SOCIAL ENTERPRISE DAY: Frontline NHS staff start 20 new social enterprises

Frontline NHS staff have designed 20 new social enterprises to transform the care of patients, care services minister Phil Hope announced today.

The staff used the Department of Health's (DH) right to request initiative, which allows all NHS staff to request to start their own health service-delivering social enterprise, to put their ideas into motion.

These first projects include services to help homeless people, children and young people, and to provide mental health services.

Hope, a former third sector minister, used Social Enterprise Day to announce that each of these projects would receive £30,000 of DH funding, a mentor and access to professional development opportunities that will help ensure their social enterprise is a success.

'Frontline staff see first-hand how effective local services are, what works and what doesn't. I want staff to use their specialist skills and knowledge to transform local services and improve the health and wellbeing of patients and users,' Hope said.

'I am delighted that 20 organisations have won support and funding to set up a social enterprise through our right to request scheme. I look forward to seeing many more in future.'

Jonathan Bland, CEO of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: 'The social enterprise sector is diverse with more than 6,000 social enterprises estimated to be delivering health and social care in the UK. This figure continues to rise as growing numbers of health and social care professionals look at social enterprise as a viable option to tackle unmet needs and address health inequalities.'

Funding and support for NHS staff using the right to request to  set up a social enterprise comes from DH's social enterprise unit and the DH's £100m Social Enterprise Investment Fund.