Whilst the NHS is under sustained financial and demand pressures, social enterprises delivering key services are uniquely positioned to play a crucial role in improving the living, learning and working conditions (the social determinants of health) for patients and communities.  Social enterprises are businesses that trade for a social or environmental purpose and reinvest their surpluses back into their services and the communities they serve.

Social Enterprises in the NHS

Social enterprises are central to the delivery of health and care provision in the UK. The potential for social enterprises to act as key partners to address health inequalities can be undervalued by NHS commissioners.

FCMS: A Pioneering Social Enterprise

FCMS is a not-for-profit social enterprise based in Northern England that has long embedded social value in its core mission. FCMS delivers Urgent Treatment Centres in two areas of high deprivation in North West England: Blackpool and Fleetwood.

This report focuses on FCMS’s work through its Fleetwood and Blackpool Urgent Treatment Centres, highlighting how they address health inequalities in areas of high deprivation. Beyond providing essential healthcare, FCMS adopts social value approaches to tackle inequalities indirectly, making it a model for other NHS providers.

FCMS shows how organisations can address social determinants of health, improve equity in health outcomes, and lead the way in reducing health inequalities while delivering NHS services

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The full report assesses the impact of FCMS services and social value approaches on local health inequalities and explores the role of social enterprises in the NHS.