Event showcases local groups’ activities tackling health inequalities in Wiltshire

On 11 June, we were pleased to hold the final evaluation and engagement event for our Targeting Health Inequalities (THI) Programme at Emmanuel’s Yard in Trowbridge. The event brought together community groups from Wiltshire to reflect on their projects, share learning, and celebrate the vital work being done to improve health and wellbeing in some of our most disadvantaged areas.

Through the THI programme, we’ve supported 12 local community groups to support and expand health prevention and early intervention activities. With £87,500 of funding from the NHS’s Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) Integrated Care Board (ICB) and nearly £30,000 in match-funding from local donors, we’ve awarded over £117,000 in grants to 12 community groups working with people in ICB ‘CORE20’ areas which centre on Wiltshire’s most deprived areas. These projects prevent poor health, address inequalities, and build social support within neighbourhoods.

Each group gave a presentation about their project and highlighted key outcomes and learning. Groups also shared advice, questions, and thoughts on their projects, and had the opportunity to network with representatives from the ICB and Wiltshire Council.

This programme is part of a wider story of support involving Community Foundations from across the UK. We are pleased to have contributed to a new report by UK Community Foundations and Place Matters, Preventative Power: Community Foundations Partnering with Health, which shows how local partnerships between Community Foundations and the NHS are making a real difference to people’s lives. The report includes examples from across the UK where Community Foundations are helping reduce loneliness, improve mental health, and support wellbeing — all by directing resources to where they’re needed most.

This work comes at a time of renewed national focus on health inequality. The Government’s newly announced 10-year health plan, and Neighbourhood Health Service has been billed as a once in a generation opportunity to re-think the way in which we approach health and wellbeing.

Action will be needed at scale to deliver the aspirations of the plan, and longer-term solutions will need to be informed and led by communities. Community Foundations can make sure that people and grassroots charities receive the services and resources they need – when and where it is needed most. This new report shows that we can also build capacity in communities, share learning and scale game changing ideas to improve health and wellbeing across the UK.

Reflecting on our THI event, our Director of Partnerships, Margaret Firth, said: “It was brilliant to gather everyone together to reflect on their projects, and see the range of health outcomes and the positive impacts these organisations have had to help tackle health inequalities within their local communities. As a local Community Foundation, we connect people who care with causes that matter, and value working alongside the NHS and Wiltshire Council to deliver funding to these local groups, who have the expertise and experience to build trust, and create connections and services that support people locally.”

Abbey Mulla, Head of Inequalities & Prevention Programme at NHS BSW ICB added: “It was amazing to see the impact that micro commissioning can have, working in some of our most deprived communities. It was really good to see projects getting some really good outcomes, working in some of our underserved communities and also hope for the future that these projects could potentially give us some more outcomes going forward. Wiltshire Community Foundation have been a really good partner because they’ve got those in-roads into the communities that the ICB doesn’t have, so working through the Community Foundation has opened up a whole new range of potential for future providers.”

Gemma Brinn, Consultant of Public Health at Wiltshire Council was also in attendance at the event, and commented: “Health Inequalities as a topic is multi-faceted and broad, and the determinants that feed into the way that communities experience inequalities is diverse. What really came through for me was the variety of projects that have been presented and the work they have delivered over the past 12 months, have absolutely tapped into that diversity and not let it be a barrier but allowed it to be a strength. They’ve mobilised quickly, they’ve delivered, and they’ve captured both quantitative and qualitative information to demonstrate their impact.”

Dr Ben Browne, Health Inequalities Lead at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It was great to see such a diverse range of projects and the positive impact they’re having in their local communities. For me, it was the first time seeing a lot of that work, and I think there may be further opportunities to connect with health services.”

One of the groups that received funding from our Health Inequalities Programme was Wessex Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre. Rosie Eliot, CEO at the Centre, said: “With the funding from Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Health Inequalities Programme, we decided to take our therapies out into the community; we know there are a lot of people with MS and other similar conditions in hard-to-reach communities and it’s often difficult for them to get to the MS Centre for life enhancing therapies. So, we’ve been running two individual therapy days, in Bemerton Heath Community Centre and Studley Green Community Centre, and delivered a day of therapies for the community at each session. Those attending have enjoyed seated yoga, mindfulness, art therapy, a singing circle, and a crafting afternoon. 

"We noticed that people are very proud of personal achievements, especially those who spend most of their days stuck at home in a wheelchair. The therapy days would culminate in a making project so that people left with a tangible achievement such as a hand designed coaster or a willow basket. We noticed when people became proud of their achievements, such as making a basket, their self-worth improves and this lifts their self-confidence. It makes us very proud to see people leaving the therapy days feeling much better about themselves, improving their well-being and overall health.”

In addition to our THI programme, in 2023 we secured new funding from the NHS’s Community Investment Fund in Wiltshire to reach local voluntary sector and community groups quickly to help them increase their impact and reach. The funding enabled Cost of Living Uplift grants for groups funded through our Community Grants, and helped support the expansion of our existing programmes Surviving Winter and Cost of Living Response Programme.

With the financial support from the local Integrated Care Board (ICB), we were able to increase the capacity of small, local voluntary and community groups, enabling them to continue, expand or adapt their services, increasing their support and activities for local people most impacted by the increasing cost of living crisis.

To find out more about our work in tackling health inequalities, read Preventative Power: Community Foundations Partnering with Health. To access the full report, including a wide range of case studies from other Community Foundations from across the UK, please click here.