HEALTHIER FLEETWOOD was formed in Spring 2016 as a point of contact for the local community, connecting residents to each other, to the growing network of voluntary groups and to the services supporting health and wellbeing.

Through these connections we aim to increase the self-confidence of individuals, encouraging them to take more control of the factors and decisions affecting them and play a proactive role in creating a happier and a healthier Fleetwood.

How did it all start?

Dr Mark Spencer, a GP for over 20 years at the Mount View Practice in Fleetwood and Karen Boylan, a former NHS practice manager called a public meeting at Fleetwood’s North Euston Hotel. It was open to all members of the community – residents, health professionals, business and education leaders, the faith and voluntary sector and more. Mark spoke passionately about the need to combat the many challenges residents faced to their daily wellbeing and to their life-expectancy – the statistics for Fleetwood were among the worst in the UK and strikingly poorer than neighbouring areas. He asked, “How can we work together as a community to change these trends and give hope for a better life to the current and future generations”

There was unanimous support to find an answer but initially no definitive suggestions or solutions to the question.

The next few months saw more enthusiastic meetings and also approaches to other communities to find out how they started on a similar journey. At the point when investment was about to be made to follow one of these paths, guided by an external third-party, the Fleetwood residents who had been most involved in the conversations, said ‘No’ and they wanted to find their own way, the Fleetwood way.

How do we work?

As an organisation we have remained small and independent, able to respond to the needs of the community without restrictive procedures.

We are a not-for-profit organisation with fully audited accounts for 7 years of operation but do not have charity or community interest company status.

Initial funding for staff, events and promotions was from the Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre CCG, we are now supported by the Lancashire & South Cumbria ICB - our annual budget is £30,000 for staff, events, promotions and an allocation towards new projects.

Mark and Karen were joined by David Gore, a communications professional. Karen and David are employed on a freelance basis and their hours add up to the equivalent of one full-time member of staff.

We are contactable through an answerphone, email, website, some social media and have developed good relationships with the local and regional press. Core messages have always been positive and encouraging - it’s rarely, if ever “don’t do that”, it’s all about “try something new”, “get involved” and “help is available”.

• See the Try Something New section of our website

While a wide range of communication channels are important face-to-face conversations have always been central to what we do.

Local resident Maurice Christian took on the role of our first Chair of residents, hosting the now monthly Open Meetings. These had soon become a forum to share the successes of local groups, to put forward ideas for something new and gather support. Fleetwood Men’s Shed has been a huge part of the community for many years now and began from one resident, Tony, standing up at an Open Meeting and saying he wanted to make a difference to those around him.

Maurice’s proactive role within Healthier Fleetwood was important as a statement we were grounded in the local community and accessible to all. Mark was speaking at NHS conferences and workshops, spreading the word of what was happening in the Town to a wider and receptive audience.

Karen and David were out and about everyday hosting drop-in events such as coffee mornings, tea & talks and larger themed events including a Mental Health workshop and even an Afternoon of Dance at Fleetwood’s prestigious Marine Hall. All of these an opportunity to bring together and meet as many local residents as possible.

The first year was all about LISTENING to what the community wanted and not telling them what we thought they needed. Of course, topics such as poor transport links, anti-social behaviour, lack of employment prospects, affordable accommodation were common themes, as they are elsewhere, but affecting change there they would need far more resources than two volunteers and two part-time staff could provide. What we could do and quickly was be that point-of-contact in the community.

 

 

Victoria, a local resident and co-founder of the innovative
Fleetwood Wellbeing Way says,
“Healthier Fleetwood joins up the dots.”

By early 2017 our remit had been determined by the local community, the team were focussed on the priorities, and we had an identity and resources to deliver our aims.
 

 

Early signs of success

Local residents embraced the notion that they had somewhere to go for connections and something they could say was their own. Individuals have been inspired to set up small groups and activities ranging from arts and crafts, coffee mornings, support groups, sports and fitness and many more. Many have gone from strength to strength and are now an established part of the Town’s voluntary network - others have shone briefly and faded but all of the played a part in raising the spirits of those who took a leading role and attended as members.

As an example - discussion took place at an Open Meeting about tidying a play area so it could be safe and available for children and families. Before an ‘official’ approach had been made to the landlord, local resident Chris had been in to see them asking when could work start and how were they going to help. Although he held no title as such he had been inspired and empowered by the meeting and introduced himself as “Chris from Healthier Fleetwood”. This was really a breakthrough moment for the vision of a connected and confident community.

Mark’s approach to empowering individuals alongside traditional healthcare was also catching the attention of the media. BBC News have filmed in the Town on several occasions since 2019, interviewing him and local residents.

• Online article by BBC health correspondent Dominic Hughes

Local resident, Pauline Kennedy is interviewed in the article from Dominic and she joined the team, taking on the chair of residents role and attending conferences on our behalf. Having been at the very first meeting and many more, Pauline had been inspired to take control of her wellbeing. She made changes to her diet to lose weight and counter other health issues, and she began to engage much more with the community by joining groups including the wonderful Harmony & Health singers.

Working in Partnership

As well as connecting individual residents Healthier Fleetwood has supported the launch and development of many community projects – three of the most successful being the Fleetwood parkrun, ANON art group and Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs.

A parkrun event has been muted for some time and we invited interested parties to an initial meeting, hosted several more and contributed some modest funding during the early stages of planning. When local resident Sue Ashton agreed to be the nominated organiser we acted as a sounding-board and supporter for her.

The Fleetwood Promenade parkrun was launched in 2019 and now regularly attracts over 100 participants each week plus around 10 volunteers.

ANON is an art for wellbeing group led by Fleetwood resident Heather. Having recently been awarded her degree in fine art she wanted to support her community and we had also just been advised of some funding for mental health projects. Healthier Fleetwood submitted a successful bid for a 12-week course designed and delivered by Heather. Nearly 20 residents joined the group – all thoroughly enjoying the creative sessions and seeing great benefits to their wellbeing and self-confidence. One member started her own degree studies as a result of the boost from being part of Anon.

With prudent management, materials and funding were available from the original bid to support two more ANON courses and welcome many more local residents.

Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs is truly amazing. Last year they welcomed their 1,000th visitor, giving them access to the Town’s beautiful beach through specially designed and built equipment. If you’ve not seen a beach wheelchair, it has oversize pneumatic tyres that travel across the sand, shingle and shallow water much easier than a conventional wheelchair. The smiles and laughter generated by being on the beach with family and friends is something most of us take for granted but is absolutely priceless to the users of this volunteer-only service.

Local resident Mick had the original idea and asked for help from Healthier Fleetwood to get it started. We brought together a steering-group (no pun intended), again provided some funding at the start, also acting as their ‘bank’ while they awaited a charity account and we created all the initial marketing. When Mick had to step away for a while we kept the project ticking over and when he returned it was his vision and drive that made Fleetwood Beach Wheelchairs such a success. It is now regarded as the model to follow when setting up similar projects.

We could share many more testimonials of projects and events where we have been involved but never controlled, it’s about us creating an environment where the individual takes the lead and we are there as needed.

While some of our partners can provide numbers for referrals and outcomes we do not track success in the form of statistics. However for the last 2 quarters of 2019, both the GP visits and the A&E visits by Fleetwood residents were down (against the national trend) so something was making a positive difference.

So there was real optimism that progress was being made but of course, events at the end of the year and the early months of 2020 would see the World face an unprecedented threat to our health and how we connect within communities.

We all had to change the way we operated during the pandemic and for organisations like ourselves, used to working face-to-face, it was a huge challenge.

The Covid Pandemic

Partners within the community including the Men’s Shed, Westview Community Association, Fleetwood Town Community Trust, Wyre Council and the churches under the title of Faith in the Community soon took on the immediate and pressing task of a food distribution service. Others like Harmony & Health looked to support their own membership by going online for weekly wellbeing sessions and when they could, get out and drop off parcels so nobody felt isolated and forgotten.

Dr Spencer was fully occupied as a front-line GP but within a few weeks of the first lockdown starting had also galvanised community leaders into a new group that would become Future Fleetwood (more about this later). Once again it was clear that the most effective way Healthier Fleetwood could support the community at this time was by making safe and appropriate connections.

Karen supported the setting up of the newly formed Fleetwood Social Prescribers team, passing on what we’d learned from the previous three years of community engagement work. Together they reached out to isolated individuals and connected them with the support available and access to services operating.

We launched our GOOD NEWS weekly e-blast in April 2020. Even during the lockdown there were so many positive stories to share from the community and these bulletins did just that. They celebrated community heroes and signposted to the help available. Four years on, with at least 5 or 6 items of Good News every week, it’s a fantastic tribute to Fleetwood that a relatively small community can achieve so much.

A new start for Healthier Fleetwood

As lockdown restrictions eased and public gatherings were allowed again our Open Meetings resumed with our friends at Emmanuel Mount Church. Pauline hosts these with a light touch, encouraging anyone and everyone to be involved by speaking or listening as they prefer. Numbers have slowly risen back to pre-pandemic levels and at the time or writing we’ve just had over 60 people attend on a cold, dark evening with 30 different speakers sharing their Good News and ideas.

• Read a summary of a typical Healthier Fleetwood Open Meeting

The monthly Healthier Fleetwood Open Meetings are central to how we continue to engage and support with residents and we’ve had visitors from all over the Country attend, taking back what they see and hear, and maybe start their own journey.

In April 2021, the Affinity Lancashire shopping outlet based in Fleetwood was open post-lockdown but had unfortunately lost some tenants. The outlet’s management kindly offered Healthier Fleetwood a unit free of charge and to benefit the community.

To be honest we did not have a fully-formed vision of what we would do with the space but opened soon after as a Community Information Centre. At that time we had about 10 posters of local wellbeing opportunities on the walls but the empty spaces soon filled. The unit literally gave us a shop window, somewhere to find out about the amazing Fleetwood community.

It was also a base to host drop-in events and make even more connections as we developed the Healthier Fleetwood Partnership, bringing together professionals in the same way we have tried to with residents and the voluntary sector. The Partnership meet every two months to update on wellbeing-focussed projects, share new ideas and enjoy the networking opportunity. We also support the work of the Future Fleetwood board which is looking at many of those defining themes mentioned earlier: transport; education, training and jobs; economic development; tourism and leisure and more.

In 2022 we were honoured to be nominated for and receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in recognition of our work connecting the community. As we’ve said we are a small team but backed by the many, many volunteers in groups and at hubs around the Town and the award was accepted on their behalf.

In October 2023 with Affinity at 100% occupancy, we left the outlet and took down an amazing 152 posters - all Fleetwood-based groups, activities and community events.

Where do we go now?

After a couple of months ‘on the road’ and the kind support of Fleetwood Library as a temporary home, we are delighted to say we now have a new base to share what’s happening in the community. Working in partnership with Regenda Homes the ‘new’ Healthier Fleetwood Information Centre opened in February 2024 and is in a great location on the main thoroughfare, close to Fleetwood Market. Our opening hours follow the market and the early footfall and feedback from our visitors is very encouraging. We are sure the Information Centre will be a great asset to our work and to the community as a whole, bringing better health to the High Street.

In the Spring of 2024, it will be 8 years since Mark and Karen called the first meeting. One of the things we have always said is it will take at least a generation to really make a difference to the health and wellbeing of local residents and the wider community, so we’re only halfway there. It’s been a fantastic journey so far, many more highs than lows but there is still a lot of work to be done and we look forward to seeing what’s next for our wonderful town … the motto of Fleetwood is ONWARD!

 

The Healthier Fleetwood Team – March 2024