Warwickshire residents who are passionate about health and wellbeing are invited to be a part of a group to provide independent advice, ideas, insights, and feedback...
Warwickshire residents who are passionate about health and wellbeing are invited to be a part of a group to provide independent advice, ideas, insights, and feedback to Warwickshire County Council and partners.
The purpose of the newly established Health Equity Group is to ensure a community perspective is always included in service planning and improvements. The views and ideas of residents will be central to ensuring needs can be met across the county.
Participation is voluntary and anyone over 18, living anywhere in Warwickshire, can get in touch below to find out more. Training will be offered to all members during March 2022 and the group, also involving representatives from the County Council and different health organisations, will meet monthly from April.
The meetings will facilitate discussions that help identify solutions or needs for new initiatives that can inform the development of a Warwickshire-wide programme that champions health equity in local communities.
Councillor Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care & Health, said:
“Tackling health inequality is an important area of focus for us as a health and care system. The Warwickshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2021-2026 has a key priority to ‘reduce inequalities in health outcomes and the wider determinants of health’. COVID-19 has impacted our progress in this area and residents have been disproportionately affected by the virus with those in minority ethnic communities and vulnerable people facing increased levels of risk.
“The work of the new Health Equity Group will help to support this priority and respond to the needs of local people as residents will be directly involved, sharing experiences and ideas that could improve Warwickshire’s public health services, inform our decision-making processes, and help to reduce health inequalities across Warwickshire.
“It is important that people from all backgrounds from all over the county are represented in this group, and I encourage people to join in. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow residents, share ideas, and contribute to your local communities so everyone can feel safe, well and connected.”
How to Apply
Residents from a wide range of backgrounds are encouraged to apply to become a member of the Health Equity Group. No qualifications are needed, but a passion for helping others and ideas on how to improve public health outcomes across Warwickshire are desirable.
For successful applicants, a welcome meeting will take place on Thursday 24 February 2022, and free evening training sessions will be provided between 1 March - 29 March 2022 on the following topics:
- An overview of Public Health in Warwickshire
- Issues of health inequality and Warwickshire plans to address inequality
- COVID-19 in Warwickshire
- The Warwickshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- Presentations from a range of organisations
- Best practice examples
- Community development
The group will receive ongoing support from a liaison officer in Warwickshire County Council, and be invited to attend the first official Health Equity Group meeting in April 2022.
To find out more information, or to apply to become a Health Equity Group member, please contact Michelle Gravatt by email at michellegravatt@warwickshire.gov.uk