Our NHS – We need to talk

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What’s the next chapter for our NHS?

The local NHS across Humber and North Yorkshire is embarking on We Need to Talk – a four-week conversation with people through social media and in-person focus groups about the future of the NHS in our area.

Starting 14 October, it lays bare some of the difficulties faced by the NHS, whilst giving people an opportunity to signal how they might want the NHS to change to meet the challenges of today and the demands of the future.

There’s further information about We Need to Talk and details of how people can get involved in the conversation at www.ourNHS.org as well as a short survey to complete.

As part of this campaign, several local engagement/drop-in sessions are being held across North Yorkshire:

  • Gallows Community Centre, Scarborough (5 November 10am-1pm)

Other events/training sessions include:

Book here for the following Men’s health events:

  • Lunch and Learn session on cancers primarily affecting men and people assigned male at birth (18 November, 12-12:45pm – virtual)
  • Men’s health awareness session (19 November, 12-1pm – virtual)
  • Health and Wellbeing Conversations Training (21 November, 12-1pm, virtual)

Resources for VCSE organisations working with Children and Young People

Click here to view digital resources that may be of interest to VCSE organisations working with Children and Young People.

Also, download Little Moments Together Cards here.

 

Utility Aid’s new Switching Site

Our partner, Utility Aid understands that staff and volunteers alike are time-poor and with this in mind, they want to make their services more accessible and compatible with flexi/volunteering hours.

They have launched a new online switching service which will enable users to get instant access to commercial utility quotations from a list of reliable credit-vetted suppliers at any time. The online service also includes a chat function where users can speak with one of Utility Aid’s Energy Specialists online between 9am-5 pm.

Find out more and make the switch here.

Meet Claire Routh – Citizens in Policing Liaison Officer at North Yorkshire Police

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Our volunteer interview this month is with Claire Routh, a Citizens in Policing Liaison Officer for the Police Support Volunteers at North Yorkshire Police. We chatted with Claire to see what her role entails and spoke about her advice for anyone thinking of becoming a volunteer coordinator or manager.
Please introduce yourself.

My name is Claire Routh and I currently work for North Yorkshire Police. I have been employed with North Yorkshire Police for just over 10 years and I am the Citizens in Policing Liaison Officer for the Police Support Volunteers. I have been in this role for just over 5 months and prior to this I was a PCSO.

What attracted you to the organisation and role?

I have worked for North Yorkshire Police for over 10 years and I joined the organisation as I wanted to make a difference. Recently I have wanted to try something different and I have had the pleasure of working alongside some of the volunteers as part of a neighbourhood policing team. As a cadet leader I have had some experience in the volunteer sector and want to ensure our volunteers are utilised to the best of their ability so that they continue to feel rewarded and valued by the force.

What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming a Volunteer Coordinator/ Manager?

Do it. I am really enjoying the role. I speak with different people on a daily basis and it allows me to travel round the force and meet people and departments that I never would have previously.

What have you learnt about yourself while in this role?

I can multi-task! I’m not afraid to approach people of high rank if I need to ask them something.

Finally, tell us something about yourself that your colleagues would be surprised to know?

I was in a Christmas Pantomime when I was younger with some famous people.

Want to find out more about how we can support you?

If you are currently in a volunteer coordinator role, why not have a look at our specialised training or join our coordinator’s network that offers practical guidance and support to volunteer coordinators and managers across North Yorkshire.

Funding awarded to support Youth Volunteering across Humber and North Yorkshire

Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has been awarded a grant as part of Volunteering for Health – a £10 million programme being delivered in partnership by NHS England, NHS Charities Together and CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Volunteering for Health aims to maximise the benefits of volunteers as a vital resource in delivering health and social care nationally and locally, whilst strengthening volunteering infrastructure.

The programme is part of NHS England’s response to the NHS Volunteering Taskforce which brought together health charities, volunteers, clinicians, civil servants and policy makers. The Taskforce published its recommendations in June 2023, concluding that more can be done nationally and locally to maximise the benefits of volunteers and volunteering in the NHS.

Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership was one of 15 partnerships across the UK to successfully bid for funding. Partnerships are made up of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, NHS Trusts, integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities (LAs) and NHS charities.

Grants were awarded to applicants who were able to demonstrate how they intended to break down barriers, test new models and develop guidance and best practice that can be shared across the NHS and beyond.

Their aim as a partnership is to enable and embed youth volunteering for all volunteer-involving health and care organisations across the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership by scaling-up existing programmes from their system. One of those key existing programmes are the youth volunteering programmes at Hull University Teaching Hospital (HUTH).

A video they produced as part of the application process can be viewed here.

Gary Sainty, Head of VCSE, Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), said:

“Our partnership working as part of the Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership’s Workforce Breakthrough Group: ‘Volunteers at the Heart of the System’ was crucial to the success of our bid by demonstrating our approach to bringing together volunteering champions from across the different areas of our system.

As a partnership we have already generated ambitious ideas and with the Volunteering for Health investment we will work together to bring these to reality and test system-wide and cross-sector approaches that everyone can benefit from.”

The grant will be paid in instalments over the next three years, until the end of June 2027. Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership will receive an initial payment for the development phase, with an ambition to begin delivering the programme by March 2025.

The ‘Volunteers at the Heart of the System Group’ will be working with the fund to develop this 3-year long project.

Alison Semmence, CEO of York CVS and lead for the Volunteering at the Heart of the System group commented:

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to increase volunteering across the health and care system and give young people the opportunity to work in these settings.  We know volunteering makes a big difference to volunteers themselves, the people they support and the organisations they volunteer for – everyone wins.”

Rachael Hardcastle-Pearce, Young Health Champions and Voluntary Service Lead for Humber Health Partnership (HUTH), commented:

“We’re delighted that the Volunteers at the Heart of the System bid has been successful and that Humber Health Partnerships (HUTH) youth volunteering programmes were highlighted as an example of good practice to be used as a foundation for this project and to be shared with our wider System and nationally.”

For any questions about this project, please contact the VCSE Team via hnyicb.vcseteam@nhs.net.

Let’s Talk Active

Conversations are part of Let’s Talk North Yorkshire’s continued commitment to listen to people who live and work in North Yorkshire. They want to hear from you! Please fill in the online survey here.

Let’s Talk would like to know if you are physically active, what is important to you about being active, and any barriers you face. This will help them to develop council leisure facilities and community-based sport and leisure services now and in the future.

Watch a short clip about the campaign here.

Their new Active North Yorkshire service will have a stronger focus on health and wellbeing, supporting more people to be active, especially people who may need additional support and who don’t currently use their services.

If you are a leisure centre user, gathering information on how you perceive and experience your local leisure centre will help them to identify strengths as well as areas for improvement. They are also keen to hear from you if you don’t currently use their facilities – understanding why you don’t use them is just as valuable.

Understanding what’s important to you in terms of physical activity helps them to develop their facilities and plan their programmes of activity. It helps them to know what they currently do well, what they could do better and differently and where the gaps are.

As part of a wider approach to improving health and wellbeing, leisure centres could potentially offer a broader range of support, such as health checks, nutritional advice, or mental health services. They are keen to explore your interest in these additional services and the benefits of a wider approach.

There are several ways you can take part in Let’s Talk Active:

You can fill in an online survey here – the survey is on Commonplace, which is a safe and easy-to-use online tool used to engage with communities, by over 250 organisations including neighbouring councils in Leeds and West Yorkshire.

If you would prefer, you can pick up a paper copy from your local library, leisure centre or main local office and return it in the envelope provided.

You can also email letstalk@northyorks.gov.uk or call 0300 131 2 131 (please say ‘Let’s Talk’ when prompted) to request a survey.

You can write to:

Let’s Talk

North Yorkshire Council

County Hall

Northallerton

DL7 8AD

Accessible formats of the survey are available on request. Please share your views and encourage your colleagues, friends and family to do the same. The survey closes on 4 November 2024.

 

World Mental Health Day 2024

Join us as we celebrate World Mental Health Day 2024.

Today we’re supporting the Mental Health Foundation to celebrate World Mental Health Day.

Created by the World Federation for Mental Health, this year’s theme focuses on workplace mental health, emphasising the importance of prioritising mental health and wellbeing at work, benefiting individuals, organisations, and communities alike.

To help mark today’s occasion, we’ve pulled together a variety of information and resources, including:

  • The Mental Health Foundation’s downloadable resources, which features shareable posters and social media graphics.
  • Our VCSE Wellbeing Toolkit, perfect for supporting you at any stage of your wellbeing journey.

Let’s come together to start an important conversation about mental health.

#WMHD24

Community First Yorkshire welcomes arrival of Project Gigabit

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Today’s announcement by Telecoms Minister, Chris Bryant, that more than 4,500 rural homes and businesses across Yorkshire are now able to access superfast broadband services has been welcomed by Jane Colthup, Chief Executive of Community First Yorkshire.

The improved services are being introduced thanks to local investment of £60m – part of the government’s £5 billion national flagship programme known as Project Gigabit. Up to 28,000 connections in hard-to-reach rural areas will come on-stream once the full roll-out is complete in 2030 with the goal of driving economic growth and fixing the digital divide that plagues people living and working in remote areas.

Speaking on BBC Radio York today (26 September) Jane said: “This is fantastic news that rural communities in North Yorkshire are to get the same superfast speeds as the rest of the world. To improve people’s access to work opportunities and crucial services such as remote health and welfare support, good broadband is absolutely vital and for so long that’s not something we’ve been able to access sufficiently in North Yorkshire.”

Discussing the news, she also highlighted the importance of better connectivity to improve social inclusivity in rural areas – so important to help older people keep in-touch with friends and family.

While welcoming the news, Jane added that access to digital support and training is also crucial to make sure people can make the most of better connectivity and the opportunities it brings. This is something Community First Yorkshire has been focused on with its Digital Inclusion Project , backed by North Yorkshire Council and the NHS in North Yorkshire.

The lack of adequate mobile phone coverage in North Yorkshire was another ongoing issue, she said, with so-called mobile ‘not-spots’ impacting on rural residents and businesses. “This is a fundamental requirement of everyday living in the 21st century,” she added.

To listen to the interview in full, click on the image below.

 

Read more about Project Gigabit on the government website.

International Day of Older People

Today we’re celebrating the vital role of older generations in our communities this International Day of Older People.

Our Age Friendly Network is supporting the Centre for Ageing Better today (1 October) to celebrate the International Day of Older People!

We’re looking to help change the narrative on ageing with this year’s theme, “the part we play”, celebrating the integral role of older people in our communities.

As part of our work to help encourage an age friendly community across the county, we partnered with North Yorkshire Council to create the Age Friendly Network for older people living in North Yorkshire. Within this network we provide an independent representative voice and, together with our network members, we talk to local service providers, share information, raise the issues that really matter and work to make change happen.

To help mark the occasion, the Centre for Ageing Better has pulled together a variety of resources, and a number of events will be taking place across the region, including:

Be sure to join our Network and celebrate our older generations with us this International Day of Older People.

North Yorkshire Council Artificial Intelligence Event

There is a lot of hype about Artificial Intelligence and how it is going to radically change the way we live and work.  It is true that there is a lot of opportunity, and we can start to imagine a world where we all have our own personal assistants to help us with the work we find too time consuming or laborious.

Perhaps AI can help make the technology we use everyday easer to manage or the support we provide to be more flexible.

The opportunities are endless and developing each day. North Yorkshire Council (NYC) is very clear on what social care of the future might look like and we need social care expertise to shape the discussion, to inform and inspire it so that we are led not by what technology can do but about what it should do.

Please come and be a part of the conversation, learn about new opportunities and how NYC are making sure they take an innovative yet ethical approach, talk to others and share the time to learn, reflect and contribute to the future of social care.

18th October 2024 – Harrogate Convention Centre.  9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Introductions

  • Social Care, Ethical Innovation and AI

Examples   

  • How AI can help and how it is being used in social care

Lunch provided

  • and the opportunity to discuss, share and reflect on the morning.

Table discussions

  • Ask – what can AI do for you?  How can technology do better?
  • Ask – how do you feel about AI ?

Summary and close

There will be outputs from the day to support ongoing conversations and discovery such as: plans for pilot work to try and test AI tools in social care and, statements of intent for how and when Social Care will accept.

For places contact cath.ritchie@northyorks.gov.uk

Funding support: Funding support helps Pickering Town CIC grow

Assistance with funding applications has given Pickering Town CIC the confidence to secure a successful bid.

Understanding the ins and outs of successful funding bids, our development officer was able to support Pickering Town CIC in its funding process to help the group become a leading advocate for the town of Pickering.
What was the challenge?

As the group’s funding for its community engagement officer was nearing an end, the team sought support from Community First Yorkshire for fundraising advice and help with application writing.

How did Community First Yorkshire help?

Our development officer worked swiftly and efficiently with Pickering Town CIC, making the most of their extensive experience to provide advice and helpful amendments to the town’s draft funding bid to help enhance its chances of success.

The most immediate benefit was a confidence boost for a Pickering Town CIC staff member, who was navigating their first funding application in a high-stakes situation, which (at the point of this case study publishing) is currently underway.

If successful, the funding will allow the group to continue to broaden its remit as a new Community Anchor Organisation and leading advocate for Pickering. Future plans include a consultation with Pickering residents of all ages, to ensure that every resident has a strong voice, and to help the organisation gather a clear view of priorities from the town’s perspective.

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What does the future look like?

A successful bid will enable the CIC to build on its community projects and their community-led approach will continue to deliver on the town’s priorities.

About the organisation

Pickering Town CIC is a social enterprise set-up to promote Pickering, for the benefit of the town and all of its residents.

How we can help you

As a registered charity, we understand your needs. Our local advisers work across North Yorkshire and will come to you to ensure you get access to the best quality advice and guidance including funding advice, helping you set up as a community organisation, governance and trustees, finance support, marketing advice, and exploring ways to further develop your organisation.

If you know a community group, charity or social enterprise that needs some support to be even more successful, contact one of our friendly advisors on 01904 704177 or info@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

We are funded by North Yorkshire Council and NHS North Yorkshire.

Do you need help with:
  • securing income for your organisation or project?
  • turning your ideas of becoming a new community organisation into a reality?
  • benefitting from greater security as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)?
  • thinking about reviewing your organisation and planning ahead?
  • understanding trustee’s legal roles and responsibilities?
  • benefitting from a financial health check?

Our advisers can help. Call us today 01904 704177 or email info@communityfirstyorkshire.org.uk

“I would 100% go back to Andy for further funding advice. His support was invaluable and made the funding application a very easy process.”

Pickering Town CIC