A community-led approach is helping Phoenix PCN Luton reach men who may be reluctant to seek help, while addressing the wider factors that shape health outcomes. PCN manager and transformation lead Farkhanda Mehmood explains more to mark Men's Health Week
In Luton, the difference between living in one neighbourhood and another can mean almost a decade of life.
Men living in the town’s most deprived areas live, on average, nine years less than those in the most affluent areas. Across Luton, male life expectancy is 78.1 years, below the national average of 79.1 years. Health outcomes are also poorer than average. Luton has a health index score of 92.9, with scores below 100 indicating worse health than the England average.
Behind those figures is an ethnically diverse population facing higher-than-average levels of unemployment and deprivation.
Phoenix PCN Luton knew that if it were to be successful in tackling health inequalities, the traditional model of primary care - often fragmented, reactive and overstretched - would not work. It needed a different model that would address the social, psychological and lifestyle factors that influence health, especially for groups that can be harder to reach, including men.
Aims
The aim was to do more than simply provide care. We wanted to shift perspectives to inspire people and make it sustainable over the long term. We knew we would need to think outside the box to reach men – and others – who could be reluctant to engage with primary care, even when they needed help.
In addition, we wanted to rebuild trust in the healthcare system by showing that care need not always be delivered in a clinical setting to be effective.
The approach we have taken is to focus on specific cohorts of patients – like men only, women in perimenopause and the isolated elderly. Our success in group sessions comes, in large part, from validation by others with lived experience. It is empowering and is the first step to readiness for change.
We identified men’s health as a focus because of a pattern where men only reached out to the PCN’s health and wellbeing coaching late into the deterioration of their mental health.
So, we placed integration at the centre, partnering with a wide range of health and care providers, community groups and local institutions. This was to enable us to pool resources, avoid duplication and reach people in the spaces where they live, learn, work and worship.
Approach
Our initiatives include a range of approaches, such as one-to-one behaviour-change clinics, group awareness sessions – such as a men-only football tournament to raise awareness of diabetes - lifestyle programmes and collaborative events.
We partner with local community organisations such as X-4rce, which offers exercise bootcamps as a safe, connecting space for men, and STREETS, which runs chair-based exercises for the elderly and less mobile in community centres, mosques and churches.
We also have a relationship with Grasmere Community Gardens in conjunction with Am Giving Back, which offers therapeutic volunteering opportunities. Staff and patients volunteer together, experiencing the psychological and social benefits of connection, purpose and shared activity. There is also a singing café - a place to enjoy music and, more importantly, laughter, and connection with others.
In June 2025, we partnered with another network, Medics PCN, to run a men’s health event in the late afternoon/evening. Phoenix PCN Luton covers five practices with a patient population of 53,700. Working with Medics PCN enabled us to reach many more people, as the two PCNs have a combined population of approximately 117,000.
The men's health event was about raising awareness, providing information and social prescription advice, and offering appointment-free physical health checks for men. In keeping with our focus on non-clinical settings, it was held at Hockwell Ring Community Centre.
The PCN has also launched initiatives for different age groups. For example, many older residents shielded during the pandemic, and afterwards we identified a cohort experiencing isolation, depression, anxiety and loneliness. In response, we set up a coffee-morning group to bring people together. It recently celebrated its second anniversary.
By increasing volunteering opportunities in community activities, we provide patients with meaningful ways to contribute to and feel part of their community. This, in turn, supports their mental and social wellbeing, building resilience and sustainability into our communities.
Outcomes
The men’s health event we held last June was a success, with more than 100 patients attending the community centre. In total, 79 men’s health checks took place, and 474 metrics were collected, including height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, and alcohol and smoking screening. We provided advice, social prescribing referrals and signposting to services that could support individuals with their wider needs.
Men identified mental health and hypertension as among their most significant concerns. Feedback from the day led us to consider organising a different sort of event – comedy on prescription.
We co-delivered comedy on prescription - a Luton-wide, men’s mental health event - in collaboration with X-4rce and five other PCNs. All the networks contributed financial and staff resources and the first comedy on prescription event took place in February 2026, attended by 180 people. It was held at Luton Library Theatre and an excerpt from the event can be viewed on YouTube.
It was designed to use laughter as a mechanism to empower and teach men that they can change their mood by shifting their focus, to raise awareness of available mental health support and, importantly, to show them that they themselves are the most important driver for change in their own health.
Future
Building on the success of the comedy night, we have another event planned for October 2026. It is a demonstration of the value in a proactive, progressive, collaborative and community-focused model.
We have learned that, in primary care, stepping outside your comfort zone is often where the magic happens.
The current culture can sometimes lean towards caution and familiar ways of working, but a new approach can result in stronger engagement. Embracing the thrill of doing things differently unlocks innovation and energy. We are daring to dream, working creatively and we are seeing the impact.