Tackling Health Inequalities Linked to Poverty, Housing and Social Exclusion
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Health inequalities in adult social care are often closely linked to wider social factors such as poverty, insecure housing, isolation and limited access to services. Commissioners increasingly expect providers to recognise these risks and respond in ways that go beyond personal care tasks.
This aligns strongly with community partnerships and social value delivery, where providers are assessed on their ability to support stability, inclusion and access to wider support.
Recognising social determinants of health
Commissioners expect providers to understand how factors such as poor housing conditions, financial hardship and limited social networks affect physical and mental health. Providers should be able to explain how these risks are identified through assessment, review and day-to-day contact.
This includes recognising when issues such as fuel poverty, food insecurity or isolation are contributing to declining wellbeing.
Supporting access to housing and community services
While providers are not housing authorities, commissioners value services that actively support people to access appropriate advice, advocacy and community-based support. This may involve working with housing teams, voluntary organisations or local advice services.
Evidence includes clear referral pathways, partnership working and follow-up to ensure people are not left unsupported.
Preventing escalation through early action
Early intervention is particularly important where social factors increase risk. Providers should demonstrate how concerns about living conditions, financial stress or isolation are escalated early rather than waiting for crisis.
This proactive approach is often viewed as a marker of high-quality, preventative services.
Staff awareness and confidence
Frontline staff need confidence to identify and raise concerns linked to social determinants of health. Commissioners expect training and supervision to reinforce that these issues are part of the provider’s safeguarding and wellbeing responsibilities.
Clear guidance helps staff understand when and how to act.
Oversight, learning and improvement
At governance level, providers should be able to demonstrate how trends linked to poverty or exclusion are monitored and addressed. This may include learning from incidents, complaints or quality audits.
Sustained improvement depends on turning individual concerns into organisational learning.
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