Community Connections

“Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me and I'll understand”.

Chinese Proverb

 

PHD is committed to genuine involvement with our local communities. We don’t just pay lip service to speaking and listening to local people – we actually do it.

 

We take a very positive and passionate approach to community involvement and have over the past year ensured that we are involved in the community we are part of. We have worked alongside some fantastic community champions who have helped to get the health and well being message out to their friends, family colleagues and neighbours. The people who live and work in this area really care about their quality of health and we have found that they really want to be part of developing services.

 

So what have we been doing?

 

We have focused on delivering a patient-led and patient-centred programme of community activity in Sandwell on behalf of Sandwell Primary Care Trust (PCT). A vibrant 45-strong group has been formed: people who are patients and those who are active community workers. We have an active policy of testing our thinking and service developments with them. These enthusiastic local people have taken services and public health messages out into the community and have been supported by health professionals. Events have been held at Asda, Tesco Metro, local schools and businesses – often reaching into less accessible communities – and have resulted in huge, positive feedback. This has ensured that those who are often not easy to reach are consulted because of our active policy of going out to where they are – instead of expecting them to come to us. This successful group now forms the bones of a patient reference group which we believe know wilwill be a really important part of everything we do in the future. Experience tells us that it is essential to evolve a service with the people who use it because they feel part of its development. This means it is more likely to succeed and to be well-used by its target community.

 

Some of our patient group’s activities:

Lady and man togehter