The Value of Health-Justice Partnerships

Grant: £65,000
June 21, 2017

There are three elements to this project:

1. Continuation for a further year of TLEF support for the health researcher at the Guttmann Health-Justice Partnership pilot project. Data collection on the association between legal advice and wellbeing is underway and results may be lost without more time to complete the study. The research addresses significant gaps in the evidence: results will provide data on health outcomes for clients receiving legal advice in primary care, as well as outcomes for the GP practice. Lessons from implementation will feed into new guidance to support the establishment of similar integrated health and legal services;
2. funding for a workshop in Winter 2017 to engage health-policy decision-makers in the potential of early legal advice in reducing health inequalities and contributing to better health and well-being among vulnerable groups. Sir Malcolm Grant (Chairman NHS England) has agreed to Chair the workshop and engagement is already in train with key policy makers;
3. a feasibility study of the potential for a UK national centre for Health-Justice Partnerships that might assist in removing some of the existing barriers to the establishment of partnerships, promote best practice in service delivery and rigorous evaluation research to support policy development.