Health project 'transformational' for people
BBCA neighbourhood support initiative is reducing pressure on services and saving money, health mangers say.
The Community Gateway and Hub Network in Cornwall has been praised for reducing demand on GP practices, emergency departments and ambulance services.
An independent study by the healthcare volunteering charity Helpforce said the approach - which connected people to support earlier and closer to home - had saved the NHS in Cornwall £11.6m in one year.
Amerjit Chohan, chief executive of Helpforce, said: "Cornwall is really setting itself apart from the rest of the UK."
Chohan said: "The impact this is having on people who are going through difficult periods is transformational."
The Pengarth Day Centre, in Penzance, is one of the health hubs where staff are encouraged to keep an eye on residents and intervene before they need front-line services.
Chohan said: "This centre helps deal with social isolation, getting people connected again and that has a big effect on health outcomes.
"Here we have worked out that around £11.6m has been saved and if you multiply that around the country it translate into hundreds of millions."
Helpforce said data gathered between April 2024 and March 2025 showed the hubs in Cornwall recorded 339,951 attendances.
It said research indicated without the hubs, 24% of users would have gone to their GP, 8% to hospital, and 6% would have called 999 – which generated the estimated saving figure.
Users reported feeling happier, less lonely and more confident in managing their health and wellbeing, bosses said.
Care Worker Angela Brick started coming to Pengarth as a volunteer and then became a paid staff member.
She dresses up in fancy dress most days to give people a lift.
"Without a place like this many of these people would be stuck at home and we know that's bad for wellbeing and health," Brick said.
"We keep an eye out for any slight changes in our clients, if they're not quite themselves then we can ask if they're OK.
"When you get to know people you find out more about them as well, and know what makes them sad and what makes them happy."
'Heartened by stories'
Aisling Crombie, director of nursing at NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board, said: "We are seeing first-hand how the Community Gateway and Hub Network supports our residents across the county, helping them to stay well and maintain their confidence and independence in managing their own health.
"I am heartened by individual stories of the significant impact these services have on people.
"By working alongside our voluntary sector partners, we're able to support people earlier, in a more personalised way, closer to home, which is helping to reduce demand on front-line NHS services."
Cornwall Community Gateway and Hub Network partners include Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum, Volunteer Cornwall, Age UK Cornwall, and Cornwall Council.
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