Cathedral event focuses on health and faith

Blackburn with Darwen’s Director of Public health will be a keynote speaker at a health and faith event taking place at Blackburn Cathedral this week.

Dominic Harrison will speak at the ‘Faith Communities and Neighbourhood Care’ event on Thursday 23 May.

The event is designed to understand the role faith communities can play in improving and sustaining health and wellbeing for local people.

Organised by the Cathedral, it is supported by a range of partner organisations including the Council alongside East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, local GPs and Lancashire BME Network.

The NHS Long-Term Plan, published earlier this year, places more emphasis than ever before on the importance of the voluntary, community and faith sector.

The plan looks to expand delivery of care at the neighbourhood level; something which is moving on at pace in Blackburn with Darwen.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is working with the borough’s Clinical Commissioning Group, GP Federation, health trusts and community and voluntary organisations to integrate services.

That means doctors, nurses, GP practice staff, social care staff, community reps and other professionals are working more closely together to help people stay well and get the care they need closer to their home.

Professionals have grouped together to create primary care neighbourhoods.

The borough has been split into four areas – North, West, East and Darwen. Each area has about 30,000 to 50,000 residents in it. Each area is covered by a PCN. As the PCNs are local, they will get to know the area’s residents and the area’s unique issues so they can co-ordinate efforts to tackle them.

Dominic said:

This event is focussing on what contribution faith communities can make to improving health and wellbeing in neighbourhoods – with a special focus on prevention and early help. Faith communities have been in the business of health and social care in neighbourhoods and communities for a long time. This event is trying to help to connect what they do with and for their communities with what the NHS and Local Government is already doing.

It promises to be an interesting and informative event from which we hope some practical actions will emerge leading to positive and outcomes for the residents of Pennine Lancashire.