2023 Awards - Social Impact

As part of our social value initiative, we are committed to tackling inequality in the community; improving quality of life and championing community engagement.

A recent service was set up in Alston by the Practice Manager at Alston Medical Practice – The Social Day Care Unit.

The Day Unit is an essential provision for the population of Alston and provides a means to reach vulnerable groups in the area such as housebound patients, the elderly, patients living alone or isolated, and people struggling with the cost of living, to come together to support their health and wellbeing. It provides a warm, safe space and is open for anyone to attend.

This provision is provided 3 days per week and patients are provided with a two course hot meal, and refreshments during their visits. There are also activities, games, quizzes, pass-the-parcel and crafts on for patients to enjoy - this helps towards improving their quality of life as it provides them with social interaction that they may not have if this provision was not available. Transport is available to and from their homes for those patients who would struggle to access the unit.

Patients can also book into clinical appointments which are available on the day with practice staff who are able to carry out health checks, dressings and phlebotomy. This approach gives the Practice means to identify any health or social needs of people attending, and act upon them sooner than usual.

The service is managed by the practice with support from volunteers in the community and is currently funded by donations from local charities and fundraising by practice staff. Tania, the Practice Manager at the surgery, has shown real dedication to keep this service running by tirelessly looking for funding and even volunteering at the day unit herself.

The success of the group has been shown by the increasing numbers of patients attending weekly and the feedback we have received from the patients, carers and family members. New friendships haven been made from people attending the service and old ones have been rekindled. It is something the patients really look forward to attending. Patients have commented that this service is “their life-line”, it “keeps them going” and its “good to get out the house”.

We feel that this service reflects our social values, and will use the success of this provision, to implement Day Units at our other GP practices.

As part of our social value initiative, we are committed to tackling inequality in the community; improving quality of life and championing community engagement.

A recent service was set up in Alston by the Practice Manager at Alston Medical Practice – The Social Day Care Unit.

The Day Unit is an essential provision for the population of Alston and provides a means to reach vulnerable groups in the area such as housebound patients, the elderly, patients living alone or isolated, and people struggling with the cost of living, to come together to support their health and wellbeing. It provides a warm, safe space and is open for anyone to attend.

This provision is provided 3 days per week and patients are provided with a two course hot meal, and refreshments during their visits. There are also activities, games, quizzes, pass-the-parcel and crafts on for patients to enjoy - this helps towards improving their quality of life as it provides them with social interaction that they may not have if this provision was not available. Transport is available to and from their homes for those patients who would struggle to access the unit.

Patients can also book into clinical appointments which are available on the day with practice staff who are able to carry out health checks, dressings and phlebotomy. This approach gives the Practice means to identify any health or social needs of people attending, and act upon them sooner than usual.

The service is managed by the practice with support from volunteers in the community and is currently funded by donations from local charities and fundraising by practice staff. Tania, the Practice Manager at the surgery, has shown real dedication to keep this service running by tirelessly looking for funding and even volunteering at the day unit herself.

The success of the group has been shown by the increasing numbers of patients attending weekly and the feedback we have received from the patients, carers and family members. New friendships haven been made from people attending the service and old ones have been rekindled. It is something the patients really look forward to attending. Patients have commented that this service is “their life-line”, it “keeps them going” and its “good to get out the house”.

We feel that this service reflects our social values, and will use the success of this provision, to implement Day Units at our other GP practices.

Last year we entered "the cost of living crisis". We entered a period of time where people, even more than before, hit a point in their life where they may be working 2 jobs, or countless overtime hours, caring for hundreds of patients, and still having to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. The energy prices impacted people in more than just money.

In a analyis that Yougov posted- Mental health concerns increased by 13%, impacting sickness absence. 13% of people who experienced mental health concerns also had to take out new debts. 32% had picked up increased hours at work.

Alongside the worries of themselves, employee have elderly relatives, neighbours, and vulnerable dependants to consider who also had money concerns, and increased health concerns in the cold and damp. With a 196% increase in suicidal thinking there was 2 crisis to consider!

FCMS knew we had to do something to keep our employees warm and support them through the madness of winter 2022. The wellbeing team created 900 "Winter Boxes" that provided each staff member (bank and substantial) With:

• Thick woollen Thermal socks
• Thick Extra Large Blankets
• Window insulation Kits
• Hot Water Bottles and covers
• Extra Large Candles
• 2L Thermal Flasks

This allowed FCMS employees to worry about one less thing, keep warm at home, energy use down and spending less. Employees were also invited to share with a vulnerable person they knew who needed help, or the homeless where they felt more fortunate.

In a time where Urgent Care Centres saw unprecedented presentations, worked at their absolute capacity, FCMS helped to keep employees in work by reducing stress to treat patients and keep up with demand. By caring so much about their teams and colleagues, FCMS were able to fund and deliver some amazing ripples effects. Sometimes the most thoughtful of gestures make the biggest impact.

Our Community Fund: A Commitment to Social Impact

Since its inception in 2015, our Community Fund has invested over £1 million in addressing health inequalities, both locally and globally. Uniting staff around the shared vision of aiding disadvantaged groups, the fund has flourished as a versatile platform to champion health-related charities through financial backing and hands-on volunteering.

Local Health Initiatives:

This year, we've made remarkable strides in supporting local health charities.

Highlights include:

• Collaborating with ‘Emmaus’ to refurbish a 3-bedroom house for a homeless family and partnering with ‘Help Bristol Homeless’ to fund a short to medium stay shipping-container apartment.
• Supporting ‘Bridges in the Community’ with a coaching programme for asylum seekers and ‘Greif Encounters’ with funds and staff volunteering for workshops for bereaved children.
• Contributions to: SARI to support counselling sessions for victims of racial abuse, Bristol Drugs Project's ‘Recovery Music Programme’, and Beloved’s initiatives for sex workers to create a safe environment to get away from dangerous situations.
• Ongoing efforts include food bank donations, seaside trips for refugee children, provision of 50 Christmas dinners for the homeless, dental-nurse funding in Bristol's Homeless Health Service, and annual sponsorship of a hospital consultant to work as a critical-care on-call responder for lifesaving roadside medical assistance.

International Charities:

22/23 has seen our continued support for several oversees project:

• One of our most ambitious projects has been in Uganda, financing the build of a brand-new health clinic in one of the poorest districts of Kampala. This year, over £35K has been contributed to the “Wellsprings Project” with our overall total reaching £270,000. We have also facilitated staff volunteering trips to support the clinic's operation by sharing our expertise, knowledge, and experience.
• Continued support for Casa De-Esperanza in Mexico, aiding young boys in escaping the influence of drug cartels.

Co-owner Fund Matching:

We've matched £6.7K raised by co-owners for charities in the past year.

Future Commitments:

BrisDoc’s target is to continue distributing 10% of its operating surplus to the Fund annually.

In summary:

Our mission is to provide "Patient Care by people who care”. Our Community Fund, led by our Employee Co-owners, very much encapsulates that spirit. It has become a key element of our organisational pledge to manifest a positive “Social Impact”, one of our five core values. The fund exemplifies our continuous striving for a healthier community and world, underscoring our pursuit of excellence and compassion in healthcare delivery.

We've overhauled our approach to Citizenship this year - setting out a plan that is maximizing the benefits and value of social responsibility, particularly in the way we support great causes and charitable endeavours.

Through the launch of a new social impact committee, we're involving our people in our environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals – to demonstrate that being a community interest company is more than ‘words on paper’ but really is about the actions we take in support of the geographies we look after.

Our annual people survey put speaking up right at the heart of its aims as a starting point. We encouraged colleagues to ‘have their say’ about what it feels like to be part of our company by donating £10 for every returned survey. With a 51% response rate, more than £11000 was shared between charities Refuge, Childline and MIND, each of which also urge others to ‘be brave’ and to use their voice to speak out and seek help.

We’ve setting aside around 1% of our turnover – around £100,000 – to allow our colleagues to bolster the sponsorships, charity events and community causes they are personally supporting. We’re offering ‘matched funding’ to help spur them on that little bit further! We’re also developing volunteering through work-related events, helping people to support communities with DIY projects, clean-ups and health awareness.

Our approach to social responsibility is designed to give everyone the opportunity to get involved by becoming an ambassador for our company. People are wearing our Citizen badges with pride and know they are making a difference.