The NHS is shifting its focus from treating illness to preventing it—an ambition that marks a cultural change in how healthcare is delivered. Making headlines recently,Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWWs) are a key part of this transformation. Deployed door-to-door in some of the most deprived areas, these workers help identify health risks early and support residents before problems become emergencies. In doing so, they help reduce the strain on GPs and emergency departments.
It’s a bold and necessary move. And telehealth, the use of digital technologies to deliver healthcare remotely can, provide practical support to make this scheme more effective and sustainable.
Understanding the Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Scheme
Launched to reduce the demand on GPs and A&E departments, the CHWW scheme takes a proactive approach to healthcare. These workers are not clinicians. Instead, they are often recruited directly from the neighbourhoods they serve. They come from council estates and other under-resourced communities. They are trained to offer support on health, housing, social isolation, and money worries. Each CHWW is responsible for around 120–150 households, visiting them monthly to help detect potential issues early.
The early evidence is promising. Data from Westminster, the first borough to trial the approach in 2021, showed remarkable outcomes. Individuals supported by CHWWs were 82% more likely to attend cancer screenings. They were 47% more likely to get vaccinated. They were also 82% more likely to undergo NHS health checks. More broadly, A&E visits dropped by 10% and unplanned GP appointments by 7.3% among those visited, according to the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC).
Cornwall’s adoption of the model in 2023 found significant reductions in demand for mental health services. It also reduced community services, district nurse visits, and urgent care responses.
But as the scheme scales nationally, a key question remains: how do we ensure its sustainability and impact at scale? Telehealth is the missing piece of the puzzle and this is where it becomes relevant.
How Telehealth Can Enhance Community-Based Prevention
Telehealth includes technologies that allow patients and professionals to connect remotely—through video calls, secure messaging, online platforms, and monitoring apps. It can dramatically enhance the reach, efficiency, and effectiveness of CHWWs. It does so in several ways. It enables faster escalation. It streamlines follow-ups and empowers self-management. Additionally, it integrates data into the broader NHS ecosystem.
As my own research into clinicians’ experiences with video consultations in community health settings shows, continuity and accessibility are critical success factors for digital care. Clinicians are more likely to continue using telehealth tools when they perceive high clinical effectiveness and organisational support (Author, 2024). These same principles apply to CHWWs.
Connecting Residents to Virtual Consultations
CHWWs may not be clinically trained, but their role often places them in direct contact with individuals showing early warning signs of physical or mental health concerns. In traditional settings, referring these cases could take days. With telehealth, a CHWW can facilitate an immediate virtual consultation with a nurse, GP, or mental health practitioner via a smartphone or tablet. This closes the loop quickly. It does not require the resident to leave their home, which is critical for those with mobility issues, mental health conditions, or childcare responsibilities.
This is not theory. NHS England’s Long Term Plan highlights the value of digitally enabled care. It cites video consultations as a core component of future primary and community care models . Uptake has grown sharply since the pandemic. Data shows that up to 40% of GP consultations now take place remotely (Nuffield Trust, 2022).
Reducing isolation and promoting engagement
Social isolation is a major health risk—comparable to smoking or obesity—and it disproportionately affects people in deprived areas. CHWWs play a vital role in addressing this. But they cannot be everywhere at once.
Here, telehealth offers scalable solutions such as moderated online support groups, peer mentoring platforms, and AI-enabled wellbeing check-ins. These can supplement in-person visits, helping residents stay connected and feel heard. Wearables and health monitoring apps also support ongoing engagement. They nudge users to stay active, manage medications, and attend screenings. These are key behaviours that drive preventive health outcomes.
Empowering workers with digital tools
Another under-discussed benefit is how telehealth can empower CHWWs themselves. Armed with digital tools, they can document visits in real-time, flag high-risk cases, access care records, and coordinate with local services more efficiently. Integration with NHS systems can enable secure communication, track interventions, and measure impact.
From a workforce sustainability perspective, this is essential. Giving CHWWs a streamlined, technology-enabled workflow avoids burnout and improves the quality of care they deliver. My doctoral research on virtual consultations demonstrates that perceived ease of use and technical support significantly drive continued adoption among healthcare workers. These principles also apply here (Author, 2024).
Addressing health inequalities with digital-first care
One concern often raised about telehealth is the digital divide. But the CHWW scheme uniquely positions itself to bridge this gap, not widen it. Workers are drawn from the communities they serve. They understand the barriers—poor internet access, language challenges, mistrust of institutions—and can offer hands-on digital support. Teaching someone how to use a video app or order a repeat prescription online may seem small, but over time these micro-interventions build long-term capacity.
Moreover, studies show that underserved populations often benefit the most from well-designed remote healthcare models. A 2023 review found that telehealth, when culturally and linguistically adapted, improved chronic disease outcomes and patient satisfaction in deprived communities.
Aligning with NHS strategy and future trends
The CHWW model aligns closely with the NHS’s move toward place-based, integrated care systems (ICSs). These systems rely on multi-agency collaboration and shared accountability for population health. These goals are better met with real-time data, interoperable platforms, and cross-sector communication. Telehealth technologies enable all of these.
Emerging innovations are also reshaping what’s possible. AI-driven symptom checkers, remote diagnostics, and predictive analytics based on population data can all aid CHWWs. They help in targeting interventions more precisely. NHS pilot schemes using AI triage tools in urgent care have already demonstrated reduced wait times and improved patient satisfaction (HSJ, 2025). Applying similar tools in community care could help CHWWs identify and prioritise residents at greatest risk.
Community Health and Wellbeing Workers represent a shift in the way we think about healthcare delivery in the UK. They bring health support into homes, build trust in underserved communities, and tackle the root causes of poor health before they become crises.
But the long-term success of the scheme depends on more than good intentions. It requires infrastructure, scalability, and integration. Telehealth is not just a support tool, it’s the infrastructure. When integrated into the CHWW model from the ground up, it changes a good idea into a national strategy. This strategy is a game-changer.
If the government wants to make prevention, not treatment, the foundation of the NHS, it has to invest in digital health capabilities. These capabilities should match the ambition of this new frontline workforce.
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