Two years on from the establishment of Integrated Care Boards, there’s been a great deal of progress in terms of recognising the VCSE as a partner in the health and social care system.

Within County Durham, the existing County Durham Care Partnership structures around integrated care are a sound basis from which the new ICB structures can learn. As a local system, we continue to work hard together to shape effective partnership opportunities and work towards assuring parity within this multi-sector system.  

Here VONNE’ s Health and Wellbeing Programme Director Lisa Taylor reflects on the regional picture around integrated care, following the recent NHS Confed Expo : Time to change? | Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (vonne.org.uk)

VONNE have a range of helpful guides and resources about the Integrated Care System (ICS) and ICBs, as part of the Health and Wellbeing Programme Hub on their website

They also regularly run information sessions around the ICS and the VCSE Partnership Programme. The next session takes place on Monday 19th August from 1.30 - 2.30pm and will provide a basic understanding of the ICS and the VCSE Partnership Programme. Book your place here

Durham County Council has recently published Mental Health Training Resources which will support Durham workplaces, residents and anyone interested to learn about Mental Health, Wellbeing and Resilience.

The mental health training resources have been developed to provide an understanding of mental health and wellbeing. 

Courses include:

• Basic Mental Health Awareness
• Building Resilience
• Awareness of Mental Health Problems
• Making Every Contact Count
• Understanding Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• Exploring Sleep
• Financial Awareness

For more details please see Mental health, wellbeing and suicide prevention training - Durham County Council

To add any further courses to the training resources please contact lisa.richardson@durham.gov.uk

There is a Vaping Recycle Scheme across County Durham, managed by Durham County Council's Waste Management Team.

Information including a map of collection points is available at www.durham.gov.uk/weee

The Waste Management Team also deliver community talks about the scheme and about the safety of recycling vapes - for more details please email wasteaware@durham.gov.uk

We are recruiting to an exciting new post at DCA, and there’s just a few days left to apply (applications close on Monday 15th July)

The Community Involvement Lead is a key role within an ambitious partnership project we’re undertaking with Durham County Council and Durham University.  The Health Determinants Research Development project aims to harness the power of research and innovation to tackle the causes of unfair differences in health outcomes across County Durham, with the ultimate goal of placing inclusive research, evaluation and innovation practice at the heart of the design and delivery of public services.

This is a fantastic opportunity to help use research to inform decision making and have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of people across the County. 

Healthwatch County Durham are currently looking for board members who are passionate about getting the best from local services and representing the voice of County Durham residents. 

They need people with a range of skills and backgrounds, representing all sections of our diverse communities. 

To find out more about the position please telephone 07706 321095 or email gail.magee@pcp.uk.net

The Regional Health Literacy Team are working across the NHS in North East and North Cumbria to make sure that patient information is easier to understand.

To help to do this, they would like to come out to community spaces/community groups to talk to people.

They want to spend 5 to 10 minutes one to one with people to ask them a few questions about the information they give out. They want to know what they think about the content and the language that they use in their information to help make improvements. 

If you have any groups that they could come and speak to, please email  stsft.nenchealthliteracy@nhs.net

St Margaret's Centre in Durham are opening their doors to the public on Sunday 14th July from 12.00 - 4.00pm. As well as being able to tour the Centre, they will be offering some tasty treats in their cafe, showcasing the beautiful wooden products made by their workshop staff and volunteers, and running some simple craft activities. All are welcome.

Every year in July, Samaritans branches in the UK and Ireland hold local events to raise awareness that Samaritans are here to listen to anyone who is struggling to cope, at any time of the day or night.

Samaritans Durham has been providing telephone support for over 50 years and now also offer email support for those who find it easier to communicate this way. The branch works closely with Durham University, providing training and support to Nightline, a student-run listening service for students.

Samaritans Durham - Samaritans of Central Durham

If you’d like to help raise awareness of #SamaritansAwarenessDay, you can download social media assets or order printed signposting materials here: Samaritans Awareness Day - 24/7 | Samaritans Campaigns | Previously Talk to Us

New College Durham is partnering with the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP), to host the Better Health at Work Award roadshow at New College Durham’s Framwellgate Moor Campus on Wednesday 31st July from 11am until 3pm. There will be up to 30 exhibitors in the college’s East Mall promoting ways you can support your health and wellbeing.

There will be a range of activities, advice, and demonstrations on offer - from healthy eating and oral health, to exercise routines and guest speakers promoting the benefits of wellbeing.

PCP delivers The Better Health at Work Award programme which recognises the efforts of employers addressing health issues within the workplace. It is free and available to all businesses in County Durham.

Photograph: Pioneering Care Partnership

PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide) is offering two fully funded online suicide prevention courses for people working in the North East – this includes Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne & Wear and the Tees Valley:

• SP-EAK: Suicide Prevention Explore, Ask, Keep Safe Monday 29th July 1.00 - 4.30pm  https://www.papyrus-uk.org/training/ne-open-speak/
• SP-OT: Suicide Prevention Overview Tutorial Wednesday 7th August 10.30am - 12noon  https://www.papyrus-uk.org/training/ne-open-spot/

Both courses are CPD accredited and will equip you with the knowledge & skills to support someone who is having suicidal thoughts.

North East Ambulance Service is looking for more community groups across the region who might be willing to host a Health MOT session with the service’s research team. 

They are looking to connect with community centres, church halls and warm zones as well as public spaces such as car parks and local shopping districts, and are particularly keen to reach ethnic minority communities and working men, who are known to be less likely to visit their GP.

Pioneering Care Partnership's County Durham Resilience service's Mind and Body sessions are now available to book.

The groups are small and relaxed, from mindful breathing, to grounding meditation and improving emotional wellbeing, over five relaxing sessions, taking place at the Pioneering Care Centre in Newton Aycliffe.

If you are interested, please contact the team on resilience@pcp.uk.net for more information regarding dates.

Photograph: Pioneering Care Partnership

It is four years since the Language of Autism project started in County Durham.

This co-produced project served to highlight the need to use the correct language to describe autism. Fifteen years ago NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) identified that autistic people did not like being referred to as disordered, and urged people to avoid ASD or Autistic Spectrum Disorder as much as possible. However, time and again the term Autistic Spectrum Disorder/ASD is commonly used.

A group of young neurodiverse individuals called the eXtreme group (Investing in Children) co-produced a survey asking about people's preferred terms when talking about autism and it was clear that autistic people significantly preferred the term autism and significantly disliked the term ASD and Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

The young people wanted to let other people know about the survey and they were lucky enough to secured funding to co-produce a video of the survey results.

The eXtreme group would love for you to watch their short 3 minute video: https://youtu.be/F03Dwp5YWw8

For more information on the survey and why it was carried out please visit:  https://youtu.be/ZzdrFubsdc8?si=MaU_43rSRPWVd0Tx for a short (18min) presentation.

And finally, some beautiful words from Dom about why this project was important to him: https://youtu.be/VbiDxhKEq0E

Please share widely and do consider the words that you use to describe autism.

Kooth is an anonymous digital platform commissioned by the NHS which provides free mental health support for young people aged 11 to 25, including those with SEND. Access to support is immediate with no referral requirements, no waiting lists and the provision of out of hours services. There are no thresholds, so it doesn’t matter if you’re already working with other services – you can still sign up.

Kooth provides a full mental health toolkit including self-help resources, community, and one-to-one support. Live forums and interactive discussion boards are moderated and live chat can be accessed 365 days a year up until 10pm.

Kooth offers support for a range of issues including exam pressures, moving to University, anger and eating difficulties.

One-to-one support includes same-day access to Kooth’s trained professionals including emotional wellbeing practitioners, counsellors and mental health nurses.

For further information and to refer, visit the Kooth website Home - Kooth.

Harbour is a domestic abuse service that operates across County Durham and the North East.

They offer a range of different services to assist those affected by domestic abuse including:

• Support for refugees
• Outreach support
• Support for children and young people
• Work with those causing harm

Their latest project is Make a Change, a service for those who are worried about their behaviour in their relationship but who are not necessarily physically abusive. 

They also provide Make Change Happen for communities who want to know more about domestic abuse and Make a Change, and may want to refer someone to them. 

They provide training to those who work with the public to equip them to assist those affected by domestic abuse:

To find out what services they offer in your area or for help finding an organisation near to you, telephone  03000 20 25 25.

To find out more about Make a Change and Make Change Happen contact Lesley Hill on 07435 997637 or email lesleyhill@myharbour.org.uk

The Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP) is calling for applications from organisations that want to offer a safe space and activities for local people to meet and be supported.

Over £877,000 has been donated to local organisations wanting to create a better environment for local people since the scheme began in 2020.

To find out more please email  happiness.hubs@pcp.uk.net or call 07715 204462.

Applications close at 4pm on Friday 30th August.

Photograph: Pioneering Care Partnership

This fund, managed by County Durham Community Foundation, is open for applications until Sunday 11th August. 

Grants of up to £7,500 are available to support projects that improve the health and wellbeing of people in County Durham and Darlington.

The GSK IMPACT Awards are for charities with total annual income between £150,000 and £3 million. They are funded by GSK and provide core funding and free training for charities doing excellent work to improve people’s health and wellbeing. Up to 15 awards will be made, ranging from £4,000 to £50,000, plus free training and development valued at a further £13,500. Closing date: Friday 30 August.

The new GSK Community Health programme supports small charities tackling health inequalities with total annual income between £20,000 and £150,000.  Up to 15 charities will receive up to £10,000 in unrestricted funding plus access to free training and development valued at £3,500. Closing date: Monday 12 August.