Agenda item

Two updates were provided about current work taking place from groups already addressing this priority area of work:

• The Local Sports Alliance: James Naylor, Everyone Active, confirmed details of the planned Health & Wellbeing event which will be hosted at Parklands Leisure Centre (12 November 2017). This is being driven forwards by the LSA sub-group led by Haseeb Ahmad.  In order to apply for external funding there is a need to gain insight, therefore this event will act as a consultation opportunity as well as provide information and fun activities to improve residents mental health and wellbeing. However it is important to note that other organisations not already engaged with the Local Sport Alliance are being encouraged to get involved and get the message out.

• Community Development Group:  Dave Cliffe from Voluntary Action provided an update about the Oadby & Wigston and Blaby District Mental Health Forum which formed in September 2016. It aims to bring partner organisations together; map information on local wellbeing/mental health initiatives; encourage and disseminate good practice; develop a befriending service; and support project delivery.

The group meets once every two months. They are currently looking at practical steps to take the group forwards e.g. wellbeing cafés and then roll out across the borough.

Following the updates, meeting attendees were split into two groups to provide an opportunity to discuss how we can better work together to help our residents and whether something like a locality alliance option is one opportunity to work better, and thus gain access to funding.

Summary of findings:

Q1. How can our local group of health professionals, officers and service providers work together for the benefit of Oadby and Wigston residents?

-         Constituted group – draw down funding

-         Mapping of information – low key groups/charities

-         Encouraging low key groups to have the confidence to promote what they offer

-         Monthly meetings via Facebook for people who cannot attend meetings (Facebook page).

-         Online forums – include talking points, post threads for those who can’t go to these meetings.

-         Providing opportunities for the public to befriend/volunteer vulnerable people

-         Utilise the ‘Healthier in Mind’ survey 9Leicestershire Partnership Trust) for Mental Health, with their valuable data and feedback, could incorporate into our objectives and outcomes.

-          Hard to have a central outcome

-          Raising awareness of what’s happening locally

-          Herbert Protocol – West Yorkshire Police for link for form to put on the website

-          First contact plus – can we put a page about this on our website?

-          Dementia Action Alliance – look to set this up

-          Keeping information up to date

Q2.  What support/action is needed to achieve the above?

-         Creating a guide for ‘how to set up a constituted group’ guide, for those looking to develop their groups further and to support more local groups bid for funding to achieve outcomes.

-         Finding the target group in the first place

-         Find out what’s going on in the borough and county, sharing information. Come to some form of agreement to enable organisations to share certain information with certain partners.

-         More GP Referral – tap into the support staff in the surgeries; see if they are a better contact.

Q3. How will this action be measured?

-         By number of participants / attendances

-         Case studies which also confirm the health benefits achieved

Following the group discussions and feedback, it was identified that Dave Cliffe, Kane Radford and Avril Lennox would meet to take forwards the above information and look at how the current Mental Health Forum might work towards a formally constituted group.