Utilisation & community improvements at Porters Avenue
Working with staff and residents to explore and test different ways of improving business & community use of Porters Avenue Health Centre.
As part of renewing its estate strategy, North East London’s Integrated Care Board (ICB) is currently reviewing different NHS buildings in the borough to understand whether they are being used to their full potential.
Porters Avenue Health Centre has been identified as a building that is underutilised and we have been brought in to engage with staff and local residents to better understand what could be done to make best use of the existing spaces.
Our Approach
During the initial engagement phase, we identified sets of urgent and impactful recommendations from staff and residents. These were suggestions that they would like to see implemented at Porters Avenue in order to improve current usage and encourage residents to see it as a welcoming and effective community space.
What staff and residents told us
Through a series of interviews, focus groups, community events, pop up engagement and surveys with both residents and staff at Porters Avenue, a number of interesting insights, ideas and improvements were recognised.
The space itself is great and has lots of potential.
Resident feedback
Space Improvement
Be more intentional about use of spaces. Staff are aware that spaces are underutilised
Improve signposting for patients as poor signage often causes patients to arrive late for appointments. Staff see particular value in having a dedicated person welcoming patients into the building
Offer opportunities for people to meet others in the building such as lunch events, training sessions, lunch time fitness or mindfulness classes
Improve parking as it is seen as the first hurdle to access the building, causing anxiety about being punctual for appointments
Improve phone coverage and introduce direct phone lines between departments to improve communication
Community Improvement
Introduce Mental Health Talking Groups or groups for parenting, bereavement etc
Provide access to warm space where people can come together, relax, have a warm drink and food, participate in facilitated exercise classes, enjoy activities such as board games or crafting
Introduce a community cafe
The next step will be a testing phase, where testing teams will be set up to realise the recommended changes. These teams include a community member, a staff member and a member of the project steering group.
