We have a small core team that works hard to engage and build relationships with any GP practice and Cluster that is interested in deprivation medicine.
We invite all our Deep End practices to send any members of their teams to the meetings that we hold several times a year. These participative face to face events look to deep dive into the priority topics that emerge as we go along. We explore the common challenges and come up with potential solutions. Some of these are at individual practice level (through sharing ideas and good practice), some develop into joint project ideas (for example, a business case for Community Health Workers) and some become things that we advocate for (for example, fairer funding)
Most of our funding is used for the protected time of the core team and for all Deep End practices to do this collaborative work. We reimburse the time for 2 people from each practice to attend events, although more are welcome.
We also use this protected time for Deep End members to meet with many stakeholders, to raise our profile, and advocate and collaborate on common goals.
All the activities fall neatly into the four pillars that all Deep End projects have found helpful:
• Workforce
• Education
• Advocacy
• Research