Health inequality Archives - Here https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/category/health-inequality/ Rated Outstanding by the CQC Thu, 19 Sep 2024 15:53:55 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.5 https://hereweare.org.uk/app/uploads/2024/03/cropped-Here_favicon-32x32.png Health inequality Archives - Here https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/category/health-inequality/ 32 32 Personalised care made accessible from Sussex MSK Partnership https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/personalised-care-made-accessible/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/personalised-care-made-accessible/#respond Wed, 18 Sep 2024 09:42:13 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=14867 We know that conveying complex medical information in a clear and accessible manner can be challenging. This is where Sussex MSK Partnership Central's animations step in, rethinking the way healthcare information is delivered to patients.

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Personalised care made accessible from Sussex MSK Partnership

Animated image of a man sat at computer talking on the phone asking 'How can we help you?'

In the realm of healthcare, patient education plays a pivotal role in ensuring individuals understand their conditions, treatments, and how to manage their health effectively.

Shaping services around the needs of our population

We know that conveying complex medical information in a clear and accessible manner can be challenging. This is where Sussex MSK Partnership Central‘s animations step in, rethinking the way healthcare information is delivered to patients. 

Their three short videos – Introduction to Musculoskeletal Health, What to Expect and How to Prepare for Your Appointment and Person Initiated Follow Up offer simplicity in messaging, providing people with a clear understanding of the term MSK and what to expect from the service.

 

Accessible videos for people receiving MSK care

Accessible information about the services we offer

Jo Hall, Professional Lead at Sussex MSK Partnership, reflects: 

 As part of Personalised Care and understanding what matters most to people, we know how important it is to support people with friendly, accessible information about the services we offer, what to expect, and how to prepare, to enable them to make the most of any contact they have with us. 

It also goes beyond this – helping inform people about MSK health and beyond, offering reassurance and signposting to support living well within their community. 

By simplifying medical jargon and presenting information in a visually engaging format, people can grasp crucial healthcare insights more easily.

Through colourful visuals and dynamic storytelling, patients are not only informed but also entertained, making the learning process more enjoyable and effective. 

Head shot of a white woman with dark straight hair, smiling. Photo is of Jo Hall, Professional Lead at Sussex MSK Partnership

“We gained a lot of insight from our communities at The Big Conversation, hearing that people didn’t understand what MSK meant, who we are as a service and what we offer. It made a big difference to work with them to shape our animation to suit the needs of the end user.” Jo Hall, Professional Lead at Sussex MSK Partnership

Speaking directly to people at their Big Conversation events allowed the MSK service to understand what the local population wants and needs when it comes to accessible healthcare, helping to shape their offerings. By incorporating feedback and insights from these events, Sussex MSK Partnership Central ensured their animations provide valuable information but also resonate with and cater to the diverse needs of the community they serve. 

The team worked on the videos with local designer Katie Merrien, Founder of CommuniKate Design, who breaks down complex information into digestible, visual narratives.  

 

Katie said: 

“Sussex MSK Partnership Central is one of the best organisations I’ve worked with. They are proactive and thoughtful about representation of and ensuring access for all demographic groups, and passionate about co-designing messaging with their service users to make sure it meets people’s needs.  

Creating the animations with the team was a really enjoyable, straightforward and informative process for me, and I know that residents will experience a lot of benefits as a result of our work together.” 

Photo of a woman with long, light coloured hair, smiling whilst sat at a desk holding a pen

The service has also produced offline assets, including posters and leaflets, to ensure those who don’t have digital access can still benefit from the content of the video.

Furthermore, with incorporation of British Sign Language (BSL) this adds an invaluable layer of accessibility for deaf or hard of hearing individuals, ensuring that no one is left behind in understanding their healthcare journey.

Also of interest

Why have this evaluation of our CADs?

Why have this evaluation of our CADs?

Earlier this year we commissioned an evaluation of our Community Appointment Days. Laura Finucane, Clinical Director at Sussex MSK Partnership Central shares her reflections on the evaluation.

read more

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Fern Bolwell’s reflections on the Sussex Health Equity Fellowship https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/sussex-health-equity-fellowship/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/sussex-health-equity-fellowship/#respond Thu, 29 Aug 2024 10:12:29 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=14588 The Health Equity Fellowship is a nine-month programme delivered by NHS Sussex and Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, which equips participants with the skills and knowledge to become key change agents within their organisations, promoting a focus on equity and reducing health inequalities.

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Fern Bolwell’s reflections on the Sussex Health Equity Fellowship

Image features people sitting on chairs in a sports hall reading information about the community appointment day they are attending.

Our work at Here focusses on bringing together service improvement, lived experience and data.

Last June we joined the Sussex Health Equity Fellowship, a brand new programme created by Sussex Health and Care and partnered with Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network.

We were extremely keen to be involved and were thrilled that of the eight places offered two of our team were accepted onto the programme.

Fern Bolwell, Learning Lead and Tom Golden, Business Intelligence Analyst at Here both took part in the programme. We felt that having people from both an operational and data and a analytics perspective would of huge benefit due to how equity learning could be used by these different skills areas.

In this blog, Fern shares her more about the Fellowship and reflects on what both she personally and us as an organisation have learned from the experience.

Tom Golden
Fern Bolwell

What is the Health Equity Fellowship? 

The Health Equity Fellowship is a nine-month programme delivered by NHS Sussex and Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex. The programme aims to equip participants with the skills and knowledge to become key change agents within their organisations, promoting a focus on equity and reducing health inequalities. 

The Fellowship is delivered through a mixture of lectures, webinars, action learning sets, mentoring and connection to each other’s knowledge and experience. Alongside this, Fellows complete a work-based project with a goal of improving health equity.

Sussex Health and Care Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex Health Equity Fellowship

‘We know that our society is not fair and equitable, and many people face

 
 
 

systematised and institutional discrimination and cannot thrive in the conditions in which they live. We recognise the structural and cultural inequalities that are embedded in our wider society, and that this impacts our work in health and care. We recognise the inequities in the healthcare system and we want to work to address those.’ 

I have always been passionate about justice and fairness in society and ensuring everyone’s voices are heard and acted on. My professional goal is to realise this mission through the work that I am doing with Sussex MSK Partnership and ensure that health equity is always considered in each decision for the patients who need it most.  

For me the opportunity to be a part of the Fellowship came at a key moment of change for the Sussex MSK Partnership as we looked to the future and worked on how to deliver healthcare differently.

Equality and equity

What skills did we bring?

Sussex MSK Partnership had already set aside dedicated project groups to focus on health equity. This work has been divided into 3 workstreams – Data, Staff Support and Community.

I work across each project group and was able to see where each intersected and supported the other. We first focused on an evidence-based approach through both community outreach and data gathering to ensure the changes we make, make a difference where it is most needed.

The way we work at Here meant we were able to be agile and encouraged to be innovative and forward thinking in approaches to delivering healthcare. 

What have been the results? 

The Health Equity Fellowship gave me the opportunity to grow my capability in population health, innovation and evaluation. My understanding increased in applying an equity lens to change initiatives. As well as expanding my network and connecting me to experts in a wide range of relevant areas.

Following the fellowship, I presented at Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust and Sussex Medical School’s Anti Racism event to showcase our work at Sussex MSK Partnership. 

I felt truly inspired by the dedication of the team leading the Fellowship and emboldened by their hope, even when honestly discussing the real challenge and shocking impact of inequity and prejudice.  

During the 9 months of the Fellowship I was able to work on: 

  • Improving our data capture and reporting to be able to see, at a glance, differences between access, experience and journey of different groups of patients.
  • Used our data to inform where we should be supporting our community, through this evidence, we connected with Crawley Asian networks. 
  • Shared the learning from the fellowship and delivered training for all Here colleagues on health equity. 
  • Simplified the interpreter booking process to address inequity.
  • Created a new process to ensure patients with adjustments were flagged on our systems so that we can proactively support their needs.
Our self referral leaflet, translated into Tamil.

What is our learning and what are we taking forward from this? 

The Fellowship experience has extended my confidence, competency and language to challenge and advocate for health equity in projects, process, the workplace and the wider world. 

I actively seek out to surface where there are challenges for patients and colleagues based on protected characteristics.  focused on fixing, improving and most importantly sharing the learning and awareness for future prevention of inequity.

I am grateful to those who speak up and teach me. It has shifted my vision to a world where I am no longer blind to inequity. 

The fellowship really opened my eyes to the impact that bias, exclusion and discrimination has on the healthcare of certain demographics.

Coming from a background of data, the fellowship taught me the importance of collaboration and co-design. I learnt that data is useful in identifying trends that might suggest inequity but it is only when you go and meet members of the community that you understand the factors that may be causing an inequity in their healthcare.

Tom Golden
Business Intelligence Analyst at Here

Earlier this month Sussex Health and Care Fellowship held a webinar to share more information about the programme, Fern was invited to talk and share her experience – you can watch it in full below.

 

How can you get involved?  

The Sussex Health Equity Fellowship is now recruiting for a new cohort of Fellows – details on how to apply are below. 

 

  1. Health Innovation KSS website: https://healthinnovation-kss.com/news/sussex-health-equity-fellowship-opens-for-applications/ 
  2. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7224325761082552320
  3. Twitter: https://x.com/HealthInnov_KSS/status/1818563477654417445
  4. Applications close on 2nd September 2024, 11:59pm

Fern Bolwell, Learning Lead at Here

Also of interest

World Stroke Day 2024: Alasdair’s story of recovery

World Stroke Day 2024: Alasdair’s story of recovery

This World Stroke Day we wanted to share Alasdair’s story. In this video stroke survivor Alasdair and his wife Emma talk about their experience of what it was like to be invited to be a part of the Stroke Health and Wellbeing Service, and the difference this support had on Alasdair’s recovery to date.

read more

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From health inequalities to creating health equity https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/health-inequalities-to-health-equity/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/health-inequalities-to-health-equity/#respond Thu, 15 Aug 2024 16:26:51 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=14423 By creating a mission around health equity, we can connect our staff to a bolder vision for their work, with healthcare workers as agents of social change, making a difference to our world rather than processing an endless chain of individuals passing through.

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From health inequalities to creating health equity

South Asian man sat talking to a clinician in a medial consultation room

“By creating a mission around health equity, we can connect our staff to a bolder vision for their work, with healthcare workers as agents of social change, making a difference to our world rather than processing an endless chain of individuals passing through.”

In 1834 Britain passed the Poor Law, an act of Parliament partially creating a safety net for all, but also enshrining a principle of deterring people from making unnecessary demands on public funds that remains present in today’s national debate.  

The infirmaries that grew from the poor house would soon be described as “a disgrace to our civilisation” (Lancet 1865) and served as inspiration for the alternative visions of Beveridge and Bevan a generation on.  

The Marmot review in 2010 and ten years on (2020), along with the desperately disproportionate impact of COVID show how slow our progress has been.

Health inequalities today

In today’s Britain, healthy life expectancy remains widely divided between rich and poor with inequities widening since 2010 English indices of deprivation 2019 – GOV.UK

Leaflet entitled Your New National Health Service - On the 5th of July the new National Health Service starts

Nye Bevan’s vision for the NHS was a far-reaching reform of access to healthcare, with a more dramatically socialist root than is widely spoken of.

In providing universal access to healthcare, free at the point of delivery, Bevan viewed the NHS as part of an infrastructure that would dismantle division of class and wealth.

When we talk about health inequalities today, we often think of correcting poorer health outcomes, and less about social justice.

There is a risk that we fail to recognise in real terms the need to deliver more (and different) health and social care interventions for some people, rather than just making sure there is equal access to the traditional offer.

Shifting the language from health inequalities to creating health equity

More insidiously, at times of high demand, services can pivot to the quick wins, trying to reduce overall waits or meet blunt targets. At these times, delivering care to groups with different needs can feel more challenging, ‘complex’, and bypassed on route to the ‘low hanging fruit’.

During the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, we saw this in real time, with data tracking how some populations accessed vaccine quicker than others, and the cost of delivering to some groups was higher – and therefore not incentivised in a fixed tariff payment mechanism.

Wider than this, we know the presence of health conditions or caring responsibilities adds disadvantage over time, a vicious cycle where 54% of carers report their own health had suffered, and 44% had put off seeking health treatment because of their responsibilities. For these groups ‘equal’ access to treatment as usual will not meet their need.  

Shifting the language from health inequalities to creating health equity paints a much broader picture.

It engages our services in recognising that part of the mission of the NHS is a social justice one, that we are a part of how wealth is re-distributed, by providing safe, universal, free access to healthcare, we can balance the accident of birth. As Marmot says, “if health has stopped improving, it is a sign that society has stopped improving”. 

Healthcare workers agents of social change

By creating a mission around health equity, we can connect our staff to a bolder vision for their work, with healthcare workers as agents of social change, making a difference to our world rather than processing an endless chain of individuals passing through.

From this lens, we are stretched to consider what more we can do, taking proactive approaches to the delivery of health, seeking out places and populations who we know are disadvantaged, and playing our part in levelling the playing field.

With this focus, our task is shaped differently. No longer do we look at access data in terms of whether it is representative of our population, but whether it is representative of our population need. 

Leaflet entitled Your New National Health Service - On the 5th of July the new National Health Service starts

Our programs and services spend more in areas of deprivation, understand that delivery methods than may be more expensive, and focus on the value this represents in lifting the disproportionate distribution of wealth (in its widest sense).

Doing things differently for a better world

More contentiously it could mean sifting through these long waiting lists differently – to identify those who are disproportionately impacted, less advantaged, less resilient, less able to wait, in service of a fairer society.

It is as much part of our social mission as it is our commissioned services, and we want to do more. We are not alone. Despite all of the pressures within the NHS, we know there is a growing emphasis and commitment to the pursuit of a better world, a drive for health equity at every stage of our lives.  

Through our data dashboards and outreach programs (Vax and CAD), we have learned about how to deliver healthcare differently. Delivering quick, efficient healthcare to the many, and bespoke, targeted offers to the few.

We believe we’re stronger together. If you’d like to work with us to find new and innovative ways of growing health equity then we would love to hear from you.

Get in touch: collab@hereweare.org.uk

Dr. Helen Curr, Chief Executive at Here

My role is to hold ourselves true to our values. To make sure our commitment to putting people at the heart of their healthcare journey is embedded in every decision and action we take.

Also of interest

Fern Bolwell’s reflections on the Sussex Health Equity Fellowship

Fern Bolwell’s reflections on the Sussex Health Equity Fellowship

The Health Equity Fellowship is a nine-month programme delivered by NHS Sussex and Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, which equips participants with the skills and knowledge to become key change agents within their organisations, promoting a focus on equity and reducing health inequalities.

read more
From health inequalities to creating health equity

From health inequalities to creating health equity

By creating a mission around health equity, we can connect our staff to a bolder vision for their work, with healthcare workers as agents of social change, making a difference to our world rather than processing an endless chain of individuals passing through.

read more

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Social Impact Framework development – could you help us? https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/invitation-to-quote-social-impact-framework-development/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/invitation-to-quote-social-impact-framework-development/#respond Fri, 09 Aug 2024 09:02:46 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=14347 We aim to report annually externally on our social impact, and use the framework internally to help us develop consistently across our organisation, services and locations.

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Social Impact Framework development – could you help us?

Jamie Tulley

Do you have experience in helping social purpose organisations define, measure and report on their social impact?

 

We would like to work with you. For more information click the link below to download the PDF.

Deadline for response: 19th September 2024

 

Please feel free to share with anyone else you might think would like to work with us. 

 

To discuss the brief or to submit your quote, please email: jo.crease@nhs.net

Photograph: Jenny Handy

Crawley Community Action’s Health Expo Event

Photograph: Jenny Handy

Monopause@Work breakfast launch event

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Sustainability goals: Responsible consumption and production https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/sdg-consumption-and-production/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/sdg-consumption-and-production/#respond Mon, 08 Jul 2024 12:32:21 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=13954 The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 global goals adopted by all United Nations Member States. They are designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”.

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Sustainability goals: Responsible consumption and production

Jamie Tulley

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 global goals adopted by all United Nations Member States. They are designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”.

Every few weeks we will share Here’s progress on one of these goals. Last month we were focused on Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” 

 

Let’s look at how Here has been a significant local employer for the last few years.

The chart below shows the carbon emission impact from al of Here’s purchases. To measure this, we must categorise all of Here’s purchases into types and apply different carbon factors per group, depending on their impact on the environment. Here’s biggest category by far is “Services” where we purchase some kind of service from a supplier. This could be a professional service such as accounting or legal, of physiotherapy services, or courier services.

In 19/20 we had the Wellbeing service, and Benfield, the latter which we also had until the end of July 2021. Our consumption has reduced dramatically since then but has plateaued despite having less people. We will be looking at this by service over the year and working with teams to see where we can reduce the carbon impact.

Carbon impact of Here's purchases graph

What else have we done to promote responsible consumption and production?

For our employees:

  • Our twice-weekly free vegan lunches for staff at 177 office have not only provided a sustainable way for our employees to have lunch, but also introduced to many vegan recipes and allowed them to experience how tasty they can be.
  • As well as using local suppliers where possible, we bulk buy our office refreshment supplies from  a co-operative Infinity Foods. We also buying our stationary in bulk to reduce delivery carbon impact.
  • Our electricity energy consumption is from Octopus which is 100% sustainable energy, we also have solar panels on roof.
  • We recycle as much as possible in the office, including food waste, batteries and vapes. In 23/24, the amount we recycled went down by 19% but the amount we sent to landfill went down by 5% too.
CO2 impact table

 

  • In 2020 we switched everyone to using laptops, which consumes 80% less energy than  desktops. We also limited the use of screens at home to one, which reduces our consumption and personal energy use.
  • We switched most of our printers to print in black and white
  • For our participation in Pride last year, we made sure that our purchasing was sustainable,  sustainably sourced T Shirts and resources that can be reused for subsequent events.
  • For off-sites and awaydays we have been re-thinking our venue choice to use local venues and those with better public transport links to reduce the carbon travel impact. Where possible, we actively encourage lift-sharing. Board meetings are now held at the Worth Corner Business Centre rather than Spithurst Hub to reduce the carbon impact. After comparing the data between the travel to Spithurst and the new location in Crawley so far in 2024, we have seen a reduction of 70% in the volume of carbon generated by this travel (from 121.5 kg of CO2 to 35.5kg of CO2).

For our patients:  

We encourage responsible consumption and disposal of medical supplies with our provision of NHS services. This will be an area of focus for Here in 24/25.

Transition to animations and website and apps for MSK, but also need hard copy to enable accessibility. Aim to measure carbon impact of difference ways of accessing advice.

 

For our wider community: 

Here has been conducting a review of suppliers to encourage us to choose suppliers who are:

  • Small (less than 50 employees)
  • Local
  • A social enterprise
  • Have green credentials
  • Are modern slavery cognizant
  • Pay the Real Living Wage
Carbon FY23_24

What do we plan to do?   

  • In 24/25 we plan to work with all our services to review how we can be more responsible in our consumption of medical supplies and in their disposal. We hope to work with other local teams to share best practice and supplier knowledge. Lesley Jay and Kristin Francis have already joined the Greener Practice network where they share knowledge in primary care across Sussex. We plan to review our consumption patterns by service, and work with the operational teams to see how we can rethink or reduce our consumption and thereby reduce our carbon footprint. We plan to share the learning across services and embed it into any future services.
  • The Sustainability Team and working with MSK to review the carbon savings from our MSK Transformation projects, which we plan to report on as we complete the analysis.
  • Knight Frank have agreed to add Sustainability as a standing agenda item for the 6 monthly tenants meetings going forward.
  • We plan to reach out to other partners we work with about sustainability goals e.g. Clinical Education and Yma.
Clinical education logo
Yma logo

Are we supporting any suppliers who are doing good in this area?

In 23/24, we spent £12k with Solus who are a supplier of refreshments, t-shirts and stationary for Here.

We support them as a business as they have received an ISO14001 Environmental Management System accreditation, with 60% of their energy usage from their own solar energy system. They also have zero-emission delivery fleets and are committed to eliminating unnecessary supply chain packaging.

What can we do at home to responsible consumption and production? 

  • We have hit peak stuff. A bold statement, but we can avoid adding to this problem by encouraging a circular economy.  Want to know more? Here is a useful link.
  • Nearly all of us now are committed to using reusable water bottles and coffee mugs, rather than plastic options which are purchased and thrown away.
  • Recycle, recycle recycle!
  • Buy social – next time you are purchasing, have a quick look in the Social Supermarket where you can buy all sorts of things direct from social enterprises. Be warned though, you can get lost for hours just browsing all the brilliant products!
  • Holidays – measure the impact of your own carbon footprint and the impact of your actions using this calculator.

Reduce waste weblink: Love Food Hate Waste / Preventing food waste

Fare Share logo

A charity who work with 153 organisations across Sussex and Surrey to redistribute surplus produce to those who need it most through their networks.

Real junk food project logo

The Real Junk Food Project in Brighton, has the wonderful tag line of “Feed bellies not bins”. They intercept food waste destined for landfill and use it to feed people in cafes, projects and pop-ups on a “pay as you feel” basis. Those in need are not degraded or shamed for taking a free or cheap meal, likewise those who can afford it are not pestered into more and more donations. Everyone is equal in getting fed, it is up to the individual to pay what they feel.

What responsible production and consumption campaign days can you get involved with?  

March 30 International day of zero waste driven by the UN to raise awareness of the issues in the waste production and removal process globally and what is being done to help.

May 8 World Fair Trade Day a global celebration held on the second Saturday in May to help us envision a world where trade helps support small-scale farmers, producers and their families, cultivating healthy and sustainable communities globally.

June 16 World Refill Day is a global campaign to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. A day of action uniting our global community every year on 16th June, the campaign is designed to create an alternative vision of the future and accelerate the transition away from single-use plastic towards refill & reuse systems.

July Plastic Free July® is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.

The Sustainability Team

Sustainability team

Also of interest

Why have this evaluation of our CADs?

Why have this evaluation of our CADs?

Earlier this year we commissioned an evaluation of our Community Appointment Days. Laura Finucane, Clinical Director at Sussex MSK Partnership Central shares her reflections on the evaluation.

read more

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CAD success in Brighton https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/cad-success/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/cad-success/#respond Thu, 04 Jul 2024 15:25:26 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=13965 The post CAD success in Brighton appeared first on Here.

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CAD success in Brighton

A group of about 30 people stood in a sports hall all facing the camera and smiling

Last Monday, colleagues from Sussex MSK Partnership Central supported University Hospital Sussex to see 240 people at their own Community Appointment Day (CAD).

Held at the Sports Centre at University Of Sussex in Falmer, the CAD supported people from Brighton through strengths- based What Matters to You conversations, and tailored advice, guidance, and rehabilitation depending on their individual needs.

Community providers were also on hand to offer additional support and to connect people on a wider basis with their health and wellbeing. Including SCFT Living Well Programme, Freedom Leisure, Aging Well, MIND, Together Co Social Prescribing, Brighton and Hove City Council and Sussex Integrated Care Board.

The feedback from those who attended was hugely positive and it was great to support people in the community.

“It was so wonderful to be listened to. Everyone was so kind. Please thank everyone as I now understand more about my condition and can be proactive in my recovery.” – Feedback from attendee

Look out for further CAD updates over the coming months.

A group of about 30 people stood in a sports hall all facing the camera and smiling

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What if we made community powered health, for everyone https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/community-powered-health-for-everyone/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/community-powered-health-for-everyone/#respond Thu, 28 Mar 2024 13:38:18 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=8465 Today over 270 people were on the call, with the wonderful Natalie Blunt and Laura Finucane talking about how they got the CAD up and running, and what impact it had.

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What if we made community powered health, for everyone

Jamie Tulley

As a social enterprise our purpose is to create exceptional care, for everyone.

We are incredibly proud of the services we deliver, and sharing our learning is an important part of our culture.

Many businesses talk about growth, for us, we measure that in terms of impact, as well as delivery.

That’s why we were so excited about our New Local webinar this morning, talking about our Community Appointment Day innovations in Sussex.

Today over 270 people were on the call, with the wonderful Natalie Blunt and Laura Finucane talking about how they got the CAD up and running, and what impact it had.

Whilst we are still tracking our data, and learning what works, what I’m left with this morning is the incredible news that across the country, CADs are popping up like mushrooms.

What started as a ‘what if’ conversation in our teams, is becoming an accepted idea – fuelled by a desire to experiment, to try something different, knowing that doing what we’ve always done will not solve the problems we face.

Its not just in MSK, and its not about waiting lists. Creating new ways to deliver truly personalised care is an idea our systems are ready for. Common sense innovation, that anyone can read about and think – how might we do that around here?

As a social enterprise, this is what we are about. Business for good. We’re excited to connect with others who are exploring this idea. We’re happy to share, and importantly we’ll learn from how this idea develops in other places.

Creating exceptional care for everyone is going to take change on a new scale. Strength based, community powered health.

 

Whether you’re daunted, deliberating or determined to try, we’d love to be connected.

Want to learn more about the Community Appointment Day model?

 

For more information please contact us: collab@hereweare.org.uk

Read about how it all started in our blog: Community Appointment Days – An idea that rapidly turned into an innovation

Dr Helen Curr, Chief Executive

My role is to hold ourselves true to our values. To make sure our commitment to putting people at the heart of their healthcare journey is embedded in every decision and action we take.

Also of interest

World Stroke Day 2024: Alasdair’s story of recovery

World Stroke Day 2024: Alasdair’s story of recovery

This World Stroke Day we wanted to share Alasdair’s story. In this video stroke survivor Alasdair and his wife Emma talk about their experience of what it was like to be invited to be a part of the Stroke Health and Wellbeing Service, and the difference this support had on Alasdair’s recovery to date.

read more

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Memory Assessment Service & LGBT Switchboard collaboration https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/lgbt-switchboard-collaboration/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/lgbt-switchboard-collaboration/#respond Mon, 11 Sep 2023 18:28:50 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=10141 We want to understand more. Our collaboration with the Switchboard is allowing us to listen to LGBTQ+ patient voices and explore the firsthand experiences of people with dementia and their loved ones.

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Memory Assessment Service & LGBT Switchboard collaboration

Jamie Tulley

We are working with LGBT Switchboard to understand the needs of LGBTQ+ people in Brighton and Hove in relation to their memory problems and dementia care.

About this collaboration

We understand that every person we support has a unique experience and personalising our service is one of the important principles we work by. In Brighton and Hove we serve a diverse community and we want to ensure that everyone has an appropriate and affirmative experience of our service. We also understand that some people in society, such as LGBTQ+ people, have not had the same access or experiences with health services as others. There may be a legacy of poor experiences for LGBTQ+ people in Brighton and Hove.

We want to understand more. Our collaboration with the Switchboard is allowing us to listen to LGBTQ+ patient voices and explore the firsthand experiences of people with dementia and their loved ones. We’re doing this through a series of focus groups and conversations.

The purpose of this collaboration

Our intention with this collaboration is to:

  • Listen to LGBTQ+ patients and loved ones
  • Hear what is important
  • Understand more about what people are looking for from our service
  • Support personalisation of our offer to meet the needs
  • Avoid making assumptions
  • Consider what we hear and ensure that we can reflect needs in our interactions and support and the way we deliver our service

How we’re collaborating with LGBT Switchboard

John Hammond, CEO of the Brighton and Hove LGBT Switchboard talks about the ways that we are working together to improve our service.

Why we’re working with LGBT Switchboard

The Switchboard has been supporting people in Brighton and Hove since 1975. In recent years it has developed a support offering for older people, with a dementia service that specifically supports LGBTQ people, their loved ones and caregivers. This includes:

  • The Rainbow Cafe peer support group
  • Worthing Dementia Support Group
  • LGBTQ+ Carers Meetup
  • One-to-one support in person, by phone, or online
  • raining, advice and information on LGBTQ+ dementia for individuals, care givers, and organisations

In 2022, the Switchboard’s Dementia Support project won the ‘health equity’ award at the Royal Society for Public Health’s annual health and wellbeing awards. Learn more at the LGBT Switchboard website.

Also of interest

World Stroke Day 2024: Alasdair’s story of recovery

World Stroke Day 2024: Alasdair’s story of recovery

This World Stroke Day we wanted to share Alasdair’s story. In this video stroke survivor Alasdair and his wife Emma talk about their experience of what it was like to be invited to be a part of the Stroke Health and Wellbeing Service, and the difference this support had on Alasdair’s recovery to date.

read more

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World Alzheimer’s month https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/world-alzheimers-month/ https://hereweare.org.uk/blog/world-alzheimers-month/#respond Wed, 06 Sep 2023 18:23:50 +0000 https://hereweare.org.uk/?p=10135 Brighton and Hove Memory Assessment Service (MAS) is more than an assessment service. We offer both clinical care and social support to those people who are diagnosed with dementia.

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World Alzheimer’s month

Jamie Tulley

This month highlights the importance of reducing the stigma surrounding dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

The diagnosis process is different for everyone and medical appointments and diagnosis are only a part of the picture.

That’s why services like the Brighton and Hove Memory Assessment Service are here to navigate all the ups and downs of adapting to new circumstances, helping people and their loved ones get the care they need to live their life well.

What is the Brighton and Hove Memory Assessment Service?

Brighton and Hove Memory Assessment Service (MAS) is more than an assessment service. We offer both clinical care and social support to those people who are diagnosed with dementia.

We help people who are experiencing problems with their memory to find out what’s going on, and to access the right treatment and support.

Learn more here.

Get in contact with your GP for a referral.

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