Health Inequalities – Digital Gathering 2023 report

On Wednesday 22 February 2023, the ALLIANCE Community Link Worker programme hosted an online discussion dedicated to exploring The Health Foundation report: Leave no one behind, and the highlighted key risks to the future health of Scotland include the health prospects of infants and young children.

Presentations

Roseann Logan, Assistant Director to the Links Worker Programme opened up the session by introducing the report.

Ro Irvine, Head of People and Programmes SSF, and Colette Mason, Senior Officer Links Worker Programme then spoke to delegates about their work and the necessary actions needed within communities.

Through engaging breakout out room discussions, delegates were able to discuss what else needs to be done to ensure that young people are kept in the centre.

• More work to be done in looking at whole family support. How can everyone better their health outcomes as a family unit. Engaging with parents and helping to educate them on different health issues.
• Senior Leadership to back prevention work. We can’t always fix the here and now and fire fight. We need the time and resource to work in the prevention landscape.
• We need to stop working in silos and work together.
• Need to tweak services to ensure that they are reaching out to all areas of the community, especially underrepresented minority ethnic groups. Need to be aware of where/who they are, and that services are fit for purpose in order to meet different needs.  This could be done by working in partnership at local level, conducting data collation to know who is using services and where any gaps are, having strategies and policies that reflect this and staff who are trained appropriately. 
• A bit of mapping of what community and support organisations are out there and what they are doing – often need to come to events like this to make those connections, rather knowing who to connect to on the offset. Often people presenting for help with something you can’t quite help, but if you can signpost them elsewhere without waiting for a statutory service.
• We need to ensure that we are reaching all of the communities we intend to reach. Especially those most deprived, e.g., travellers, low income?
• Trust building is important, takes time, but once you build trust it can travel and go further. Peer educator system, people who are bilingual, who might be younger or older, fit different groups within the community.
• Smaller organisations need bigger bodies to help support them – membership with the ALLIANCE.

For more information please contact roseann.logan@alliance-scotland.org.uk

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