Spectrum Community Health celebrates 10 years of community healthcare

A community interest company operating across Northern England is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a series of new campaigns and initiatives.

Spectrum Community Health CIC has conducted more than 1 million healthcare appointments in the last decade and is driven by a mission to tackle health inequality.

The company was one of the first social enterprises to spin out of the NHS as part of a new approach to the delivery of community healthcare and delivers a range of services on behalf of the NHS, local authorities and partners.

It employs healthcare professionals across the North East, Yorkshire, Cheshire and Wakefield.

Spectrum CEO Linda Harris says the company will continue to drive its collaborative approach to generating social impact through a number of new projects.

One of those will be Spectrum’s festival of leadership and learning – a series of ten free virtual learning events featuring a diverse line up of experts speaking on issues and current challenges in healthcare.

Dr Harris said: “The demand for work to focus these improvements on the people who need it the most has never been more important.

“Whether that’s poverty, lack of social mobility, discrimination or unconscious bias, Spectrum fights for equivalent care across the board.”

In the past 10 years, Spectrum has helped vulnerable communities across the North, supporting people struggling with health issues such as substance misuse and sexual health matters.

The company also delivers care in a growing number of UK prisons.

Dr Harris added: “While this is a great moment to pause, reflect, and look back with pride on all our achievements over the last ten years, we are also determined to look forward with a sense of ambition and a mission to help even more in our communities.

“Over the past 12 months our amazing staff have risen to every challenge you can imagine and have always placed the patient at the centre of everything whilst continuing to successfully deliver all of our programmes with respect and compassion.

“From all this, including the unforeseen challenges of a global pandemic, we emerge strong, wiser, and even more determined to broaden our ability to support those most in need.”