Our Story So Far! | Healthier Fleetwood

Our Story So Far

HEALTHIER FLEETWOOD was formed in Spring 2016 as a point of contact for the local community, connecting residents to each other, to the growing network of voluntary groups and to the services supporting health and wellbeing.

Through these connections we aim to increase the self-confidence of individuals, encouraging them to take more control of the factors and decisions affecting them and play a proactive role in creating a happier and a healthier Fleetwood.

How did it all start?

Dr Mark Spencer, a GP for over 20 years at the Mount View Practice in Fleetwood and Karen Boylan, a former NHS practice manager called a public meeting at Fleetwood’s North Euston Hotel. It was open to all members of the community – residents, health professionals, business and education leaders, the faith and voluntary sector and more. Mark spoke passionately about the need to combat the many challenges residents faced to their daily wellbeing and to their life-expectancy – the statistics for Fleetwood were among the worst in the UK and strikingly poorer than neighbouring areas. He asked, “How can we work together as a community to change these trends and give hope for a better life to the current and future generations”

There was unanimous support to find an answer but initially no definitive suggestions or solutions to the question.

The next few months saw more enthusiastic meetings and also approaches to other communities to find out how they started on a similar journey. At the point when investment was about to be made to follow one of these paths, guided by an external third-party, the Fleetwood residents who had been most involved in the conversations, said ‘No’ and they wanted to find their own way, the Fleetwood way.

How do we work?

As an organisation we have remained small and independent, able to respond to the needs of the community without restrictive procedures. We are a not-for-profit organisation with fully audited accounts for 7 years of operation but do not have charity or community interest company status.

Initial funding for staff, events and promotions was from the Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre CCG, we are now supported by the Lancashire & South Cumbria ICB - our annual budget is £30,000 for staff, events, promotions and an allocation towards new projects. Mark and Karen were joined by David Gore, a communications professional. Karen and David are employed on a freelance basis and their hours add up to the equivalent of one full-time member of staff.

We are contactable through an answerphone, email, website, some social media and have developed good relationships with the local and regional press. Core messages have always been positive and encouraging - it’s rarely, if ever “don’t do that”, it’s all about “try something new”, “get involved” and “help is available”.

> See the Try Something New section of our website

While a wide range of communication channels are important face-to-face conversations have always been central to what we do.

Local resident Maurice Christian took on the role of our first Chair of residents, hosting the now monthly Open Meetings. These had soon become a forum to share the successes of local groups, to put forward ideas for something new and gather support. Maurice’s proactive role within Healthier Fleetwood was important as a statement we were grounded in the local community and accessible to all. Mark was speaking at NHS conferences and workshops, spreading the word of what was happening in the Town to a wider and receptive audience.

Karen and David were out and about everyday hosting drop-in events such as coffee mornings, tea & talks and larger themed events including a Mental Health workshop and even an Afternoon of Dance at Fleetwood’s prestigious Marine Hall. All of these an opportunity to bring together and meet as many local residents as possible.

The first year was all about LISTENING to what the community wanted and not telling them what we thought they needed. Of course, topics such as poor transport links, anti-social behaviour, lack of employment prospects, affordable accommodation were common themes, as they are elsewhere, but affecting change there they would need far more resources than two volunteers and two part-time staff could provide. What we could do and quickly was be that point-of-contact in the community.

Victoria, a local resident and co-founder of the innovative Fleetwood Wellbeing Way says, “Healthier Fleetwood joins up the dots.”

By early 2017 our remit had been determined by the local community, the team were focussed on the priorities, and we had an identity and resources to deliver our aims.