The urgent and emergency care programme is keen to identify opportunities for improving health and for reducing health inequalities. As a Partnership, we continue to encourage people to ‘choose well’ especially as health and care services continue to be under enormous pressure. If people do become unwell and have an urgent medical problem, it is important they get the care that is most appropriate for their needs.
Equipping people to ‘choose well’ is very important as it reduces the need for those with low acuity cases, such as a minor complaint that is non-urgent, and instances where people could see their community pharmacist to then undertake appropriate self-care at home rather than attending primary or acute care settings. Emergency departments are there to treat those with life-threatening and critical illnesses and injuries.
Some people and groups within our more deprived communities across West Yorkshire may have lower levels of health literacy and may not have access IT. We are keen to highlight areas of good practice to help close the gap on widening health inequalities.
With a drive to social media and online platforms there are far fewer printed materials than in recent years and many groups will not be seeking out or accessing online information at all meaning we are disconnected from some groups of people within our communities. Local engagement is important to make connections and gaining the trust of the seldom reached.
Recently and during the COVID-19 pandemic there has been some great work across our places in conjunction with third and voluntary sector colleagues to share and reach the seldom reached.
Case studies like this one show how we have worked differently across West Yorkshire to:
- Reach and engage people with low levels of health literacy
- Equip people with the knowledge to choose the right service for their needs
- Reach people with little or no internet access.
Background
Calderdale Cares Partnership (formerly Calderdale CCG) requested assistance from Voluntary Action Calderdale and the community and voluntary sector to communicate important winter messages, including COVID-19 messaging, to target groups across Calderdale during the winter of 2021/22.
The foundation for messages is based on the ‘Together We Can’ campaign. The Campaign encourages people to choose well and to opt for convenient self-care where safe to do so, with the aim of increasing their knowledge, promoting good health and encouraging correct use of NHS services.
The ambition
The target groups Calderdale Cares Partnership wanted the community and voluntary sector to engage with were:
- Parents of children under 12 years, particularly those aged 0 to 5 years
- People aged under 40 with minor health conditions
- More vulnerable adults and their families / carers / friends. Particularly those with long-term conditions or underlying health problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- All equality groups including carers, asylum seekers and social economic groups.
What they did
Calderdale engagement champions were asked to propose creative ways of ensuring the winter messages reached communities within Calderdale. Two key engagement champions undertook this innovative work.
Disability Partnership Calderdale’s most innovative communication channel was the delivery of a presentation at their face-to-face, public ‘open meeting’. It was an interactive experience in the form of a presentation and a quiz based on the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ format.
The session was videoed and turned into a film ‘Together We Can - Winter Messaging About NHS Services’ as a resources which was promoted via social media, in newsletters and on the website.
Disability Partnership Calderdale created and distributed a special edition of the newsletter dedicated to winter messaging in February and March. Hard copies were posted to their digitally excluded members. These newsletters are still available in their archive.
What’s next?
This evaluation report is available to view and the learning from this will be used during future winter periods.