The Vulnerable Adults Health Inclusion Hub

3rd March 2025

You can find an easy read version of this information here.

You can read this information as part of our consultation document here.

What is the Vulnerable Adults Service Health Inclusion Hub?

The service is based in Norwich and provides enhanced primary medical support to people with a complex range of needs. It operates between 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday. It aims to address health inequalities by bringing together specialist healthcare professionals to provide inclusion health services and an asylum seeker and refugee service.  

Inclusion health services are for people who are socially excluded and likely to experience stigma and discrimination, live chaotic lives, typically experience multiple overlapping risk factors for poor health, and are not consistently accounted for in electronic records. Many people using the service are homeless and their experiences frequently lead to barriers in access to healthcare and extremely poor health outcomes. 

The team provides targeted inclusion health services on a short-term basis, usually up to six months. Service users are then integrated back into GP practices in Norwich to one of the 20 nominated Inclusion Health Practices to ensure a supported transition and to plan for their ongoing needs.

Inclusion health communities elsewhere in Norfolk and Waveney (as well as in Norwich) are supported by GP practices and other health and care services.

What options are we considering for the future of the Vulnerable Adults Service Health Inclusion Hub?

We have developed two options, and these are described below. We have also drafted an Equality Impact Assessment which looks at the potential impact on different groups of people and what we could do to mitigate the impact.

Option A – Continue to provide the service from its current base in Norwich.
One option we are considering is to continue to run the service from the same building in Norwich.

What would this mean for people who use the service?
- The service would continue to care for vulnerable adults in Norwich / those that can access a central Norwich service, including homeless people, sex workers, those with drug and alcohol dependence and asylum seekers.
- Inclusion health groups elsewhere in Norfolk and Waveney would continue to receive the same support from general practice and other health and care services as they do now.
The Vulnerable Adults Service costs c£446,000 per year (for 2025/26), which is a reduction of c6% from 2024/25. This option would not deliver a further saving.
Option B – Create a team that goes to different communities across Norfolk and Waveney to provide the service and close the base in Norwich.
One option we are considering is creating a team that goes to different communities across Norfolk and Waveney. The service would use an outreach model to care for vulnerable adults across Norfolk and Waveney. The team could either use a specialist vehicle, such as a bus that goes to different communities, or the team could go to community venues and hostels. Either way, we would ensure that the service was provided in a space that was suitable for clinical care.

What would this mean for people who use the service?
- The service would care for vulnerable adults across Norfolk and Waveney, not just those in Norwich.
- Overall, the service would deliver a similar volume of interventions, however there would be less regular access for people living in Norwich.
The Vulnerable Adults Service costs c£446,000 per year (for 2025/26), which is a reduction of c6% from 2024/25. Until further scoping has been undertaken, it is not possible to confirm if this option would deliver further savings.

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