Health & Wellbeing
Community Councils should be more visible to their communities in areas of Health & Wellbeing. Some articles on various fields of help are published below. On the right are links to these institutions.
12/10/23: Community Council involvement in Locality Improvement Plans (LIP) 2024-2039
Tommy McLean of Corstorphine Community Council offers (25 Sep) his opinion on the central role CCs should be looking to play here:
City of Edinburgh Council’s (CEC) Helen Bourquin, from the Community Engagement & Empowerment (CE&E) Team, spoke to EACC on 31 August about the LIP programme. (Here are the slides from the meeting.) I set out below my thoughts on how Community Councils can meaningfully participate. This is an excellent opportunity for Community Councils to be involved in identifying and shaping community priorities within the compass of their own LIP, working alongside CEC and other statutory Partners.
The current plan (covering 2017 to 2023) was justifiably criticised because local communities felt they were not given much opportunity to determine what they considered to be local priorities. The Edinburgh Partnership have asked CEC to engage with communities more effectively this time.
The CE&E Team is leading on this. In the North West Edinburgh Locality (the first plan to be worked on this time) CE&E have led several meetings to engage representatives from local groups (including Community Councils). The joint meetings have proved useful, encouraging and drawing involvement from a broad spectrum of community interests and networks. I understand a similar model of engagement will be used in each locality.
Simply put, Community Councils have a central position within their communities. It’s important that the knowledge and experience that sits there is fed into the LIP process to help develop programmes that are meaningful, realistic and useful for our communities and that make improvements to the lives of people living in them.
Possible roles for EACC:
- Act as a general point of contact and information exchange between CEC and Community Councils to aid effective communication
- Support better communication between Community Councils in different localities so that good practice can be exchanged and knowledge gained can be shared.
- Broadcast updates from the CE&E Team on ongoing work and stay involved in reviews of the effectiveness of the LIPs, to identify changes or improvements where required.
Possible roles for individual Community Councils
- Look for interested Community Councillors who will be the main point of contact for the CE&E Team.
- Have your LIP on the agenda on a regular basis and route feedback, comments and suggestions on priorities and actions needed to CEC. LIPs themselves will only be effective if they are used as living documents and if they improve community work in the areas where we live.
- Make sure representatives attend the review and planning sessions in your locality convened to draw up your new LIP for 2024 to 2029
- Use your own networks to encourage local organisations and individuals to contribute to and participate in the LIP; encourage them to help make it relevant to their community.
- Stick with it once the LIP is in place; take part in ongoing review and evaluation to make sure the plan remains relevant to your local community and is delivering exactly what is agreed and intended.
END / TMcL
The Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is responsible for delivering community and bed-based health and social care services for adults in Edinburgh.Read the full article is HERE
Jul 2021: Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership
The Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership is responsible for delivering community and bed-based health and social care services for adults in Edinburgh.
The Partnership is made up of people employed by both the City of Edinburgh Council and NHS Lothian who work in health centres, GP Practices, community hospitals, care homes, nursing homes and communities across the city. Staff provide care and support for people with mental health problems, long term physical conditions, as well as substance misuse problems. The Partnership also works with many charities, 3rd sector and independent organisations who provide a wide range of support.
During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic people and communities across Edinburgh have rallied together to support one another, helping, and caring for people who might be struggling. Organisations and charities have worked together and produced solutions to support communities during this difficult time. The Partnership wants to build on this.
There are real challenges for our health and social care system. The population is ageing, demand for services is increasing and funding is not expected to grow at the same rate as the population. The Partnership is looking to think boldly about what can be different.
This approach is consistent with the desire to build thriving communities in Edinburgh and embrace the opportunity to create a different relationship with residents, communities, and organisations across the city.
The Edinburgh Wellbeing Pact
The Partnership has been having a conversation to build the Edinburgh Wellbeing Pact. "The Pact" will be an agreement between the Partnership and everyone who lives and works in Edinburgh. The Partnership has been engaged in an exercise to listen and learn what health and social care means to Edinburgh’s citizens.
Community Council’s role
The legal responsibility for community representation at the most local level of community planning in Scotland rests with Community Councils. The Edinburgh Wellbeing Pact has potentially transformational implications for the delivery of health and social care provision to the city's residents. It's important that Edinburgh’s Community Councils participate as fully as possible as occasions arise.