Apnee Sehat, a trailblazing scheme set up to tackle health inequalities in the South Asian population in South Warwickshire, today discovered that it will benefit from £38,500. The scheme, supported by the University of Warwick and South Warwickshire PCT, is one of only 26 social enterprise projects from across England to receive a share of £1.4 million of Department of Health (DH) funding, announced by Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis. 

The funding will help Apnee Sehat lead the way in delivering a broad-ranging campaign of imaginative patient education initiatives and events designed around the specific needs and cultural preferences of Asian families.  And the lessons from the initiative will be shared across the health and social care sector so that others can benefit from their experience.   

An example of a well known social enterprise scheme is The Big Issue, providing opportunities for people facing homelessness to help themselves.  Likewise, the DH social enterprise trailblazers will provide an innovative range of health and social services, from tele-health services for rural to a hub for integrated children's services. Welcoming the pathfinders’ start up funding, Ivan Lewis said: "I am delighted that Apnee Sehat is being supported with this funding. 

This national programme will support the delivery of innovative services and, in line with our White Paper commitments, will help put people and patients at the heart of what we do. "What we learn from this initiative will provide learning opportunities for health and social care professionals in general, and simultaneously create greater choice for patients through a wider selection of convenient, innovative and responsive services." 

Researchers and students from the University of Warwick’s Warwick Medical School have been involved in developing the project.

Warwick Medical School Dean Professor Yvonne Carter said:

  “Warwick Medical School is delighted to have been able to help support this new initiative. This project should produce significant improvements in health care for the South Asian population. Pathfinder status will allow Apnee Sehat to consider replicating its work across the UK and improve the lives of South Asian patients with diabetes.” 

Jonathan Bland, Chief Executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: 

"At the Social Enterprise Coalition we welcome the news of financialinvestment in Apnee Sehat and other pathfinders, as it is vital that social enterprises get the capital needed to operate as sustainable businesses offering practical solutions to the issues faced by the health sector. "This funding is a strong signal of the government's commitmentto encourage the public sector to tap into the vast potential of thesocial enterprise model; which promotes innovation and leads toimprovements directly benefiting staff, patients and social care users. "I believe it's the ability of social enterprises to combine a publicservice ethos with commercial efficiency that sets them apart - andthat's precisely why health commissioners are taking notice." 

Notes to Editors 

1. The Department of Health created a Social Enterprise Unit in June 2006 to encourage innovation and entrepreneurialism in health and social care. 

 

2  The £1.4m announced for social enterprise pathfinders this financial year is in addition to the White Paper commitment to establish a social enterprise fund from April 2007.  This funding is being allocated as follows:

 

 

Pathfinder	Revenue Amount	Capital Amount
Delivering Connected Care, Hartlepool	£30,000	£15,600
Developing Partners Project, Middlesbrough	£19,739	£11,000
Dementia Care Partnership, Newcastle	£30,000	£22,143
Alston Healthcare, Cumbria	£15,500	£5,000
Salford Health Matters	£30,000	£16,500
City Health Care Partnership, Hull	£10,000
The Open Door, Grimsby	£30,000	£10,000
Leicester Homeless Primary Care Service	£5,600
Health Equality Lifestyle Plan, Coventry	£12,900
The Willow Bank Practice, Stoke on Trent	£21,500
Healthy Living Centre Southend	£10,000
Lifestyle Solutions, Thurrock	£30,000	£625,000
Bromley by Bow	£5,000
Service User Led Direct Payments, Newham	£10,000	£22,000
The Bridge, London	£30,000	£30,000
Lorica Learning Disabilities, Pulborough	£10,733	£82,056
Surrey Community Provider Services	£20,000
Milton Keynes Health and Social Care	£30,000
SCA Healthcare, Southampton	£11,500
Community Docs for All, Weston Super Mare	£30,000	£2,500
Devon Healthy Living Community	£30,000	£2,500
Forest of Dean Health Enterprise Trust	£29,000	£2,500
Secure Healthcare, London	£30,000	£83,000
Apnee Sehat, Coventry	£21,000	£17,500

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 For four years, starting 2007/08, the Department will have £73m available for the Social Enterprise Fund.  This will be available more widely for investment in existing and emergent social enterprises who are delivering health and social care services

4 Applications to the DH social enterprise pathfinder programme were initially assessed at regional level by SHAs and then by a multi-disciplinary panel, on behalf of the Department, consisting of representatives of Regional Development Agencies and Care Service Improvement Partnerships  

5 The pathfinders fall into three broad categories:

6  health and/or social care professionals seeking to form a social enterprise to deliver services·    multi-agency partnerships, involving statutory services and/or voluntary and community groups and/or the commercial sector, wishing to set up a social enterprise to provide services·    existing social enterprises or third sector organisations looking to expand into health and social care. 

7 For more information on social enterprise visit the following websites:

• Social Enterprise Network - www.networks.nhs.uk/socialenterprise
• Social Enterprise Coalition - www.socialenterprise.org.uk

 

8  For filing and interview opportunities at Apnee Sehat, please contact Kelly Parkes, Communications Officer, Warwick Medical School, 02476 150483, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk

9  The Department of Health media centre can be contacted on 020 7210 5221 - for public enquiries, please contact 020 7210 4850.[ENDS]