Tinsley: a neighbourhood view of health and care

This report from Healthwatch Sheffield shines a spotlight on health and wellbeing in one of Sheffield's neighbourhoods: Tinsley. How does where you live affect your health and wellbeing, and the way you access care and support?

They carried out in depth interviews and conversations with around 60 local residents, asking about health and social care services, as well as the wider factors that influence their health and wellbeing. 

Key findings

1. There is a huge information and advice need in the area – exacerbated by language and digital barriers
2. There’s low awareness and uptake of some services - Adult Social Care and Mental Health support in particular
3. Travel barriers to the city centre and other neighbourhoods further worsen people’s access to secondary care and wider support
4. The low identification of carers puts additional strain on families
5. A shortage of groups and activities in the area means many people’s social wellbeing needs are not being met

Wider learning

Neighbourhood models of care are now being posited by the NHS and central government as a future goal for services. This model, outlined in the NHS 10 year plan, relies on statutory services and wider support organisations working together around individuals in the community. In Tinsley, we can see how strain falls on one part of this system when the other pieces aren’t there to back it up.

This report therefore has wider relevance - Healthwatch Sheffield want to improve health and wellbeing for people living in Tinsley, and also hope that these findings can influence wider work being done to improve population health at a neighbourhood level.