Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise and Primary Care Network Partnerships

10GM has been working with partners from Population Health, Primary Care Networks and the wider VCSE sector to find innovative ways of tackling health inequalities.

This includes establishing Test and Learn Sites to explore how the VCSE sector and GPs can build lasting relationships that help them work together to tackle health inequality.

In 2023, five Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Organisations worked collaboratively with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) on a pilot ‘Test and Learn’ project. The project developed new and more effective relationships between VCSE organisations and PCNs so that they can offer better advice, support, and services to help improve their local community’s health and well-being over their whole lifetime. The project’s ultimate aim was to understand ways of addressing health inequalities across Greater Manchester, using the national ‘CORE20PLUS5’ model for tackling inequalities as a guide.

Following an open callout for applications from partnerships interested in becoming Test and Learn Sites, 10GM funded 5 partnerships and appointed an evaluation partner. Information on successful bids can be found below:

Stockport Progress and Recovery Centre, Boost, and Victoria PCN, Stockport

Supporting people with severe mental ill health to engage with their physical health needs, including health checks, through engagement in therapeutic and physical activity.

Salford CVS with local community groups and Eccles and Irlam PCN, Salford

Improving cervical cancer screening uptake through community-led engagement and increased support offered to people living with or beyond a cancer diagnosis.

Trafford Community Collective (with Thrive) and Sale PCN, Trafford

Holistic support and engagement to increase the uptake of health services in deprived communities, with a focus on people not currently engaging with primary care.

Groundwork with Complete Kindness CIC and TABA PCN, Wigan

Increase the uptake of health services and improve wellbeing in deprived communities through engagement and delivery of health support in non-clinical setting.

Afrocats and Ardwick and Longsight PCN, Manchester

Addressing barriers to maternity care for Eastern African women through culturally specific dance and creative movement.

During a 6-month delivery period, our evaluation partner, Matthew Baquerizia-Jackson Ltd conducted a range of evaluation activities including:

1

Literature review

2

Evaluation Framework

3

Themed focus groups and process evaluation

4

Site visits and impact evaluation activities

5

A final evaluation report

Below you can find the download links for the final evaluation report and an influencing document that explains the key learning and impacts of the relationship development activities between VCSE organisations and PCNs and upon local people and communities, and a series of recommendations for the Greater Manchester health and social care system around how we make this way of working part of our everyday work.

View the evaluation report [PDF]
View the influencing document and recommendations [PDF]

How VCSE & Primary Care Network partnerships can tackle health inequalities – event recording

In September 2023, we co-hosted an online event with our 5 test and learn sites from the following Primary Care Networks: Ardwick and Longsight (Manchester), Sale Central (Trafford), Victoria (Stockport), Tyldesley, Atherton, Boothstown and Astley (Wigan) and Eccles and Irlam (Salford) about their partnership work and the impact it has had. You can view a recording of the event here.

Creating a smoother transition into motherhood for asylum seekers and refugees in Manchester

Afrocats have written a blog about their project, you can read it here.

Read it here

Background information:

To hear more about this work, or to request a presentation or workshop on this project at relevant meetings, events and networks, please get in touch.

Content last reviewed on 2 September 2026