense to switch to the lower carbon alternative offered by hydrogen, which we believe can keep homes and businesses warm for generations to come.
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