The Sandwell Health & Wellbeing Board is a statutory committee made up of councillors, local GPs, council officers and members from the faith and voluntary community sector. The board has been transforming into a place that welcomes local community groups to share their stories and experiences. Hearing the real voices of local people brought the meetings to life and inspired board members to take action. By showcasing the work being done on the ground alongside the strategies behind it, the board has generated new ideas and in-depth discussions for plans in the future, knowing that local people can genuinely benefit.
We want everyone in Sandwell to have an equal opportunity to live a healthy, happy and fulfilling life. As a council, we have a responsibility to make sure that the services we provide or arrange help improve the lives of all our citizens. The council must work closely with health and community services and with local people, if we are going to improve health and wellbeing. The meetings are held in public and you can view the agenda and accompanying papers before the meeting using our Modern.Gov System.
What are we doing?
In order to make improvements we first need to have an accurate picture of the health and care needs of people in Sandwell now, and what is needed for the future. We must:
- agree on what is most important
- plan out what we need to do to make the biggest impact
- be clear about how this will happen, who will do it and when
- set measurable aims and objectives, so we can report on the progress we are making.
Finding out what local people need
NEW!! The Board is working on a refresh of its Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. This is the detail that board members collect and share that shows us what the current and future health and social care needs of people in Sandwell are. We are refreshing the needs assessment to reflect the borough Vision for 2030 and its ambitions; focusing on what’s strong not what’s wrong.
Whilst we are working on this, there are still a number of legacy JSNAs which you may want to take a closer look at. Go to Sandwell Trends to find out more.
Planning to make an impact
The Health and Wellbeing Board wants to work with local people to improve health and wellbeing and make sure that everyone who lives and works in Sandwell is treated fairly, with the same chances in life as everyone else.
Let us know your views
What do you think of our plans? Do you think the board is focusing on the right things? What are your experiences in your local area? What are you doing and how can you help to improve health and wellbeing in Sandwell?
Contact us
You can contact the Health and Wellbeing Board by emailing a member of the board directly, or by email to HWB_Board@sandwell.gov.uk