New health empowerment guide features three South West projects

A new guide to community empowerment in health has just been published by CDF. It advocates community empowerment as a way to improve both efficiency of health services and directly improve individuals' physical and mental health as they become more active and empowered in their communities. It gives guidance to anyone who works with the public in the health sectoron how to make empowerment work and what some of the common challenges may be.

The report also presents case studies of successful community empowerment in health, including three projects in the South West:
Musgrove Partners in Taunton
This project involves volunteers in the work of the hospital. Musgrove Partners is 'vebrant, independent and dedicated' team of volunteers which ensures that patient voice is heard by those running the hospital. Its work includes acting as a sounding board for senior staff and interviewing all recruits at team manager level or above. One of the key factors that has made the project a success is that volunteers receive support and training to carry out their independent role.

More info on the Musgrove Partners at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton

Gloucestershire Village Agents
A partnership between Gloucestershire County Council and Gloucestershire Rural Community Council, this initiative recruits 'village agents', who visit older people in their own homes to offer support and advice and indentify unmet needs. Agents come from a wide range of backgrounds and receive two days induction and further regular training. Each covers several local villages, works 10 hours a week and receives a small payment. They were particularly praised for their work supporting vulnerable people during and after the 2007 floods.

More info on the Gloucestershire Village Agents at https://www.villageagents.org.uk

Torbay Voice
This service users group ensures vulnerable people have a voice in designing housing related services to meet local need. The group is made up of people who receive 'Supporting People' services, mainly people with mental health problems or learning difficulties. They also use questionnaires to engage with other users, and use surveys with simple words and pictures. The commitment of members and council staff, and the friendly and informal meetings, are key to the group's success.

More info on Torbay Voice, including terms of reference and job descriptions of group members.

Read the full CDF report for further info on all case studies and advice on community empowerment in health - Building healthy communities: A community empowerment approach.

Other health-related community empowerment projects in the South West include:

• Women's Network in Exeter and East Devon, which reduces women's isolation and empowers them to speak up, and helps connect with statutory services. 
• South East Cornwall Healthy Living Forum which undertakes partnership and networking and gives out small grants to improve health of the community. 
• Senior Council of Devon (formerly AGILE - Action Group in Later Life), which acts as an independent voice for older people in Devon and involvesthem in decisions on local services.

These projects all received grants from the Network Development Fund through the Regional Empowerment Partnership and are featured No Boundaries: A study of networks and empowerment, by South West Foundation.