Health and Wellbeing News, Events and Opportunities – March 2025
March 25, 2025
Welcome to Cumbria CVS’s Health and Wellbeing News, Events and Opportunities for March ’25. 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 February 2025, 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 – The Big Conversation – Women’s Health Report
Despite progress made, there is still much to do to ensure health and care services are delivering for the 51% of the population, who are women and girls. Thanks to a new report published today (7 March) “The Big Conversation… Women’s Health” we’ve heard what matters.
Launched last year by the NENC ICB, the Big Conversation heard from almost 5,000 women as part of our women’s health programme aiming to make the region a driving force for better women’s health.
The new report – in partnership with the region’s independent Healthwatch network used a regionwide survey and a series of focus groups to better understand what matters to women and girls about their health.
Our NHS provides many fantastic services, but we know we can do better in understanding women’s needs. Many women have told us that they don’t always feel they are listened to, or their needs taken seriously. We want to change that, and the Big Conversation feedback and recommendations in this report is going to help us understand women’s concerns better when developing priority areas for action. You can find out more about this new report.
CUMBERLAND COUNCIL area – Small grants for Big Local Lunch events 2025
Food Cumberland Partnership is supporting the Big Local Lunch 2025 to enable communities to come together to enjoy healthy, local produce.
Funding of up to £200 per project is available for Cumberland-based groups to organise an event which bring people together.
Deadline for applications is 30th April and lunches are to be held in June 2025.
For more details, click on the link below:
Food Cumberland Big Lunch – Great Big Green Week – June 2025
NORTH CUMBRIA NHS area – NEWS & Information from CNTW the mental health Foundation Trust for North Cumbria
This edition includes:
- Update on Hope Haven’s NEW Drop in Workshops delivered by the Wheels of Wellness Team in the Whitehaven area
- Mental Health & deafness service provider update
- Gambling Prevention & mental health event June Newcastle
Click here for more information.
NORTH CUMBRIA NHS area – Opportunity to shape the NENC ICB Work & Health Programme workshop 14.03.2025
You are invited to an initial workshop to help shape the delivery model:
ICB Health & Growth Design Delivery Workshop: Help shape the delivery model
Friday, 14th March, 10am – 3.30pm, Ramside Hall, Durham, DH1 1TD
COUNTYWIDE area – Action for Heatlh meeting
Tuesday 15th April 2025 10:30-12noon followed by a FREE buffet lunch
Penrith Rugby Club, Winters Pk, Penrith, CA11 8RQ
Are third sector services in Cumbria meeting the challenge of health inequalities?
Join us for an interactive, in-person event 15.04.2025 Penrith Rugby Club, Penrith.
Using the case study of Emma and the cancer diagnosis, treatment and care she receives we will learn how health inequalities impact on her journey through the health & care system. Using national and local statistics and people’s stories we will learn how at every step of the way Emma experiences inequalities in the health & care she receives and how these impact on her health outcomes.
We will then break into small groups to discuss her journey and:
How can we all improve our services and how we deliver them and give Emma (and people like her) a better health & care experience & outcome
What key messages our sector wants to share with our statutory health & care partners that could improve services & their delivery
PLEASE NOTE: Whilst this event focuses on a case study involving a cancer diagnosis the event is relevant to all organisations who deliver health & care or support services in Cumbria
Click here to book onto the event
COUNTYWIDE – Opportunity to help turn the NEW Suicide Prevention Strategy into practical actions
The Countywide Suicide Prevention Leadership Group are currently setting up both the Prevention and Postvention sub-groups and am looking for members.
These Sub-groups are focused on practical actions contained in the attached strategy, and monitoring progress of implementation. Members would have the scope to facilitate the initiation of a range of actions that add to the prevention net around those at risk of suicide. This could be from championing training for a particular workforce, engaging employers to adopt suicide prevention/postvention strategy, identifying gaps in information and support resources, exploring creative campaigning tools etc etc. We really want the Prevention group in particular to be action focused.
Representatives from some of the following priority groups would be very welcomed;
Prevention Sub-Group
- Children and Young People – Education sector
- Children and Young People – Care sector
- Autism and Neurodiversity
- Criminal Justice System
- Substance Misuse/Addiction
- Farming and rural community
- LGBTQIA + community
- Armed forces and veterans
- Local media/Creative agencies
- Local Employers
Postvention Sub-Group
- Bereavement support providers
- Children and Young People – Education sector
- Local employers
Follow this link for a copy of the strategy
Contact for more information or to offer your support:
Chris Wood
Chris.wood@every-life-matters.org.uk
SOUTH CUMBRIA area – April programme of Community Roots (LSCFT Trust) – Mental Health training opportunities
Cross site sessions (Bookable face to face at both sites & Online)
Friday 4 & 11 of April – Understanding The Mental Health Act Workshop (2 Sessions)
- Co-Produced with lived experience experts and professionals. This two part workshops aims to introduce you to the Mental Health act and some of the core aims and laws surrounding the act. Many often struggle to understand their rights, options and laws when sectioned. Join the team as we discuss the Mental Health Act and some myths you may have seen.
Monday 7 & 14 of April – Confidence & Assertiveness Workshop (2 sessions)
- Building confidence and learning how to be assertive can support wellbeing and boost self-esteem. The Confidence and Assertiveness workshop has been co-produced to promote the learning around being more confident in our selves whilst learning how being assertive can support you to access social opportunities that support long term wellbeing. This session takes a deeper look at the meaning of confidence and how we can apply this learning to ourselves.
Friday 25 Of April – Mental Health Awareness
- Understanding the term “mental health” and “mental ill health” go a long way to challenge stigma around these terms. This co-produced session aims to challenge stigma by discussing common myths, misunderstandings and the common facts around Mental Health Awareness.
Community @Deepdale
Weekly sessions starting on the 2 of April (6 week workshop) – Sanctuary Cookalongs Cooking Workshop
- Join us at our Deepdale site to take part in this 6 week workshop, covering basic cooking skills and some different cultural dishes from around the world!
Community Roots @Chai
Weekly sessions starting on 3 of April – Nature and Art
Spending time in nature brings a huge range of benefits for our health and wellbeing. It has been shown to help lower stress levels, allows us to get more active, feel more calm, get better sleep, and can even help reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. These sessions are delivered in partnership with Lancashire Wildlife Trust
CUMBERLAND area – Paternal Wellbeing Project
Becoming a new parent can for many, be a time of stress and anxiety. Traditionally and for many valid reasons, we see a great deal of attention, care and information directed towards the parent who gave birth from both care providers and families, but what about the partners?
Changes relating to lifestyle, finances, emotions, relationships, trauma and a huge feeling of responsibility, will no doubt impact on how they can feel throughout this period. For many reasons such as being too busy, too tired or fear of being labelled selfish, partners may keep their feelings hidden. We aim to change this by providing a platform for them to speak up.
What we want to do:
By encouraging and empowering partners to share their stories and experiences we hope to highlight the challenges that they face, how having honest conversations can help and what provision there is out there for those who need it.
How you can help:
We want to understand partners’ experiences of becoming a new parent by asking them to fill out a short survey.
This survey will allow us to create a clearer picture of experiences across Cumberland and help us identify any common themes.
Those who would like to have more time and space to recount their story in depth are welcome to carry out a case study with us, and can sign up for this by leaving their contact details on our website or just reaching out directly.
We would be very grateful if you could share our survey and website page with anyone who you think would be comfortable sharing their story.
We would also be willing to come along to your place of work, a support group or social space if you feel that it would be beneficial 😊
Thank you for helping us break the stigma around paternal support!
