Protecting the Vulnerable

• Lead Member Bassetlaw District Council
• Categories Health & Social Care
• Assets Download Case Study

In March 2020, Bassetlaw District Council and its partners established a support hub in the Community Voluntary Services offices prior to a Local Resilience Forum Hub being set up. The Bassetlaw hub benefited from the Community and Voluntary experience in local delivery, which gave direct access to data on vulnerable individuals. As a result, the hub immediately made contact to assess needs, coordinate service provision and, most importantly, provide reassurance – especially to those living alone across a large geographical area with many isolated communities. The primary focus was to meet the needs of ‘extremely vulnerable persons’ (EVP). Bassetlaw had over 7,000 people in this category; over 6% of the population – the highest level in the East Midlands and above surrounding areas. The initial priority was food provision, the hub taking over from the Foodbank which suspended its operations. Following this, a prescription delivery service was established for pharmacies that could not meet this need.