Citizens Advice Blackpool wins Spring North’s Innovative Delivery Award for supporting people with COPD
“This recognition celebrates our team’s passion for pushing boundaries, doing things differently and our commitment to creating solutions that genuinely improve people’s health and lives.”
Citizens Advice Blackpool has won a regional award recognising its work to support people with COPD and other respiratory conditions to stay well at home and avoid unnecessary hospital visits.
The organisation was named the winner of Spring North’s Innovative Delivery Award.
The inaugural Spring North Awards celebrated organisations that are making a meaningful difference through innovative delivery, strong community impact and outstanding support for people across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Citizens Advice Blackpool was recognised for its joined-up winter respiratory support project, delivered in partnership with Groundwork, which combined practical advice, community outreach and early intervention to help people manage their health before reaching crisis point.
The project supported adults in Blackpool with respiratory infections, asthma, COPD and other ongoing breathing conditions. Rather than focusing only on clinical need, the team looked at the wider issues affecting people’s health, including cold homes, fuel poverty, food insecurity, isolation and difficulty accessing support.
Citizens Advice Blackpool link workers were embedded within existing respiratory pathways, including the Acute Respiratory Infection Hub at Whitegate Drive, and also worked across community spaces in Blackpool. The team built strong referral routes with clinicians, social prescribers, the DWP, community hubs and voluntary sector partners, helping people access the right support at the right time.
Support included benefit checks, help with damp or cold homes, fuel and food vouchers, heated throws, mental health referrals and links into local community hubs. This practical support helped people feel more confident managing their breathing, stay warmer and safer at home, and reduce the risk of hospital admission during the winter months.
The project reached more than 7,000 people through targeted health messages and resources, identified 918 people at higher risk of urgent and emergency care admission, directly engaged 1,659 people and provided one-to-one support to 864 individuals. The wider evaluation estimated that, based on 50% admission avoidance, the respiratory support work helped avoid 432 hospital admissions and delivered total cost savings of £385,776.
Judges praised Citizens Advice Blackpool for creating a practical, preventative model that responded to the real-life reasons people become unwell. By bringing together health, advice and community support, the project helped fill gaps in existing provision, reduce duplication and make support easier to access for people who may otherwise have reached crisis point.
Martin Hartley-Smith, CEO of Spring North, said: “Citizens Advice Blackpool impressed the judges because this project shows what innovation looks like in practice. It recognised that for people living with respiratory conditions, staying well is not just about clinical care. It is also about having a warm home, enough food, the right advice and trusted people to turn to.
“This project brought those pieces together in a really practical way, helping people in Blackpool access support earlier, stay safer at home and avoid unnecessary pressure on urgent and emergency care. It is a strong example of community-rooted, preventative work making a measurable difference. Congratulations to the whole team for the impact they have achieved.”
As the category winner, Citizens Advice Blackpool will receive a professionally produced impact video, valued at £1,500, to help showcase its work and the difference it is making in communities across Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Tracy Hopkins, CEO of Citizens Advice Blackpool, said: “Winning the Innovation Award is an incredible achievement for everyone at Citizens Advice Blackpool. This recognition celebrates our team’s passion for pushing boundaries, doing things differently and our commitment to creating solutions that genuinely improve people’s health and lives.
“I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved together, and this award only strengthens our drive to keep leading the way.”