Why are we asking about people’s health?
- We think that people on probation are likely to experience more problems with their health and that these problems develop at a younger age than other people in the community, but we don’t know because there is no way to find this out from either the information held by probation or from a person’s health record.
- If we know what health needs people have, we can help them to get the right help from the right person, and to stay healthier for longer.
- We know that there are many things that affect people’s health, including having somewhere to live, having a job, having enough money for food, clothing and to be able to pay bills, having family or friends around to avoid getting lonely and to help when life is hard.
- If we collect health information from enough people on probation, we hope that it will help to show the people who make decisions about which services to spend money on where there are unmet needs and gaps in services.
- With information from this health needs assessment, we hope to make health services suit you better so you can stay healthy for longer.
What do we want to find out?
- We are trying to find out about the health problems experienced by people on probation. This includes problems with:
- Physical health (e.g. wounds, head injuries, epilepsy, asthma, COPD, diabetes, cancer)
- Mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, complex trauma due to childhood or adult experiences)
- Drugs and alcohol
- Lifestyle (e.g. obesity, smoking) and safety (e.g. domestic abuse, exploitation)
- We are trying to find out how many people on probation need support to get the healthcare they need. This could be:
- Help to register with a GP
- Support to self-refer for treatment recommended by the GP e.g. talking therapies, physiotherapy, Healthy You
- Help to book or re-book NHS screening (e.g. bowel cancer screen, smear test, mammogram) or annual health checks (e.g. for high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma)
- Support to attend appointments
- Support to link in with groups and local activities.
What do we offer?
- Free health checks and health goal planning in probation:
- Monday and Friday mornings – anyone
- Thursday afternoons – women only
- Nurse and GP access at Cambridge Access Surgery for health advice and treatment by appointment:
- Wednesday afternoons
- Help to register with a GP
- Help with your prescriptions
- Advice about sexual health, contraception, menopause
- Help with self-referrals for talking therapies, physiotherapy, NHS screening programmes
- Support to link you in with local activities
- Support to access appointments
- Walk-in and booked GP and nurse appointments*
It is important to realise that we are part of a GP surgery/ primary care team. We cannot offer specialist care or regular follow up appointments in probation. We are here to help with immediate issues and link you up with health and care professionals who can support with ongoing needs.
Would you like to take part?
We will need you to give us your consent. Please complete this form to give your consent.
