HEALTH-conscious communities have united to form a scheme to improve the wellbeing of residents in three Worcester suburbs.

Seventeen community champions have been enlisted to be a listening ear to those living in the Warndon, Gorse Hill and Rainbow Hill areas.

The aim is to reduce health inequalities among residents who live in the suburbs which have been listed as being ‘areas of highest need’.

It comes just two months after your Worcester News revealed the life expectancy for Warndon residents was, on average, 75, whereas those in Warndon Villages, just a mile away, was 87.

A pilot drop-in service, called Time to Talk, launched this month at Warndon Community Centre where the Community Champions, who range in age from 17 to 65, were on hand to chat to residents with health and wellbeing concerns.

“This is just about trying to raise awareness of what is available to people,” said one of the champions, Becky Jeynes.

“We are not a counselling service but we can listen.”

The project is being run by Turning Point, a health and social care organisation working on behalf of the NHS South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Rosemary Wallbank, Turning Point project manager, said: “The research shows that some local people are having to juggle a lot of stresses which can have an effect on how they manage their physical and mental health.

“Hopefully, the pilot initiatives we are running can give people living in these areas some real support and connect them to people who are like them, as well as to services who can provide help and support in the most suitable way.”

Time to Talk takes place at Warndon Community Centre on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9.30am and noon.

Meanwhile, a lifestyle group where people from the local community who are living with a long-term condition can receive free practical sessions on a range of areas, from healthy food recipes to coping with stress, begins at Warndon Community Centre on Tuesday, November 5.