September 19, 2023

Keswick and Solway ICC – A REAL opportunity to work in a different way

At our first Keswick & Solway leadership group meeting in June, we agreed that as part of being more inclusive we would rotate the chairing of the meetings and I ‘volunteered’ to chair the next week. I was quite apprehensive and wasn’t really sure what to cover in the meeting other than the standard items we had discussed at the first one. Luckily Dougie (CEO Fit4Life and one of the ICC Third Sector Representatives for Cockermouth & Maryport ICC)  & Clare (Cumbria CVS Health Partnerships Manager) came to my rescue; Dougie suggested that I had a focus on the third sector & really explain what we do and Clare helpfully re-sent her brilliant key messages presentation.

I didn’t present the slides formally but used them as a guide to explain the breadth of what the third sector covers and how we are an equal partner in service delivery, not just a nice add on to more important services. The information was received well and led to some really interesting discussions about how we can work differently and how best to utilise the skills of each partner to best support the population. It was a good reminder to me that we can all get very focused on our own area of work and assume that everyone knows what we do or how we work; things that seem straightforward to me may not to others and vice versa. I came away from the meeting feeling positive about what we can do as a collective and we have grand plans for more multi agency work, starting with linking in with the warm spots over the autumn/winter period.

If you’d like a copy of the slides Tara talks about or just want to understand more about ICCs and how they work get in touch with our Health Partnerships Manager:

Clare Edwards ClareE@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Kicking things off in style in Workington ICC

News from Harry Harrison of People First one of your Workington ICC Third Sector Reps

Workington ICC Meet the Third Sector Event

Integration into the ICC Workington Group has been seamless.  All members of the group were very welcoming and talked positively about how statutory and voluntary sector organisations can work collaboratively to make a real difference for our community. 

All conversations have been open, honest, and supportive with a collective drive to engage with partners and people effectively.

An example of this collective approach is demonstrated by the planned ‘Workington ICC Meet the Third Sector’ event being held in September.  Group members highlighted that there was a lack of understanding by health professionals of what voluntary sector organisations are in the Workington locality, what they do and how they can help health services to deliver care across the patch.

The planned drop in session will allow health professionals to network with a large number of voluntary sector providers, make key links between services and ultimately reduce health inequalities across Workington.

Harry Harrison, Inclusion Director – People First 

Workington ICC 

People First already possess close relationships with learning disability communities across Cumbria. Meaningful engagement is at the core of everything we do, therefore our involvement will be essential to hear the voice of the learning disability community to deliver change and provide impact.