Public Health Award
Partners Make Every Opportunity Count And Win Top Public Health Award
We are delighted to announce that innovative work by NHS Grampian, Action for Children, and Families Outside to help improve the health and wellbeing of children and families affected by imprisonment has won the Elizabeth Russell prize. Presented each year at the Scottish Faculty of Public Health’s annual conference, the prize recognises the best example of a collaborative approach to public health.
Families of those in prison can become socially excluded and find it harder to access services as a result. Working together, NHS Grampian, Families Outside, and Action for Children developed a simple set of questions to encourage families to focus on how they ‘look after themselves’ and get the support they may need. This is shared with families using the welcoming environment of the Family Centre & Help Hub at HMP & YOI Grampian, or during home visits. The responses from families can trigger conversation and inform discussion as an integral part of the support they receive through Families Outside and Action for Children. Guidance and assistance can then be built into current and future contact with the families.
Dr Linda Leighton-Beck, Head of Social Inclusion with NHS Grampian, said “NHS Grampian is always looking to make every opportunity count for people, enabling them to look after their own health. Our collaboration with Families Outside and Action for Children is benefiting a group of people who are often overlooked. Our approach can be adapted to the needs of other community planning and community justice partners. This prestigious national award, in the name of an eminent local leader in Public Health, should give partners additional confidence that using this approach helps make every opportunity count for people who need health and wellbeing support and for those who deliver services.”