Fellowships & Early Career Support

Alexa is using her fellowship time to address women’s health inequalities in her practice and PCN area. The starting point for this is around cancer screening, and in particular improving uptake for cervical screening tests. As well as a general and then targeted campaign looking at reasons women are not attending, she will be looking to establish women’s health day drop-ins to offer CST, as well as addressing other areas of health concern including menopause management, STI screening and domestic violence support.

Within the wider remit of the surgery Alexa is also working with other members of the team including nurses and social prescribers to address some small but sustainable support mechanisms to help address common issues many of our patients are struggling with as a result of difficult socio-economic circumstances.

Finally, Alexa will be engaging with colleagues from around the county to collaborate on work happening around Cornwall to address health inequality challenges, including the Women’s hubs programme.

Ruth is using her fellowship time to develop and expand the Deep End Cornwall network, including supporting the GP workforce in the deep end practices through in person and virtual events, increasing training opportunity so that staff can be equipped to reduce health inequity in their patient population.

The project will bring together GPs with an interest in working with deprived populations to increase collaboration with Deep End partners/practices.

Ruth is aiming to coordinate and lead three deep end networking meetings per year in the county, as well as improve the comms strategy, including development of a website. The project will build on existing networks in undergraduate and post graduate training to improve inclusion of health inequalities training in the county.

Jennifer is using her fellowship time to support and develop the health and wellbeing worker programme, specifically in the St Austell area.

The project aims include increasing knowledge, skills and confidence of the Community Health and Wellbeing workers and increase in uptake of screening, vaccination, and health checks in the most deprived communities that they support. In addition, it is expected that closer working relationships between the Community Health and Wellbeing workers and the practice will be a key outcome, helping to guide future practice and policy development to tackle health inequality.

Jennifer aims to develop the education and training available to the team, in addition to ensuring the wider St Austell practice team have an understanding of the work happening as part of the health and wellbeing worker programme.

Cate is using her fellowship time to support the development of the PCN health and wellbeing hub that opened in July 2024 in Launceston, supporting patients from across the PCN area.

This will include linking the work to the wider deep end programme in the North and East of the county.  The project will look to develop education and CPD opportunities, with a focus on community and wellbeing by joining with the educational meeting network already established.

Cate is hoping to encourage local health inequity champions through peer supervision, networking and hosting events from the Health Inequality Hub and working closely with the ICA forum. In providing dedicated GP support to the hub, part of the project aim is to reduce impact and high frequency attendance at Launceston Medical centre and the PCN more widely.