British Gas Energy Trust roundtable- Physical and Mental Health

Ensuring advice centres are accessible, using simple language and being flexible with timings are just a few ways one leading charity is helping to support people with health conditions in London. Bromley By Bow Centre in Tower Hamlets have made changes to their delivery model to support an increasing number of people presenting with health conditions.

The issue will be discussed at British Gas Energy Trust’s first roundtable event in May, organised to commemorate the charity funder’s 20th anniversary.

Over two decades the Trust has been supporting people in or at risk of fuel poverty with community-based money and energy advice and guidance, energy debt grants and emergency fuel vouchers, as well as other much needed support.

In 2024, it has organised a series of roundtables across Britain looking at ‘alleviating the detrimental impact of fuel poverty- what works, what happens next’. The focus of this first roundtable is physical and mental health.

Bromley By Bow Centre report that heath is worse in their community than the national average, particularly among conditions like asthma, heart disease, depression, diabetes and severe mental health issues. Life expectancy is also far below the national average for both men and women.

Last year, 39% of the people the charity worked with presented with a health condition and of those, half experience that condition as a disability, and a quarter report having a mental health condition.

Tahmina Begum, Delivery Manager at Bromley By Bow Centre, said:

“Due to their broad nature, our activities and services aim to tackle the social determinants of health (the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes). We therefore offer person-centred, holistic and integrated support across health and wellbeing.

“Every client is unique and their health condition will impact them in different ways. With this in mind, the advisors ensure to tailor their working style and approach accordingly and support each and every client in the best way possible.”

Mosrath Jahan, Team Leader of Energy and Financial Wellbeing at Bromley By Bow Centre, added:

“We try and accommodate clients who have health problems by first finding out if they are able to travel to us for face-to-face appointment or if they prefer telephone appointments. Some clients are not able to come for early morning appointments due to medications, we are flexible and can offer late afternoon appointments.

“We have started to attend off site sessions at GP surgeries which makes it easier for some client to access and also offer more telephone appointments for people who are unable to attend face to face appointments.”

The charity has implemented a series of changes to support people who are presenting with health conditions. They include:

· Making sure advice is provided is in a format that can be easily understood by vulnerable clients.

· Ensuring the centre is wheelchair accessible and appropriate with enough space to encourage clients to open up.

· Ensuring communication with clients, letters, emails are written clearly and with easy-to-read headings / actions agreed.

· Allowing clients extra time than the usual advice slot so they feel at ease and able to communicate in their own time about their issues.

· Providing clients with a written note of the key points raised in the session and any actions the client needs to follow up and actions the advisor will be taking forward.

· Arranging the appointment on a time of day where the client feels most alert and aware.

· Using terminology and language that is easy for client to understand and act on.

· Making advice and support available remotely for those that are housebound and equally, and ensuring face-to-face appointments are available for those who are vulnerable and digitally excluded.