Redbridge Communities Work in Partnership for Better Health
RedbridgeCVS brought seventy-five faith and community leaders together under one roof in July. Leaders from the five major faiths of Redbridge - Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism - were awarded with certificates of achievement for completing an innovative new training course. The training aimed to help them in their roles as the first point of contact for local people experiencing stress, anxiety or other psychological concerns.
RedbridgeCVS successfully co- ordinated the 6-week Psychological Health Foundation Training Course in
partnership with NHS Redbridge, the North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) and Redbridge Faith Forum. This specially created training programme has helped faith and community leaders to better understand the symptoms and causes of psychological distress and helped local NHS services to ensure that their services can be promoted and accessed appropriately.
Ross Diamond, Chief Officer of RedbridgeCVS, Jim O'Shea the Mayor of Redbridge, Conor Burke the Chief Executive of NHS Redbridge and Carol White the Assistant Operational Manager of NELFT were present to thank the faith and community leaders for their efforts to work together to remove the stigma around psychological ill health at a ceremony on Wednesday 21 July.
The faith and community leaders who took part in the course were all very positive about the training and the partnership working that they are being encouraged to undertake.
Nisema Patel, who developed the course for RedbridgeCVS, said that, "The first point of contact for many people experiencing psychological distress is often their faith or community leader. This course has increased those leaders' knowledge and confidence - and this public and voluntary sector partnership has given them a greater sense of "community ownership" of the NHS and its services." Nisema added that "all faith communities have similar aims - to live healthy, happy and meaningful lives."
More information download the full article in RedbridgeCVS Community Newsletter
For more details, please contact Nisema Patel RedbridgeCVS 020 8514 9620 nisema@redbridgcvs.net