Salford leading the way nationally for health and wellbeing services

Two Salford services dedicated to giving people the tools to make improvements to their health and wellbeing have been selected to take part in a national programme funded by NHS England. Being Well Salford and Social Enterprise Mark holder Unlimited Potential (in partnership with Inspiring Communities Together) have been chosen as two of the five local sites selected to participate in the Realising the Value programme, led by Nesta  and the Health Foundation and in partnership with the consortium Voluntary Voices.

Through the programme, the organisations will enhance their services across Salford while championing their innovative models for health and wellbeing.

The Realising the Value programme will focus on making person and community-centered approaches a reality. The programme is about strengthening the case for change, identifying evidence-based approaches that engage people in their own health and care, and developing tools to support implementation across the NHS and local communities. It will develop the participating services and, on completion, the work of the participating sites will be shared nationally as examples of how best to achieve the vision of NHS England’s Five Year Forward View.

Unlimited Potential improves well- being by focusing on the strengths of local people, rather than their needs. For instance, one project is focused on improving the well-being of disadvantaged children by finding new ways of working with their fathers. This work led to Salford Dadz – a network of local fathers who have created male-friendly spaces where positive role models talk openly ‘shoulder to shoulder’, as well as fun dad-child bonding activities.

Unlimited Potential is working in partnership with Inspiring Communities Together, a local community organisation that works to engage older people and their carers – again, focusing on an individual’s strengths.

Chris Dabbs, Director of Innovation at Unlimited Potential said: “The opportunity to work with leading national organisations participating in the Realising the Value programme is one that we could not turn down. Having two of the five sites selected locally in Salford reflects the quality of innovation and practice that exists here in engaging with local people in the city.”