Community Power strengthen our work at Healthwatch West Sussex
We live in a large and complex county with a diverse population with different needs. When we set up our Partnership Project there were limited pockets of partnership working which made it difficult for the voluntary sector to be heard and they were not fully involved in the decision-making process, or social infrastructure. This is now noticeably improved with health and social care, local authority, and local district councils working much more closely together, under Local Community Networks.
A large number of smaller voluntary organisations are not formally connected to the health and social care system, or only link to specific parts, so their power is limited as their voices and experiences aren’t always heard. We know that people don’t like telling their stories multiple times – they have trusting relationships with community and voluntary organisations they deal with regularly and don’t want to feel uncomfortable repeating themselves and having to explain their background time and time again.
According to 71% of respondents, gathering the views of locals is important for developing priorities based on this intelligence
Equity of power is not just about not being heard, it’s the synergy of sharing resources and expertise whilst avoiding duplication. Additionally, it is how the community environment is shaped so that all organisations can be as efficient with their resources as possible – over the last decade many have become very lean and focused on their core purpose, so they don’t always have the time or skills for networking and influencing strategically.
The benefit for Healthwatch West Sussex of developing partnerships is Common Purpose – the shared vision on what is needed and how to achieve this. Examples include joint engagement, joint reports, shared endorsements, and greater reach for publications on webpages and databases, joint social media, joint delivery of projects and events. These raise the profile and in turn the power of community.
Partnership working does not necessarily mean finance but does need to have a degree of control and influence for mutual benefit. Not only do we deliver agreed projects, but we ensure that communicating the impact and outcomes of the work back to partners and stakeholders takes place to share best practice across our West Sussex communities and nationally where appropriate.
In response to Healthwatch West Sussex survey 66% of respondents, agree that we add value and bring a distinct contribution and perspective to health and social care decision making
Our Equalities and Inclusion Approach, sets out how we plan to work with and in our communities. We believe that comparing lots of different experiences help us to identify patterns and learning what is and isn’t working. We go to where people are, without an agenda to really listen and understand the unique challenges our communities face. We act on feedback and drive change. Listening to people has positively affected outcomes and influenced important decisions about people’s care and health. By doing this our aim is to place the balance of power in the wider community system.
For more information, please contact Cheryl Berry, our Community Partnership Lead, visit our events page for local community events, or read our fantastic Spotlight reports on local community organisations.
