The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) were at the Healthwatch 2019 conference to highlight key health issues and to improve communication between local (parish and town) councils, county associations and Healthwatch branches.
NALC highlighted the work of local councils on health and wellbeing such as:
- Dementia Friendly Parishes around the Yealm — a group of local councils that worked together to help residents with dementia in their communities
- Wye and Hinxhill Parish Council — created Community Connectors who help lonely residents become more social through local support
- Essex County Association of Local Councils — provide free Mental Health First Aid Training to local councils with now over 30 local councils organising their own training
Cllr Sue Baxter, chairman of NALC, said: “The conference was a fantastic event. NALC showcased the critical work local councils were doing to an audience of 400 and empathised their importance when tackling health problems in communities”.
The conference included several high-profile speakers such as Rt. Hon Paul Burstow and Simon Stevens, chief executive of the NHS. They both mentioned in their speeches the importance of local services, with Mr Stevens stating “we are a national and a neighbourhood health service”.