Local people to shape future care in their community
Cllr Steve Bedser
People living in Birmingham have a unique opportunity to help shape local care and support services through a new 'Community Navigators' project.
This innovative approach to service design is being run by Birmingham City Council and Turning Point, a health and social care organisation with community engagement expertise. The aim of the project is to understand how to connect people and services more effectively.
Local people in the Kingstanding and Ladywood wards have been recruited and trained by Turning Point to become Community Researchers. The Community Researchers will speak to residents to explore how people currently connect with services and how they access information, advice and guidance.
The information they gather will be used to inform the design of a new Community Navigator service that will connect people with local groups, opportunities and services, promote health and wellbeing and encourage and support new community-led social care initiatives.
Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Steve Bedser, said: “I am delighted at the pilot work we have underway with Turning Point. The Community Navigators scheme is an exciting and innovative project that is at the heart of our ethos of building community capacity and connecting people locally in shaping and delivering services.”
One of the community researchers in Ladywood, Angie, explains why she got involved: “Over the years, I have worked with lots of great projects in Ladywood, as I care about the area and the people within it. That is why I am involved with the Community Navigator project, as I genuinely believe that it can make a positive impact upon Ladywood and upon family, friends and residents who need to have proper access to beneficial services that will improve their quality of life”.
If you want to know more about the project or want to get involved in the research and help shape future care in your community, please get in touch with Amanda Preece on 07587 630195 or email admin@birminghamnewsroom.com.
Please contact Laura Conn, Media and Communications Officer onadmin@birminghamnewsroom.com / 020 7481 7632 with any media enquiries
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Notes to editors
Turning Point is a social enterprise providing health and social care services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health conditions or those with a learning disability. To find out more, visit www.turning-point.co.uk
Turning Point has experience of successfully delivering Connected Care - a community engagement programme which recruits and trains local people to find out what the community thinks about health, housing and social care services. Upon completion of the research phase, the research team, local people and commissioners use the findings to work together to undertake service design work so local services better meet the community's needs. To date Turning Point has delivered Connected Care in 14 areas of England. Turning Point has previously used Community Navigators as part of the Connected Care project in Hartlepool and navigators are embedded in its Rightsteps® model fro mental health services.
