The Manchester Metropolitan University Crime and Well-Being Big Data Centre (BDC) recently evaluated the first two years of the Hospital Navigator service on behalf of the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which is being delivered by the charity, Oasis UK.

Rolled out in 2020 across four hospitals in Greater Manchester (Royal Bolton Hospital, Salford Royal Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary and Manchester Royal Children’s Hospital) the Navigator programme was set up to support young people aged between 10 and 25 years old presenting at hospital with injuries resulting from violence. Navigators help victims to cope with and recover from their experiences to prevent retaliation or repeat victimisation and to reduce exploitation. This is achieved through various types of tailored support such as mentoring, building trust, identifying goals and signposting to other community provision.

As well as identifying successes, the evaluation highlighted opportunities for improvement such as trying to prevent injury in the first place by working with young people in their communities and offering support as early as possible. This learning contributed to the decision to scale-up the programme by allowing Navigators to address the social issues that may lead to an individuals’ increased risk of violence.

The BDC considered all elements of the service including referrals, participation, feedback from hospital-based colleagues as well as a lifestyle questionnaire, which was completed by some participants upon starting the programme and again upon exit.

Based on the data collected, the BDC found that the programme has been effective in reducing experiences of violence and in improving participants’ mental wellbeing, lifestyles and feelings of safety.

Linked Project:

Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit Research and Evaluation (on Criminal Justice Introduction Page)

Relevant Links:

https://gmvru.co.uk/young-people-report-reduction-in-violent-experiences-thanks-to-hospital-based-mentoring-programme/