Local community groups are vital partners in tackling health inequalities: Nesbitt
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has praised local groups for their contribution to creating healthier communities.
The Minister was visiting the Bishop’s Field Centre in Creggan, Derry/Londonderry, which falls within one of the first areas to be included in a new initiative aimed at addressing health inequalities, Live Better.
During his visit, Minister Nesbitt took part in a Danderball game facilitated by the Bogside and Brandywell Heath Forum and Old Library Trust and heard about the positive benefits of community-based sport programmes in improving health and wellbeing.
Minister Nesbitt said: “Sport has always played a big part in my life and I was delighted to have the opportunity to lace up my trainers and join in the game of Danderball today. Getting and staying active, at every age, is really important for your health and wellbeing. Sport keeps us fit and connected to each other.
“It is encouraging to see the work already being done in the Creggan area and hear first-hand how programmes like this, delivered by local community organisations, are making a difference in the lives of the people they bring together by addressing isolation and improving the physical and mental health of participants.
“I want to see that kind of positive difference become real and lasting to people across these areas, and in particular, reduce the significant health inequalities that are experienced by the communities who live here.
“I believe it is wholly unfair that a person can expect to live over ten years fewer in good health, just because of the area in which they live. That is why I have made tackling health inequalities one of my key areas of focus.”
The Minister also spoke to local organisations about the new Live Better initiative, which aims to target health needs in the initial demonstration areas including the Fountain, Bogside, Brandywell and Creggan areas in Derry/Londonderry and the Lower Shankill, Lower Falls and Grosvenor Road areas in Belfast, with the potential of expanding the approach, should it prove effective, across both urban and rural communities.
Live Better will build on previous work by the Public Health Agency (PHA) and the Health and Social Care system over the years to improve health outcomes in these areas. It will seek to pull existing initiatives and programmes together so that they can be delivered intensively in communities to make a real and lasting difference. It will provide targeted information and initiatives directly to specific communities, as well as signposting to existing areas of support.
Minister Nesbitt continued: “Working together with the Health and Social Care system, the Public Health Agency and local organisations embedded within these communities will be critical to targeting the individual needs of each area and encouraging the participation of their service users.
“Local delivery plans for Live Better are now being developed and I hope that work will begin on the ground in the near future.”
Heather Reid, Interim Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions at the PHA, said: “Working with local partners is key to reaching out to communities to help improve health outcomes. The Live Better initiative will complement the ongoing work of the PHA in supporting people to improve their health and wellbeing. Working with a community–centred approach to inform and generate ideas, we can collaborate more effectively to help make a difference in supporting people who are impacted most by health inequalities.
“The plans, developed in collaboration with primary care organisations and the local communities, will be within the core themes of Starting Well, Living Well, and Ageing Well. Active local engagement is now under way within these communities, GPs, multi-disciplinary teams, voluntary and community sector organisations and Health and Social Care Trusts to help inform the focus of the Live Better plan.”
Mary Breslin, Interim Director of the Bogside & Brandywell Health Forum, said: “It was a pleasure to have the Health Minister with us today in Creggan for our Danderball event. Minister Nesbitt was able to see first-hand the importance such activities have for participants, not just for their physical health, but also their mental well-being and sense of connection with their community. Danderball is just one of many activities we have as part of our programming with our community partner, the Old Library Trust, that aims to reduce social isolation and improve health & wellbeing outcomes for people.
“We welcome the news that the new Live Better initiative is focused on communities such as ours and we look forward to working more collaboratively with our community partners, GPs, Health and Social Care Trusts, and multi-disciplinary teams to tackle health inequalities.”
