Our patient impact

Health and Justice

Our healthcare team in HMP Styal worked to increase the uptake of cervical screening. Some of the women were wary of screening for a number of reasons, including unfamiliarity with the process, fear of pain and previous trauma.

The project uses a mixture of outreach, education, 1 to 1 work and peer support, to encourage more women to take up the testing invite. Screening invites were incorporated into the reception process for new arrivals aged 25+ and women were offered a tour of the facilities.

On-site cytology was introduced for the cervical screening sample, which enabled the women to have longer appointments and an opportunity to ask questions.

As a result, uptake of cervical screening amongst eligible patients at HMP Styal increased to 63% in the first year. 86 women tested positive for HPV, requiring an annual follow-up test. 43 women were referred for a colposcopy following and abnormal smear result.

Primary Care 

Tieve Tara Medical Centre strives to make a difference to patients by taking a holistic approach, working together with other services and partners to better support our patients. We work with social prescribers and link up with the charity Spectrum People, which is also based at the medical centre.

One of our aims is to avoid long wait referrals for patients. We actively promote and follow up cancer screening, particularly for cervical screening. Previously, patients reported delays in accessing treatments such as joint injections via the musculoskeletal services – so we worked collaboratively with a neighbouring practice to help offer services to our patients more quickly.

We have also been trying to understand the barriers our patients experience to attending breast screening appointments. This information is reviewed to influence where screening sessions are held, as well as the availability of appointments.

Sexual Health

In 2022, Spectrum completed a long term project to digitise our Sexual Health Services. We introduced a number of changes, including:

Remote consultations
Online appointment booking
Remote STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing

These changes improved the efficiency of our clinical services and enhanced the patient experience across our sexual health clinics. Patients now benefit from:

Faster and more flexible access to the services through a wide range of digital tools.
Reduced waiting times.
Data analysis, which found that online testing was also being accessed by around 3,000 patients who were worried but well (asymptomatic) – a significant change and expansion of reach.

Primary Care 

North Yorkshire Horizons, our substance misuse partnership service, is supporting HomeMore – a project aiming to tackle homelessness in the county.

HomeMore is an innovative project which aims to break the cycle of homelessness, providing temporary accommodation for vulnerable local people and helping them to engage with support services. As part of the Scarborough based project, trained support staff provide a wide range of practical and pastoral care for residents, from helping them register with a GP to accessing health and recovery services, making applications for permanent housing, setting up bank accounts and brushing up their CV and interview skills.

Once an individual is registered with us, HomeMore hosts drug and alcohol clinics on site, with staff coming to see their patients in our meeting rooms. Wellness chats and psychological support is also offered to patients, to help them with their substance misuse issues.