Help your community to benefit from the Community Wellness Outreach project in Reading
1,943 NHS health checks were carried out in community settings across Reading from December 2023 to October 2024 as part of the Community Wellness Outreach project. The community healthcare initiative is a pilot project to reduce health inequalities, and continues in Reading until June 2025.
Partners Reading Voluntary Action (RVA) and Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust’s Meet PEET team run the health and wellbeing sessions in community venues, providing NHS health checks and holistic support to enable people to take action to improve their health.
The sessions are open to Reading residents aged 18 and over, with a particular focus on people at risk of developing cardiovascular conditions and those who may not have been to their GP surgery for some time (or who may not be registered with a GP).
The partnership is funded by the Integrated Care Board (ICB), with governance and project support provided by Reading Borough Council. GP surgeries and PCNs in Reading have been a key part of the project, sending messages encouraging eligible people to attend checks and providing follow-on clinical support for those who need it.
What happens at the checks – watch our short film
Feedback from attendees
- This is an exceptional example of taking services to the communities you serve! Very easy to sign up to; very lovely staff. Quick checks done and you go with your result. Thank you NHS and RVA. Well done to all involved
- Great initiative! I had the best healthcare appointment in the last 10 years.
- This outreach programme within the community will help to improve overall wellbeing of the people living in the community especially those people who are not getting access to the GPs. I suggest it should be done consistently.
- Thank you to the team for adding me to your list and checking my statistics. Some shocks awaited me with blood pressure. I will take action to prevent heart attack or stroke!
- This service is very useful to the individual and community as a whole. The nurses were very professional and helpful in explaining details and relevant issues. On behalf of Women of Vision we appreciate you all in saving lives and raising awareness in our Afro Caribbean community.
- Learnt so much about cholesterol. Got lots to implement going forward. Learnt a lot about the repercussions of my smoking, eating and activity habits. Very informal, thank you.
Contributors to the CWO project pictured above:
- Sarah Lupai, Lead Ethnically Diverse Patient Experience Facilitator at RBNFT, and Azra Raja, CWO lead for RVA
- Anthony Darway, Community Engagement Officer at the Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE)
- Trisha Bennett, Community Development Coordinator at Whitley Community Development Association (WCDA)
- Kate Nikulina, Ukrainian Resettlement Outreach Worker, Refugee Support Group and Fiona Summerfield, Lead for The Atrium, Greyfriars Sanctuary
- Azra with Chandra Budhathoki, Volunteer Community Worker for The Forgotten British Gurkha
- Meet PEET receive an award for empowering communities through education for health and wellbeing at the Grassroots Communities’ Awards.
Can you help your community to attend in 2025?
Do you know people who might benefit from the outreach sessions?
- People can book an appointment or walk in to sessions across Reading (waiting times may vary).
- There is a helpline for people who have any questions, or need support with making an appointment: please call 0118 304 8841. Spoken translation is available when people call.
- Groups who would like to find out more about getting involved can email azra.raja@rva.org.uk.