New roles will support clusters to improve patients' health and wellbeing

Staff from third sector organisations will work collaboratively with primary care teams to help improve population health and wellbeing.

Known as Third Sector Collaborative Leads, these representatives will help support the work of Swansea Bay’s eight Local Cluster Collaboratives (LCCs) – with one planned to be based in each LCC.

They will provide a link between the third sector and the healthcare system, while sharing knowledge on their individual areas of expertise.

Pictured: Amy Meredith-Davies, health and wellbeing partnerships manager at SCVS, Carys Richards, principal officer for health, social care and wellbeing at NPTCVS, and Lynne Thomas, Swansea Bay's cluster development manager.

It is hoped that by working together, the leads can support the clusters to meet patient needs and help them identify opportunities for development and improvement.

The leads will be supported by Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) and Neath Port Talbot Community for Voluntary Service (Neath Port Talbot CVS).

Amy Meredith-Davies, health and wellbeing partnerships manager at SCVS, said: “The main purpose of the role is to ensure the voice of the third sector is considered within the cluster’s plans to assist in improving health and wellbeing of the local population.

“Each lead will represent the third sector, which will allow them to share information and highlight opportunities within the sector with the cluster, and vice versa.

“The introduction of these roles has not been mandatory; it has been something the health board has driven which is really positive.

“We believe the way the Third Sector Collaborative Leads will be working with LCCs is the first of its kind in Wales.

“The role will ensure the clusters continue to consider and involve the third sector in their plans for providing patient care and support.”

Swansea Bay’s LCCs already have a well-established connection with the third sector, with many community-based projects delivered by SCVS and Neath Port Talbot CVS proving successful.

Having a lead working alongside each cluster will help to build on this work by identifying opportunities for more third sector involvement.

Each lead will join cluster meetings where they will be joined by GP, dental, pharmacy and optometry leads, community nursing and more, to have discussions.

Joanne Popham, CEO of Popham Kidney Support, is just one of the new Third Sector Collaborative Leads.

Popham Kidney Support, a registered charity set up in memory of her father Paul Popham, aims to improve the life of people with kidney disease in Wales and their families, by improving their emotional, physical and financial wellbeing and improving their knowledge through education and campaigning for better services.

“It is important for the general public to be aware of the third sector organisations available to them in their local community,” Joanne said.

“Through this role, we can help people to better utilise the services available to them, supporting improved health outcomes and enhanced quality of life, while also reducing pressure on primary care staff.

“Working closely with clusters enables us to develop a strong understanding of the communities they serve, including local needs, challenges and health inequalities.

“This insight allows us to build and strengthen clear referral pathways to third sector organisations and community-based services that are well placed to provide practical, social and emotional support.

“By connecting people to appropriate local resources, we help ensure that care is more holistic, accessible and responsive to the needs of the wider community.

“We have been keen to develop links with primary care to educate patients with stage one to three kidney disease, and to provide support to them and their families. This role will help us to build on that.”

Carol Harris is a partnership manager at Stori Wales, a housing association that provides accommodation and specialist support to women, men, their children and young people who have experienced trauma across Wales.

She is another Third Sector Collaborative Lead and will be working alongside Neath LCC.

“At Stori, I lead partnership and stakeholder engagement, focusing on raising the organisation’s profile and identifying new collaboration opportunities,” she said.

“Within my role, I represent the third sector’s views, advocate for its priorities and work with diverse groups to help bridge the gap between the sector and the broader health and social care system.

“This is what I also aim to do within my Third Sector Collaborative Lead role.”

Each lead will bring their own experiences and perspectives from the sector to their roles, creating a wider and more varied approach to improving population health and wellbeing.

Sharon Miller, Associate Service Group Director for primary and community services, has overseen the development of the lead roles.

She said: “Clusters in Swansea Bay have a strong track record of working closely with voluntary sector organisations.

“We hope these posts will strengthen that relationship further and ultimately benefit patients.”

If you are a third sector organisation and want more information on the third sector representative role, you can email Amy on amy_meredith-davies@scvs.org.uk or info@nptcvs.org.uk