Building Health Partnerships: Self-care

The Building Health Partnerships: Self-care programme is providing funded support to enable Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP) to engage with the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector and citizens on wellbeing and self-care priorities.

Jointly funded by NHS England and the Big Lottery Fund and delivered in partnership by Social Enterprise UK and the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) the programme began in April 2017 and will run until June 2018.

The BHP: Self-care programme takes a dual focus combining relationship building with agreeing and implementing joint action. STP areas in the programme will be able to access a mixture of facilitated support, expert input, links to other networks and initiatives and communications expertise.

The programme is intended to support STPs to more effectively engage with all the providers and people necessary to meet their plan objectives – in line with the Five Year Forward View.

Self-Care for a good life in old age

Co-producing ways to get better at developing and implementing joint working between the NHS in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) and the voluntary and community sector, to encourage self-care in our communities.

In this, our 3rd meeting of a series of 4, and following on from the last event on 19th October (slides available on request) we will feedback on the activity that has taken place between events as a result of the group work completed at the previous session (see below). We welcome updates from you too – so please contact us if you would like a slot at the session to share what you are working on that connects to our overall aim of:

Understanding the extent to which people can be supported to look after themselves and stay well and how non-medical community support can contribute to this.

The session will include updates on the following themes/actions:

1. Influence – describing the key activities necessary to the Sustainability & Transformation Partnership (STP) to enable effective community-led approaches to self-care

2. Research to inform – results of our survey to BNSSG GPs on their involvement with Social Prescribing to date

3. Explore – the role of the West of England Civil Society Partnership in representing/ facilitating opportunities and the voice of the voluntary and community sector including smaller/ under-represented groups

4. Expert Review – sharing feedback from our researcher on the current databases and platforms available in BNSSG to support social prescribing, signposting (to a range of support and services) and self-care, and make recommendations to the STP

Through all the above activity we will be exploring our theme of finding better ways of working together across organisations including fair shares of funding and mutual respect as well as an opportunity to influence key decisions.

Please come along and help shape how the NHS engages with the voluntary sector and community organisations. Your participation will help ensure that opportunities are opened up for the voluntary and community sector and a genuine partnership approach develops.

Information on how to access the venue can be found here

Final note: Our next and final session will take place on Wednesday 11th April, 9:00 to 12.30pm (central Bristol venue tbc). Invitations and further information the final session will sent out in due course.