Lynne Wallis discovers a healthcare enterprise that is winning support from local people

Until recently, the phrase ‘social enterprise’ might have meant an urban project diverting vulnerable young people away from crime while raising funds for a youth club. But after the government launched the social enterprise action plan in 2006 to encourage new business in the health and social care sector, everything started to change. Social enterprises are projects run by a business with the interests of the community in mind. There are now 55,000 such enterprises in the UK with a combined annual turnover of £27 billion.