An evaluation of the South Tyneside Community Outreach Health and Wellbeing Service

Context: Health and Society Knowledge Exchange (HASKE), at the University of Cumbria, and the department of Social Work Education and Community Well-being (SWECW), at Northumbria University, were commissioned by North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) and South Tyneside Council to conduct a service evaluation of the South Tyneside Community Outreach Health and Wellbeing Service. The South Tyneside Community Outreach Health and Wellbeing Service (herein, Community Outreach Service) was commissioned to provide a ‘one stop’ service, delivered in various community settings and workplaces across South Tyneside, which offered easy access to health checks, signposting to diagnosis and/or evidence-based early intervention and self-management support. The Community Outreach Service aimed to target population groups who might experience poor health access, or those at risk of poor health. In particular, the Community Outreach Service was commissioned to engage harder to reach populations and those from deprived communities in line with the NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 framework. Methodology: The service evaluation was conducted between January 2024 and February 2025, and the methodology involved: scoping conversations; analysis of reporting data collected by the Community Outreach Service; qualitative semi-structured interviews with the Community Outreach Service and service commissioners; analysis of feedback from host organisations/services involved with the project; and analysis of service user comments collected through the Friends and Family Survey.