NHS Dorset has been awarded funding to lead an innovative new programme that will improve access to obesity support for people across Dorset.
Dr. Amanda Webb, Chief Officer for Population Health Improvement for NHS Dorset said,
“This funding is a real opportunity to bring obesity support closer to people and local communities, and by designing new local services and using digital tools, we hope to reach people who too often miss out.”
Part of a national programme testing new approaches to obesity care, the Dorset project will take a community led approach, focusing on people who often face barriers to healthy weight services. This includes children and young people with disabilities, adults with learning disabilities, care experienced young people, and people with serious mental health conditions.
Support will be tailored to individual needs and may include help from community organisations, health professionals, and digital tools such as apps and wearable technology.
Nicola Bent, Chief Executive of Health Innovation Wessex, added,
“Health Innovation Wessex will be supporting the Dorset team to evaluate new, co-produced pathways for under-served groups. We’re funded by NHS England and the government’s Office for Life Sciences to spread and adopt new technology and ways of working, and this is the latest way in which we’re helping our local health and care systems to improve the health of the Dorset population.”
The funding comes from the Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme, backed by government and industry. NHS Dorset is working in partnership with Bournemouth University’s PIER Project and Health Innovation Wessex.
A spokesperson for BU PIER said,
“By working together, we can help make obesity support more inclusive and more accessible, to better reflect people’s everyday lives in Dorset.”
The project will run until March 2029, with learning helping to shape future obesity care in Dorset and across the country.
