Independent evaluation highlights impact of Citizens Advice Harlow’s GP Surgery Advice Project
An independent evaluation of Citizens Advice Harlow’s GP Surgery Advice Project has highlighted the role that accredited advice can play in prevention, tackling the wider determinants of health and supporting residents before problems reach crisis point.
The project places Citizens Advice Harlow advisers within GP surgery settings, enabling patients to receive help with practical issues that can affect their health, wellbeing, and resilience. These include income, welfare benefits, debt, housing, mobility, employment, caring responsibilities, and wider social pressures.
The independent evaluation found that, during the evaluation period, the project supported 380 clients, delivered 708 advice sessions, and addressed 1,589 issues. It also recorded £141,171 in financial gains for clients, including benefit awards and other income-related outcomes.
The report is careful and measured in its findings. It does not claim that advice is a substitute for clinical care, however, it does show that embedding accredited advice in trusted GP settings can help patients address practical and social issues that often sit behind stress, poor health, reduced resilience, and pressure on public services.
One of the key findings is that the GP surgery setting was central to the effectiveness of the model. Patients were more willing to engage because support was offered in a familiar, trusted, and accessible environment, often following a referral from their GP or social prescriber.
The evaluation found that the project reached residents with complex and interrelated needs, many linked to health, income, housing, mobility, and welfare support. It also reached people who may not otherwise have accessed accredited advice through conventional routes.
The report also highlights the project’s alignment with the emerging Neighbourhood Health agenda, which encourages services to work together around people’s wider needs, closer to home and earlier in the journey.
The findings also support the wider case made in Citizens Advice Harlow’s manifesto for advice in Greater Essex, which argues that accredited advice should be treated as part of prevention and early help, not simply as a crisis response. The manifesto calls for advice to be embedded more consistently in trusted community settings, including GP surgeries, family hubs, and local access points, so residents can get the right help earlier and closer to home.
Thom Lafferty, Chief Executive of The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust and Chair of the West Essex Health and Care Partnership, welcomed the findings and highlighted their relevance to the prevention and neighbourhood health agenda. He said:
“The Princess Alexandra Hospital plays a leading role in the development of the Neighbourhood Health agenda in West Essex, so it is tremendous to see such
tangible and impressive evidence that Citizens Advice Harlow is delivering real results for local people.
Prevention of poor health, bringing care closer to home and early interventions are all key parts not only of the NHS Ten Year Plan, but our vision for improving health services in our area. I am therefore enormously supportive of Ayub Khan and his team, and eager to find ways we can work closer together in future”
Ayub Khan, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Harlow, said:
“This independent evaluation is an important moment for Citizens Advice Harlow and for the wider prevention agenda. It shows that when accredited advice is placed in trusted health settings, people are more likely to come forward and get help with the practical problems that affect their wellbeing, stability, and ability to manage day-to-day life.
“We are not claiming that advice replaces clinical care. But we are saying that issues such as debt, low income, insecure housing, welfare benefit problems, mobility needs, and caring pressures can all have a real impact on people’s health and resilience. If we are serious about prevention, advice must be part of the wider local support offer.
“This is exactly the case we have made in our manifesto for advice in Greater Essex: that accredited advice should be seen as part of the prevention infrastructure for our communities, not simply as a service people turn to when everything else has failed.
“The GP Surgery Advice Project demonstrates what can be achieved when health and advice services work together around the person. It is a practical, evidence-led model which supports residents earlier, helps resolve complex problems and contributes to reducing avoidable pressure on public services.”
“The project aligns strongly with the prevention, co-location and neighbourhood health agenda, and provides a powerful example of how we can support people earlier by addressing some of the wider issues that affect their health.”
The evaluation also points to a wider opportunity: to extend the model into more GP practices and community health settings so that more residents can benefit from accredited advice as part of a preventative approach to health and wellbeing. Achieving that wider ambition will require further investment and partnership support.
The independent evaluation executive summary is available here: GP Surgery Advice Project Executive Summary
Citizens Advice Harlow’s manifesto for advice in Greater Essex is available here: Citizens Advice Harlow’s Manifesto