South Leeds LCP covers Beeston, Middleton, Hunslet and Holbeck, we are working together on several priorities, which will help improve the health and wellbeing of people who live in those communities.
Over the past couple of years we have focused on building connections, developing our understanding of the ‘local offer’, and identifying priorities that we can all work together on, with a commitment to being responsive to the needs of local people. Through this partnership we work with local GP surgeries, namely Beeston Village Surgery, City View Medial Practice, Shafton Lane Surgery, Leeds City Medical Practice, Church Street, Oakley Medical Practice, South Bank Surgery, Lingwell Croft Surgery, and Arthington Medical Centre.
We have identified three priority areas: children and young people’s mental health, digital inclusion and keeping active. In addition to these priorities we have a focused piece of work called Widening the Net which is exploring how the breadth of third sector and community groups can connect with the partnership
Digital Health Hub Network
Healthwatch Leeds’ report on ‘Digitising Leeds: Risks and opportunities for reducing health inequalities in Leeds’ has highlighted the inequalities certain communities may face when accessing digitised health and care services.
COVID-19 has shown a significant decline in service usage, and the unmet needs of vulnerable communities. The lockdown helped to identify the benefits of going digital and has accelerated the process of health and care services becoming more digitised. Despite its benefits, this has presented some issues for those who do not have access to digital equipment or have low digital skills and motivation.
South Leeds LCP, due to its diverse demographic, was identified as an area of great potential to the scope and design interventions for digitising health services. We worked with 100% Digital Leeds to create a digital health hub network. You can find out more about Digital Health Hubs here – Digital Health Hubs – 100% Digital Leeds (digitalinclusionleeds.com)
If you want to be part of the South Leeds network then get in touch with us on the email below.
Mental health
We recognise that lots of people in our communities struggle with their mental health. COVID-19 and the cost of living have impacted on this and demand for support is higher than ever. As an LCP we want to make sure that we are working in a joined-up way across partners to improve the experience for families and make sure that they get the right help in a timely way. Some of this help is formal support but some of this is about making sure that children and young people are able to take part in fun, affordable activities, and parents have space to get peer support from one another.
As a partnership we are taking a multi-layered approach to tackling this issue. We are developing a hub model which will strengthen links between the partners who work in formal mental health services, children’s clusters and primary care. We have a children’s social prescriber who is linking children and parents with community based support and activities. We are also running a grant fund for third sector and community groups to access so that we can provide additional activities to meet the needs of local communities.
Keeping active
Physical activity can help with our physical and mental health. The Local Care Partnership is working with partners from public health, primary care, Active Leeds and third sector and community groups to develop services and support that help people keep active. We are initially focusing this work in one part of Middleton, developing exercise and activity support for people with health conditions but we will be taking the learning and sharing it across the whole Local Care Partnership. Our ambition is to make it easy for everyone to stay active in their local neighbourhood – whatever that might look like for them.
Widening the Net
Our Third Sector Health & Care Development Officer based in Forum Central has been working with Third Sector organisations to understand how they would like to link with Local Care Partnerships and what the barriers are to making this happen. You can see the original Widening the Net report here – Widening-the-Net-of-the-Local-Care-Partnerships-Final-Draft-010722.pdf (forumcentral.org.uk)
We have been testing out what this might look like in South Leeds LCP. The LCP now has a Third Sector Involvement Group and a WhatsApp group for third sector organisations to collaborate. If you are a third sector organisation or community group that offers support in South Leeds, get in touch with us to find out more about how to get involved.
How to get involved
We are keen to include more partners across the patch, in particular those who can support our current priorities and community groups. If you would like more information or to join us, please contact [email protected].