Encompass South West and Royal Devon are celebrating after receiving a prestigious 2026 GSK IMPACT Award, delivered in partnership with The King’s Fund.

The national award recognises outstanding community-based charities working to improve health and wellbeing. Encompass South West was recognised for its ‘community flow’ work with patients at the Royal Devon, tackling rural homelessness, poverty and health inequalities through trauma-informed and person-centred support.

Community flow has been operating in Northern Devon since July 2022 and supports patients being discharged who are experiencing issues with housing, finances, loneliness, and aims to break the cycle of these factors impacting people’s health. It is delivered in partnership by the Royal Devon and Encompass South West and is part of the One Northern Devon (OND) Flow programme.

The Flow approach begins by focusing on what matters most to the individual, bringing together the right clinical, voluntary, community and public sector support around them — ensuring care is coordinated around the person.

As well as supporting individual recovery, the partnership has also demonstrated economic impact helping reduce hospital readmissions among supported patients by 41%, with a potential cost avoidance of £470,000. This is showing how person-centred support can improve outcomes while ensuring wider health and care services can target resources where they are needed most.

Claire Fisher, Chief Executive of Encompass South West, said: “Winning this award is a huge honour, every day our staff work alongside people facing some of the most difficult circumstances, helping them to rebuild stability, confidence and connection.

“This award also recognises the importance of partnership. Through Flow, we have worked with the Royal Devon, One Northern Devon and wider local partners to show what is possible when services start with what matters to the person and work together around their life.

"As Northern Devon develops its neighbourhood health plans, Flow gives us a strong foundation to build on. It shows that trauma-informed, relationship-based support is not only the right thing to do for people; it also helps create a more effective and sustainable health and care system."

Chris Tidman, Deputy Chief Executive of the Royal Devon, said: “We are delighted that Encompass South West has received this well-deserved national recognition. Their work makes a real difference to people across Northern Devon, particularly those whose health is shaped by poverty, isolation and other wider determinants of health.

“Our partnership through Flow has shown that improving health is not just about treating illness. It is about understanding what is happening in people’s lives and working together to provide the right support at the right time. It also demonstrates our commitment to the 10 Year Plan and provides a fantastic evidence base against which we can plan our future investment in neighbourhood health."

A service user suffering with anxiety which triggers seizures told us: “When in hospital, community flow supported me with things like filling in forms which I struggled with due to my Epilepsy. I didn’t realise how much help I needed until I got it.”