Highlighting the voluntary sector's impact on the health of underserved communities

We recently welcomed Dr Kathy McLean, Chair of the Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), on a visit to Normanton and Arboretum, to demonstrate the positive impact of the voluntary sector on the health of underserved communities.

Integrated Care Boards are NHS organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population. Dr McLean is attending a series of visits to ensure community work is understood by the ICB and factored into commissioning decision-making.

The visit focused on the transformative work of two Community Action Derby programmes - DHIP and DE23 Active.

DHIP Co-Chair Amjad Ashraf said:

“It was great to have a visit from Kathy and get the time to describe the work that we do, improving people’s health. You can’t deliver information from the outside and expect it to be understood. Community Action Derby has connections with more than 700 voluntary sector groups who know and understand their communities. We have a high success rate and know our impact is trusted and can be sustainable.”

Dr McLean said:

“It’s crucial that we have and can use this local information to influence our decision-making. What also emerged very strongly was the importance of trusted community voices to effect change rather than people remotely making decisions without true engagement."

For more details on Dr McLean’s visit you can read the ICB'S full article here: Community Connectors show ICB Chair Dr. Kathy McLean impact of voluntary sector on underserved communities.