Health and Wellbeing News, Events and Opportunities – December 2024
December 4, 2024
Welcome to Cumbria CVS’s Health and Wellbeing News, Events and Opportunities for September ’24. This page will be updated regularly, so we are delighted you have landed here today and hope that you will keep coming back for updates during the month.
To catch up on our News, Events & Opportunities from November 2024, click here
Lots of the News, Events and Opportunities information will also be appearing in our regular Health and Wellbeing Bulletin. This Bulletin is sent out to all current members of our two Networks: Action for Health and the Mental Health Provider Forum. If you have found this page useful why not join either or both Networks by following these links:
News – we will be using this as an opportunity to pick out particularly important/interesting articles from our most recent Bulletin and/or highlighting information that might be time sensitive.
Events – we will be using this as an opportunity to highlight events of interest to organisations interested in health and care issues including Network events. Most of these will be local Cumbria events but some maybe regional.
Opportunities – we will be using this to highlight health and care focused funding and project opportunities, representative roles and working groups you might want to get involved in and much more. These will focus on Cumbria but may also include regional opportunities.
If you’ve seen something you think we should be sharing, let us know! Email us:
Clare Edwards claree@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Holly Ferguson hollyf@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Sarah Penn sarah.penn@cumbriacvs.org.uk
NORTH CUMBRIA NHS area – New Urgent Treatment Centre planned for Carlisle
Funding for a new £12m Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle has been approved.
The new UTC is part of a longer term plan to improve access to urgent care services in Carlisle easing emergency department pressures.
The current Emergency Department was built with capacity for 30,000 attendances each year. Last year we had 78,300 attendances which is more than two and half times its current capacity. This often leads to difficulties with overcrowding in the department and issues with privacy and dignity for our patients.
The UTC will be built next to the existing emergency department and will have 12 new clinic rooms with a separate waiting area for children and adults.
Work will start in January and we hope it will be finished by the end of 2025.
SOUTH CUMBRIA NHS area – New open-access courses for mental health first aid and suicide first aid
Lancashire Mind has released new open-access course dates for mental health first aid and suicide first aid (Orange Button approved courses).
Orange Button scheme
The Orange Button scheme has been running in Lancashire and South Cumbria for about five years and it is a way of identifying people that have undertaken suicide prevention training, who now have the confidence to talk to others about suicide. It is a way of showing others in their community who are having thoughts of suicide, or are worried about somebody else, that they are:
• Comfortable to say or hear the word suicide
• Can listen without judgement
• Can inform people where to find help and support
The scheme began on World Suicide Prevention Day 2020, because Lancashire wanted to begin creating a community of Orange Button wearers. A community who want to challenge the stigma around the word suicide. A community that can listen non-judgmentally and be a first step to helping move people towards the information and support they need. It is not a substitute for counselling, mental health support or a crisis service. It is a community scheme made up of members of the public. It is about listening, information giving and signposting.
Mental health first aid and suicide first aid
The training offered by Lancashire Mind is mental health first aid and suicide first aid. It is fully funded and available to anyone living or residing in Lancashire or South Cumbria, face-to-face or online. In-house courses can be arranged for teams, or individuals can attend the open-access courses.
Take a look at the upcoming dates
Please feel free to contact Alice Newton-Leeming on 07856 913301 to discuss this further, or by email: alicenewtonleeming@lancashiremind.org.uk.
NORTH CUMBRIA NHS area – IMPORTANT Changes to the North East & North Cumbria VCSE Mental Health representative role
In July 2023, Everyturn were asked by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) to carry out the VCSE Mental Health representative role at the ICB Mental Health, Learning Disability and Autism Sub-Committee due to a change in circumstances leading to a situation where the ICB were no longer able to fund the role as they had previously.
Everyturn agreed to support the ICB and the VCSE sector by carrying out this role, and running the VCSE Mental Health sub-group that sits alongside the role, with no additional funding. This was a temporary arrangement, planned to be in place until April 2024, which was extended to April 2025. The ICB would like to recognise the contribution that Everyturn have made, and for the role they have fulfilled in representing and advocating for the sector.
The ICB, the VCSE Partnership Programme and Everyturn have discussed how to strengthen the arrangements. The ICB have agreed to a second VCSE representative role to sit within the ICB Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Neurodiversity Sub-Committee.
Everyturn will remain part of this group, as will the Learning Disabilities and Autism VCSE representative, and an additional VCSE place has been agreed which will act as a conduit to feed information into and out of the sub-committee from the wider VCSE sector.
As has been the case since July 2023, unfortunately there is no funding available to contribute towards to this role, however £25 per hour will be paid for attendance at sub-committee meetings in line with current VCSE representative arrangements, funded by the ICB via the Partnership Programme.
The new role will be recruited following Partnership Programme protocols, via a peer-led process. We will be sharing information about the process, the role and its responsibilities in the New Year, with expressions of interest invited in early 2025. The role will commence from 1st April 2025, and is open to individuals and organisations who work within mental health who have a track record of operating at strategic level and are able to support the running of the mental health sub-group, as well as committing to the principles of wider sector engagement to inform their contribution to the sub-committee.
Peter Rooney, Director of Transformation, Mental Health, Learning Disability, Neurodiversity and Wider determinants, NENC ICB
Adam Crampsie, VCSE Mental Health representative and CEO, Everyturn
Lisa Taylor, VCSE Partnership Programme lead and Health & Wellbeing Programme Director, VONNE
CARLISLE area – Free Menopause Workshop at The People First Conference Centre
Healthwatch Cumberland are having a free menopause workshop this Friday 6th December, 1pm-4pm, at The People First Conference Centre in Carlisle.
The workshop will be led by menopause expert Lynsey Eland from Dandelion Coaching.
Free tickets are to be purchased on our Eventbrite page here:
NORTH CUMBRIA area – Longtown ICC Meet the third sector event
Longtown ICC Meet the third sector event
Thursday 23rd January 2025 12 noon to 2pm (set up from 11.30am)
Longtown Community Centre, Arthuret Road, Longtown, CA6 5SJ
Space for 30+ organisations – a great opportunity for third sector groups to connect with colleagues from health and care services and to showcase their services. Third sector groups/organisations are to book a table space at the event .
This event has been requested by statutory sector staff from Longtown ICC. Staff from NCIC (including district nurses, OT’s, physios, specialist respiratory etc services) local GP surgeries (including nurses, care navigators, social prescribers) CNTW, ASC (including Reablement & social work staff), HAWCs, local home care agencies & care homes, NWAS, CHOC etc will all be invited and encouraged to attend by their managers (staff in these categories do not need to book).
We are keen to get 20 or more local organisations together for the event.
SORRY – we are not able to offer any power/sockets for stall holders
If you would like to know more about the event please contact:
Clare Edwards claree@cumbriacvs.org.uk
To book a place, please click here
COUNTYWIDE – Mental Health Provider Forum meeting
Wednesday 29th January 2025 10:30-12:30
Online via MS Teams
These events are always an opportunity to meet with other people from third sector organisations who have in interest in all things mental health and mental wellbeing in North Cumbria. The events are also a space to hear about the latest developments in relation to health and care and keep up to date with new initiatives, services and projects as they develop.
Speakers confirmed are:
- COUNTYWIDE – Denise Majer – Chair of MHPF – Mental Health Provider Forum Chair business
- WEST CUMBRIA area – Susan Hogg and Abbey Williamson – Carer Support West Cumbria – Introducing Family and Friends hub
- COUNTYWIDE – Andy Roan – The Well – Update from The well on their latest projects
- COUNTYWIDE – Samantha Joughin – Refunded eating disorder program
To book on click here
COUNTYWIDE – Get involved in a survey about rural housing, transport & issues relating to poverty
ACT is the rural and community charity for Cumbria. We champion rural and community issues working towards no one being disadvantaged by where they live. You can find out more about us and the work we do on our website.
We are gathering views about access to, and affordability of, rural housing and transport. We’re also asking about the opportunities and challenges around rural poverty. There is an option below to add other issues that you think are important. We will use the results to influence and inform campaigns and to shape our work. All responses will be anonymous. For the purposes of this this survey, ‘rural’ means any community of 10,000 or fewer people. This includes most communities in Cumbria except: Carlisle City and the town areas of Barrow, Kendal, Workington, and Whitehaven.
https://www.cumbriaaction.org.uk/news-events/news-influencing-rural-issues-survey-2024-2024-11-28
The survey closes: 13.01.2025
CUMBERLAND COUNCIL area – The Big Question: Understanding why suicide is prevalent in Cumberland
We know that there are a multitude of reasons that people take their own lives, and that sometimes there may be signs, and sometimes there are none. But we don’t know what it is about Cumberland that makes our rates almost twice the England rate.
We are conducting a research project commissioned by Cumberland Council, to understand why the suicide rate in Cumberland is so high, and what they can do about it. The lived experience and causality that sits behind the loss of life to suicide in Cumberland, will directly help in identifying the interventions that could actually make a difference.
So, this is where you can help. There are two elements to the project –
We are conducting a survey to find out more about the views of Cumberland residents on our suicide rates. This is open to anyone aged over 18 who lives in Cumberland. More details are available on the survey link take part in our survey here.
Or you can scan the QR code here
The survey asks specific questions anonymously, takes about 15 minutes and will give us real insight into our communities’ attitudes to suicide.
Please can you consider completing it yourself and share this with your team, colleagues and the people that you work with. We need as many people as possible, both professional and public, to do the survey so that we can get a representative view of Cumberland.
The second part is talking to people, Cumberland residents aged 18 or over, who would like to share their experience and views in more detail, either 1 to 1 or in groups. Those who have experience of personal suicidal thoughts or behaviours or those bereaved by suicide, or those supporting someone who is experiencing suicidal thoughts or behaviours (personally or professionally) can take part in an interview with a researcher or be part of a focus groups.
The interview can take place either online or in-person and should last about 45 minutes. The interview will ask about their experiences of living with or supporting someone with suicidal thoughts and will seek their thoughts on what might be going on in Cumberland and what could be done differently.
We know that talking to someone one to one won’t suit everyone so would also like to have some group conversations to give people the chance to express their views. Can I ask you to have the appropriate conversations, share this with colleagues, talk to the people you support and ask it we can come along to one of their sessions in January and have a chat.
You may already know people who would be willing to do this or would benefit from this so if you could have the appropriate conversations, share this with colleagues etc. it would be appreciated. Here’s the link to the participant information sheet participant information sheet (PDF, 229KB)
CUMBERLAND COUNCIL area – FREE Research, evidence, evaluation and Learning (REEL) training for 2025
Health Determinants Research Collaboration Cumberland Council’s exciting project which will help better understand the health issues in the Cumberland area announces it’s first round of FREE training.
HDRC are getting ready to roll out our Research, Evidence, Evaluation and Learning (REEL) training for the new year. The training is designed to generate learning about research based evidence and how to create it.
The programme is open to all staff, elected members and community organisations as continuous professional development and career advancement.
If you would like any further info, they can contact Jae-Llane HDRC training officer or another member of staff on hdrc@cumberland.gov.uk
Below are all the HDRC REEL Training Programme links to sign up:
15th January 2025 – Introduction to REEL and Theory of Change by Prof Kaz Stuart
5th February 2025 – Using Evidence by Dr Jae-Llane Ditchburn
19th March 2025 – Performing Service Evaluations by Dr Jae-Llane Ditchburn
2nd April 2025 – Planning and Delivering Research by Dr Becky Clarke
14th May 2025 – Ensuring Continuous Quality Improvement by Dr Jae-Llane Ditchburn
11th June 2025 – Strategic Research Leadership by Dr Jae-Llane Ditchburn
16th July 2025 – Co-Production and Co-Research by Daniel Gibbons
Theory of Change face to face sessions – multiple dates available, see page for more details:
Theory of Change (Intermediate Level) – Cumbria House, Carlisle
Introduction to the Theory of Change – Allerdale House, Workington
Theory of Change (Intermediate Level) – Allerdale House, Workington
Introduction to the Theory of Change – Carlisle Civic Centre
Theory of Change (Intermediate Level) – Carlisle Civic Centre
Theory of Change (Intermediate Level) – Cumbria House, Carlisle
Introduction to the Theory of Change – Cumbria House, Carlisle
