- February 2013 - bulletin 3 -
“Achieving Health and Wellbeing
Wellbeing in Northumberland”
Northumberland”
- new ways of working together Welcome to our third newsletter which aims to
keep you up to date about Northumberland’s
plans to improve the health and wellbeing of
people living in our County.
Cynthia Atkin,
Vice Chair of the
Health and Wellbeing
Board and Chair of
the Communications
and Engagement
Task Group
In this edition, we feedback what people have told us about transport
issues for local ill and disabled people, and the Health and Wellbeing
Board’s response. Also, the Board is going to be looking at the issue
of dementia and the services and support that is available in
Northumberland for people affected by this disease - We would really
like to hear your views on this!
Transport Issues in Northumberland
This month the Health and Wellbeing Board had a focussed
session on transport issues for ill and disabled people in
Northumberland. The views of members of the public were fed into
this discussion via a survey featured in our last bulletin and also
through previous consultations with ill and disabled people and their
families and carers.
In a large county like Northumberland, getting out and about and
access to transport is always a big issue for local people. People
told us that for ill and disabled people in particular, access to
transport can have a big impact on their independence and ability
to stay in touch with the people and services which support their
health and wellbeing. They said that more information was
needed about what’s available and also different transport
providers need to work better together. These views were shared
with the Board and the transport forum and as a result, informed
the following recommendations which the Board has agreed to
focus on. These include:
•
•
•
•
•
“
More information needed
on how to access
transport particularly in
rural areas
“
”
Definitely the need for
more tailored community
transport to meet the
needs of individuals
”
Providing more flexible funding options for services
Raising dementia awareness with drivers
Enhancing the Community Transport Information Hub
Enabling flexible and multiple occupancy taxis
Providing information on the costs and benefits of the Quality Contracts Scheme and a
Voluntary Partnership with bus operators.
For further details visit: www.tinyurl.com/HWBnorthumberland
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Your Views on Dementia Care and Support in
in Northumberland
According to research from the Alzheimer’s
Society, 1 in 3 people over 65 will develop
dementia and the number of people with
dementia in Northumberland will double
over the next 20 years.
Access to early diagnosis, good
information and support can influence
the ability of people living with dementia to
continue living a healthy and fulfilling life
within their local community for as long as
possible.
Source: the Alzheimer’s Society
In Northumberland a Dementia Strategic Partnership has been set up with
representatives across all key organisations and groups working on improving dementia
care, including health Trusts, social care, Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group,
voluntary and community services, and people whose lives have been affected by
dementia. They have produced a Joint Dementia Strategy and Action Plan which focuses
on things like: improving the identification and support for people with dementia through
initiatives such as implementing the Northumberland Primary Care Dementia Guide;
strengthening information and support with new dementia information packs being issued at
diagnosis and better training for staff; improving access to diagnosis; and improving end of
life care for people with dementia.
We would like to hear your views on what else you feel the Health and Wellbeing Board
need to focus on to improve dementia care and support. You can either email us your views
at: [email protected] (please state in the email that this is about the
health and wellbeing board) or call us on: 01434 600 599. If you would like to share your
views online and anonymously, please complete our short questionnaire at:
www.tinyurl.com/HWBdementia.
We will make sure your views are heard by the Board when they discuss dementia and we
will feed back on what was agreed.
Would you like to get involved?
If you would like to get involved more in the work of the Health and Wellbeing Board or in
other health or social care forums and networks, please contact the Northumberland LINK
on: [email protected] or call: 01434 600 599.
Would you like more information?
If you would like more information about the role of Northumberland Health
and Wellbeing Board visit: www.tinyurl.com/HWBnorthumberland
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