A double win for our unique and ambitious approach to tackling health inequality

This week marks an important moment for our organisation and partners, with two major awards recognising the impact of our personalised, community-led and integrated approaches to health and wellbeing.

1. Working Together Differently Award: Recognising the Octopus model of care

We were honoured to receive the Working Together Differently award at this year’s Personalised Care Awards.

The awards recognise individuals, teams and organisations who are transforming personalised care and bring together leaders, frontline professionals, system partners and people with lived experience to celebrate innovation and progress.

The Working Together Differently award reflects the collective effort behind Octopus: a programme shaped by community insight, strengthened by partnership, and powered by local relationships and innovation.

The Octopus is a model for community-led care and support that tackles imbalances and inequality in the system.

Work within this model includes:

• Quarterly summits – uplifting and collaborative events with representatives from health, local authority and the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCSE)
• Just Listening – a philosophical and practical approach for supporting people in distress and for building relationships in community. We’ve already trained over 200 staff across Westminster in using this approach
• The Wellbeing Index – an academically-validated approach looking at isolation, loneliness, sense of purpose, sense of control and health literacy
• OctoLink – a tailor-made Residents Management Tool helping frontline workers to support thousands of residents across the country to access the care they need.

Learn more about the Octopus here.

2. Health Equity Award: Celebrating the Westminster Community Health and Wellbeing Workers

We are equally proud that Westminster’s Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWWs) have been named one of six winners of the Health Equity Awards at the 2025 North West London Health Equity Summit.

Recruited locally and deeply rooted in the communities they serve, each CHWW supports 100 to 150 households, visiting residents monthly and building the trusting relationships needed to identify concerns early and prevent crises. Their proactive approach ensures that even the most marginalised households are connected to the services, care and support they need.

Here’s what the judging panel said about the CHWWs:

“The Westminster Community Health and Wellbeing Workers are outstanding winners because their neighbourhood-embedded approach has transformed outcomes for residents living in some of the most socially deprived and underserved areas, including Church Street, Lisson Grove, Churchill Gardens and the Peabody Estates…This is deliberate, impactful action to narrow the health inequalities gap—and it is transforming lives.”

The results are measurable and profound:

• Households supported by CHWWs were 47% more likely to receive eligible immunisations
• They were 82% more likely to complete cancer screenings and NHS health checks
• A 7.3% reduction in unscheduled GP consultations
• A 10% decrease in hospital admissions versus the previous year
• Sustained engagement, with 60% of households remaining connected over time

CHWWs regularly uncover critical issues often missed by traditional services, including suicidal ideation, domestic violence, child carers and unsafe housing. Their work improves medication adherence, increases screening uptake, enhances satisfaction with GP and council services, and strengthens trust across the system.

You can see what areas the CHWWs currently cover using our interactive map tool here.

Moving forward

These awards reflect the strength of our teams, partners and community leaders, and they reinforce our commitment to personalised, equitable and community-rooted care.

We look forward to deepening this work, learning from our residents and partners, and continuing to build systems that are person-centred, integrated and driven by what matters to the people we serve.