Case study

Health Builders, improving stroke services

We facilitate a network of people with lived experience to be patient leaders called Health Builders.

Here supported 30 Health Builders to shape their services and become part of the Stroke Catalyst project – a collaboration with Sussex Integrated Stroke Delivery Network (ISDN) and NHS Sussex.

Health builders are not just part of the team, they are part of the leadership

Key to it all has been our unique person-centred approach that enabled people with lived experience to take the reins of service design. We invited stroke survivors to become members of our ‘Health Builders’ network and form a partnership between Stroke Support Workers and Stroke Health Builders to:

Improve experience
Improve patient activation and outcomes
Provide hope for the future
Release clinical capacity

Together we worked in partnership with SCFT, UHSx, voluntary sector organisations (including the Stroke Association, Say Aphasia and Sussex Headway), to create a focused co-design and learning process funded by SQuIRE NHS England.

Every person’s stroke is different, and every recovery is unique.

The effects of stroke are as individual as the person who has experienced it. The days, weeks, months and beyond can often feel challenging and lonely.

By giving people the opportunity to meet with other stroke survivors and to talk about their shared experiences in a dedicated space means they can feel seen, heard and understood, and offer invaluable support to one another.

From the very start, Health Builders have been equal partners in our planning workshops and a key part of the decision-making process… It has been inspiring to witness the Health Builders in action, as they have grown in confidence and purpose themselves. The value of their efforts in supporting fellow stroke survivors to live their best life is immeasurable.

Norman Webster
Lead Health Builder at Here