Health and Wellbeing News, Events and Opportunities – January 2024
January 15, 2024
Welcome to Cumbria CVS’s Health and Wellbeing News, Events and Opportunities for January 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 December 2023, 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
WESTMORLAND & FURNESS COUNCIL area – Find your nearest “Warm Spot”
Residents in Westmorland and Furness looking for somewhere to warm up and have a hot drink and a chat can now choose from nearly 100 local “Warm Spots” this winter.
There are Warm Spot venues all the way from Barrow to Alston operating from village halls, community centres, churches, libraries, pubs, and sports centres, some open every day and some just a few hours a week. Everyone is welcome and you will not need to give any explanation of why you are there.
As a minimum, a Warm Spot will offer a warm space, a warm welcome, someone on hand to talk to if you wish, and, in most cases, a hot drink (free or at cost). But many are offering a much wider range of facilities, activities, and support.
Thank you to everyone who’s come forward again this year and offered up their venue or community group as a warm spot.
To find the Warm Spot nearest you, visit our new webpage – westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk/warmspots.
NORTH CUMBRIA NHS area – Demystifying health and wellbeing research and evaluation: Free introductory workshop
Tuesday 30th January 2024, 10am – 12.30pm, online
VONNE, Cumbria CVS and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) will be providing a free introductory workshop focused on health and wellbeing research and evaluation; what it is, why it’s important and the main approaches used in practice.
This session will aim to help you:
- Understand what research and evaluation are, including their key differences.
- Reflect on the role of the VCSE sector in research and evaluation.
- Understand how to frame a research or evaluation question and what data is needed to answer it.
- Consider how research and evaluation might be used in your own organisation.
- Understand funding routes to support research and evaluation.
- Build awareness of the local research landscape and sources of support.
Your New Year resolution – join Cumbria Action for Health
Action for Health is a network of third sector organisations with a health, care and wellbeing focus.
why not start the year by becoming a member of Cumbria Action for Health
You may want to join the Network if you work or volunteer for an organisation that:
- Provides generalist health and care services including wellbeing services
- Has an interest in supporting people and communities to live healthy lives
- Has an interest in how health and care services are provided in their community or the people they support
Action for Health Network provide an opportunity for local organisations to connect – with one another and with colleagues from statutory health & care services.
It is a place and space for us to share a whole range of information about health and care services across the county with the sector.
And it provides our sector with an opportunity to develop and deliver a unified third sector voice in relation to health and care issues, concerns, governance and structures across the county.
The Network gives groups the opportunity to:
- promote themselves
- find out about support, training, key contacts and good practice
- keep up to date on health and wellbeing issues
- find out about local, regional and national policies and access information which may affect groups and their beneficiaries
- influence decisions made in Cumbria regarding health and wellbeing through consultations, and by representing the network at strategic meetings
The network meets on alternate months of the year, with additional events held as necessary.
Membership
The core membership of the network comprises of volunteers, staff and trustees from third sector organisations working in Cumbria that have an interest in health, wellbeing and social care issues.
Associate members from public statutory bodies also attend, as the programme for the network events is aimed at improving relationships between the sectors and sharing updates and information on key areas of interest.
As a member of the Networks you will receive:
- A regular Health and Wellbeing Bulletin
- Invitations to regular Network meetings
- Opportunities to attend other focused events
- Opportunities to be involved in co-production, development and planning of health & care services
Follow this link to catch up with copies of our Health & Wellbeing Bulletin
Follow this link to find out information about the next Action for Health meeting
Become a member
To join our mailing list, please email info@cumbriacvs.org.uk stating that you want to join the Action For Health mailing list.
CUMBERLAND COUNCIL area – stop smoking skills training available (see attached)
Helping people in their journey to become smoke free uses the Making Every Contact Count (MECC) behaviour change approach. This means using those day-to-day interactions that organisations and people have with other people to support them in
Training to support stop smoking conversations is available as follows:
It is recommended all staff undertaken the NCSCT Certification (Stages 1 & 2).
- NCSCT Certification can be achieved through the NHS Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training by completion of their online training and assessment programme.
– Underpinning knowledge – NCSCT Level (Stage 1)
– Stage 1 Assessment
– Stage 2 Assessment
More information in the document here.
