Communitydialogue

Keeping Saffron in Mind: Meetings 2 & 3

We have just had our third meeting in Saffron and our group of residents and community workers are proving to be dedicated and enthusiastic.  This just goes to show that it's not always about giving people financial incentives to 'sign up' to focus groups;  if we offer ongoing support and enthusiasm as well as a real chance to make a difference, people are keen to get involved.

The first two meetings had given us the chance to get to know each other and build trust, providing a fluid and open forum.

The third meeting took a more structured approach, to allow us to steer the project forward and demonstrate to the group how we were starting to manifesting change.  I chose two relevant clips from the Saffron Carnival interviews, to stimulate discussion and share the feelings of other local people.

RECURRING THEMES

Mental Health Map

We can see the idea of a mental health map, emerging.  A 'web' of contacts, all of whom know about and can offer signposts to each other.  There is already a 'bank' of fabulous projects such as the Chill Out Club and Sow and Grow allotment projects that just need a bit of promotion and linking-up. A 'directory' of mental health and well-being services for Saffron, could be a possible tool for the tool-kit.

This map should also aim to improve communication with partners such as the Incapacity Benefit Office, local schools and councils so that we all have a better understanding of individual people.

Ministry of Mental Health

We could use and build on the wealth of skills and experiences that our Saffron residents have, to roll out to other members of the community.  This could be through training our passionate volunteers in therapies such as massage, reiki and relaxation techniques (perhaps offering a recognised accreditation as a bonus). 

Members of the group have enjoyed and valued therapies that have been offered as part of the Chill Out Club and feel strongly that this is help that they would benefit greatly from, ongoing.  They would be keen to share these feel-good therapies with friends and family.

Feelin' Groovy

Strictly speaking, this wasn’t a part of the Community Dialogue Programme, however I think this is a perfect working example of the motto be the change you want to see.   New ways of thinking and communicating often have to start within the organisation, and then roll out to members of the public.

The feel good workshop was held at NHS Leicester City recently and looked at the importance of mental health and well-being to us all.  Through a series of interactive exercises, we focused on what made us feel good in our day-to-day lives (and what made us feel not so good).

Our facilitator talked us through some simple relaxation techniques, and as a group we shared ideas about meditation, exercise and even had a go at laughter therapy!

We also got the chance to see a new technique called ‘Graphic Recording’ in action;  this is a simple, visual technique that can be used to plot the journey of a forum or event whilst overcoming certain communication barriers.  It is helpful for people with learning difficulties, or for whom reading and writing is a challenge.  We were all excited by this technique and the opportunities to use this for recording our community resident meetings were obvious – so much so, that many of my NHS Leicester colleagues are now being trained to be in-house graphic recorders.

I feel that workshops like this will be a valuable tool in the Keeping Saffron in Mind tool-kit and a positive, practical step towards the prevention of low-level mental health problems. 

Cook & Eat: The Story So Far

We are making good progress with scoping the Highfields area, for our Cook & Eat project.  I thought it would be helpful to give an overview of our journey so far.

Where have we been?

In Highfields the health statistics and public feeling spoke for themselves and there was little question that our focus had to tackle the high rates of Diabetes and Heart Disease in the area.

Standard diet and nutrition advice hadn’t worked here in the past, because it didn’t fit with the recipes that people in Highfields like to cook and eat.  It was also felt that any solutions had to be sustainable by the community, funding could come and go but skills and aspirations would still be active.

Where are we now? 

Our community health development worker Naim Razak, has regular contact with local people and extensive knowledge of Highfields.  As a result, Naim is passionate that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not suitable here, because of the complex mix of nationalities and cultures.

So, we have a strategy not dissimilar to Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food.  Our strategy is to educate local people about healthy cooking techniques and ingredients, and roll out this knowledge through our ‘community connectors’ in ways that respect culture, faith and lifestyle.

We realise the importance of selling the benefits of healthy cooking and eating to this community, and making positive change easy, accessible and useful for local people.

Where are we going?

It is just as important to scope our doctors and clinicians, as it is our communities.  What are their barriers?  What support do they need?  We will meet with the local dietetics service over the next week or so, to set the scene of Cook & Eat and talk through the above. 

Slightly further ahead, we have proposed a ‘working lunch’ meeting in December for around 20 people.  Delegates will include the key contacts for local organisations such as the Caribbean Centre and Shama Women’s Centre, as our ‘hooks’ into the community connectors.  Again, the meeting will set the scene of the Community Dialogue Programme, especially the idea of ‘co-designing’.  It will also introduce the staff from NHS Leics City  that are involved and set actions to move the cook and eat sessions forward.

Who else could be involved?

We agreed that it will be essential to involve local schools, and we had some great ideas about healthy recipe competitions as a fun, interactive way of raising awareness.  Naim already has many contacts in this area, as a result of a similar project that took place last year.  It would be brilliant to get families working together on this; children supporting and educating their parents and grandparents, and older family members sharing recipes.  We identified the ‘National Healthy School Standard’ as a possible incentive to get schools involved.  GPs and health workers will also be a vital cog in the wheel of change, providing support, advice and signposts to cook and eat activities and community support.

Keeping Saffron in Mind: 1st Meeting

In Saffron, we now have a lively and enthusiastic group of volunteers that meet every two weeks to discuss mental health and pathways to well being. Many of the group members are local residents with first-hand experience of a mental health challenge, such as depression or anxiety. 

Karen Pickering, the Saffron Community Health Development Worker, said

“The community dialogue project is beginning to pick up pace in Saffron and is generating a lot of interest with residents and organisations alike, who are delighted to influence decisions and to be asked their opinions regarding NHS services…..”

All of the group members are keen to make a difference to Saffron, and it's exciting as we discuss shared hopes and possibilities.  The first discussion captured the following points:

CHALLENGES                                             

• Setting up social networks                           
• No continuity of projects                              
• Sustainability                                                
• Access to information                                  
• No robust system to refer to                        
• Local projects                                              
• Funding                                                         
• Do not parachute things into the                
• Community                                                   
• Relationships

SOLUTIONS

• Train local people
• Social courses
• Talking therapies
• Saffron women’s group
• Allotment Project
• Volunteers in the community
• Trust
• Commitment from community

The second meeting will aim to develop connections and rapport in the group and continue to capture ideas and feelings, which is a key part in our co-production process.