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Dear Member

There are an increasing number of days in each week when my wee brain just can’t quite squeeze in one more bit of information about our increasingly complicated health and care system.

If this is the case for me and other members of the Health Partnerships Team, I can’t imagine how difficult it is for those of you who, in addition to trying to make sense of all this information are also managing complex case-loads, staff teams, funding regimes and reporting mechanisms or are just simply trying to keep the funding flowing for an essential service.

We are aware that once again over recent months there has been a flurry of significant pieces of information flowing from health, local councils, national government and from our own sector.

If you’ve lost your way and need to check that you haven’t missed some of the key messages, or you need to reconnect or catch up with a piece of work or simply need to have a natter about what you and your organisation need to get up to speed about, give the Health Partnerships Team a shout.

Some of the stuff we can help untangle:

• Council Health & Wellbeing Boards
• Health & Wellbeing Strategies
• Neighbourhood Health discussion & development
• Neighbourhood Health Plans
• New commissioning strategies (multi-neighbourhood providers and single neighbourhood providers)
• Latest boundary alignment news

We look forward to hearing from you

To contact the Health Partnership Team just email below:

Clare Edwards Health Partnerships Manager
claree@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Holly Ferguson Health Partnerships Administration Officer
hollyf@cumbriacvs.org.uk
Sarah Penn Health Partnerships Support Officer
sarah.penn@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Keep up to date with our network events Padlet, which contains all of the information/presentations from each of our speakers at our recent Action for Health and Mental Health Provider Forum meetings.

November 17^th 12.30-1.30 - via Teams

Join us for a whistle stop tour of the North East and North Cumbria Making Every Contact Count resources - including a new public facing directory 'Contacts that Count'.

Making Every Contact Count is both a suite of training and resources to promote healthy behaviour change AND a directory of community assets which can support people with health and wellbeing.

Craig Robson who leads the Making Every Contact Count project in the region will be showing you round the updated webpages and sharing how you can make sure your services are visible to people looking for support.

This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about this nationally backed programme and how, with the right information, it can be a key point of connection into the third sector.

A Joint event between Cumbria CVS, Cumberland Social Prescribing Team, and the Cumbria Combined Authority Work, Health, and Skills Team. 

The aim of the event is to enhance connectivity in the work and health space, providing updates on major programmes, landscape, and networking opportunities. All culminating in greater engagement with programmes.

The event is for: 

• Social Prescribers, Care Coordinators, and Link Workers 
• Health and Wellbeing Coaches
• Work and Employment Coaches 
• VCSE organisations delivering Work + Health provision
• Anyone else working in the Work + Health space

Any VCSE organisations that deliver Work + Health programmes are invited to bring stalls and pop up banners to place around the room. 

Timings:

9:30 arrival and networking 

10:00 programme starts 

12:00-1:00 buffet lunch provided and networking.

Full agenda to follow

*please inform us of any dietary requirements beforehand.*

Next NCIC Physiotherapy waiting list Community Appointment Day (CAD) 25.11.2026 at the Sands Centre in Carlisle. 

Following the huge success of the September CAD day, with over 50 attendees, NCIC has set a date for the next session.

These days are a great opportunity for a range of third sector organisations to offer their services and support to people who are on NCIC waiting lists for physiotherapy appointments.

The day is appropriate for a range of organisations covering:

• Physical activity
• Mental health & wellbeing
• Advice and guidance (e.g. benefits support)

Community centres/community gyms etc.

Join us for a Lunch and Learn session with Tina Morland looking at Winter Planning for over-the-counter medicines and services that are provided through Pharmacy.

Tina will cover the Pharmacy First 7 conditions, ‘Think Pharmacy First’ (Over the counter medicine service), NHS 111 emergency medication supply service, Vaccine services, Hypertension and Contraception/ Morning after pill services.

Wednesday 2nd December 12.30pm-1.30pm (Online via MS Teams)

Come and find out more about the Community Change Lab. The co-design project has created an accessible research training pack in an Easy Read format and the co-research project has put these skills into practice as the group explored whether reasonable adjustments are in place in health care settings.

The Community Change Lab - is an inclusive space where people with learning disabilities plan and conduct research alongside people without learning disabilities.

Date: Tuesday 15^th December 11.00 - 12.30

Venue: People First Conference Centre, Milbourne Street, Carlisl

We look forward to seeing you there - please let us know you if you are able to attend so we know how many people to cater for kaz.stuart@wearepeoplefirst.co.uk

The latest news and updates from Hope Haven Whitehaven. Updates include:

- Review of the first 6 months at 40 King Street

- Ikigai workshops 

- Hope Haven in the news

- Out and about during October – December

The UK telephone network is being upgraded. By 31st January 2027, telephone providers are committed to moving customers from old analogue landlines to new digital landline services.

This change is happening across the UK and is led by the telecommunications industry. The new digital system uses modern technology, including fibre, to provide a more reliable and future‑proof service. This work has been ongoing for a few years and many lines across the UK, including within Cumbria, have already been moved.

As part of the switchover, anything that uses a traditional landline will be affected. This may include:

• Home phones
• Phones designed for people with hearing loss
• Telecare and personal alarm systems
• Fall and motion detectors
• Some healthcare devices, such as monitors

Your provider will contact you before your service is switched. They will explain what you need to do so your phone and any important devices continue to work as normal.

Follow the link to find out more and to share with people who use your services.

CNTW are introducing a new process to review the needs of everyone waiting for an assessment.

This will help make sure that people with the greatest need are seen as soon as possible.

How are they doing this and what will happen next?

People who are on an autism or ADHD waiting lists will receive a questionnaire.

They will receive a link by text message or hard copy versions if needed.

The questionnaire will ask about their current needs and circumstances. CNTW will then review and prioritise waiting lists based on patient needs and the level of support required. 

More information can be found by following this link:

Changes to our Neurodevelopmental Waiting Lists :: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

Key stuff from the Newsletter:

• Help shape what it means to age well in Westmorland & Furness by completing the Ageing Well Survey
• How easy is it to get the help you need from your GP surgery? The team are gathering information from across the whole of CUMBRIA
• The Black Man’s Toolkit is a free digital resource supporting Black men’s physical, mental, financial and spiritual wellbeing.

The Lived Experience Reference Groups bring together service users, carers, staff and partner organisations to share experiences, influence decisions, and help improve services across Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear (CNTW) NHS Trust.

The groups provide a safe and supportive space where people can work in partnership with staff to ensure lived experience is at the heart of service development and quality improvement.

These groups are held every 3 months and form a part of the Trust's wider Lived Experience Network (LEN). The groups plan to host smaller more focused discussions.

There are five Lived Experience Reference Groups that people can join: Community, Inpatients, Specialist and Neurological, Children and Young People CYPS) and Secure Care.

Attendees can attend as many groups as they would like – they don’t have to pick just one.

Find out more about has been happening in the groups over the last few months

The North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Integrated Care Board (ICB) met for its latest board meeting on Wednesday 30th September. Lisa Taylor attended the public part of the meeting in her role as VCSE representative, to observe the meeting.
The agenda included committee and Chief Executive reports, finance and integrated delivery reports, plus presentations about the ICB’s Winter Plan, and infection control, and reviews against strategic commissioning intentions and key clinical condition outcomes, including inequalities impact.
Lisa has provided a written summary of the meeting, which you can read at the button link below.
The meeting recording and papers can be viewed on the ICB website here.

A great set of resources if you are an organisation who deliver health, care or clinical services and/or write information and guidance material to assist people to better understand their health issues of their health care.

Organisational health literacy standards and toolkit | Boost

Also attached is rather weighty tome detailing NHS standards in relation to health literacy and NHS settings and an organisation self-assessment form for you to use to check you meet some of the standards.

People across the North East and North Cumbria can book their free winter vaccinations as the NHS urges those most at risk to protect themselves from serious illness.
The Be Wise, Immunise vaccination campaign is encouraging everyone who is eligible to take up the offer of their flu and/or Covid-19 vaccinations this autumn and winter.
People can find out more about the winter vaccination programme, eligibility and how to book an appointment on the Integrated Care Board (ICB) website at the link below.
The ICB would welcome your support in sharing information about the free vaccines with people you work with and support. This communications toolkit contains lots of resources to support information sharing in your settings

The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) has published its 5-year Commissioning Plan. It describes how they will plan and buy services for the 3.2 million people they serve across our region. It sets out where they can make the biggest difference, including better support for people with long-term conditions, more care closer to home, improved access to primary, community and mental health services, shorter waits, and a stronger start in life for children and young people.
This strategic plan is intended to provide a shared framework for commissioners, providers, local authorities, primary care, VCSE partners and communities. It outlines their vision for neighbourhood health, the key population groups and outcomes they will prioritise, the proposed commissioning approach, and the enabling infrastructure required to support delivery over the coming years

As an ICB, they will not directly deliver these services, but have an important role in setting the priorities and outcomes we want to see, and in aligning funding so services are safe, high quality, fair and good value.

They are now building on this work through the Neighbourhood Health Plan, which will outline the way they work with partners to bring care closer to home, strengthen local relationships and organise support around local people's needs. The latest draft of the North East and North Cumbria Neighbourhood Health Strategic Plan has been shared by the ICB which can be read here.

At the same time, they are refreshing the Better Health and Wellbeing for All plan to reflect a renewed focus on strategic commissioning and the three core shifts in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

This Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) report reveals a generation becoming more vulnerable, with worsening mental health increasingly hitting young people’s ability to be productive. The number of young people with no close friends has increased five-fold since 2014 and they are more isolated, more distressed and less productive than previous generations.
The report argues for changes beyond youth policy and calls for a solution that reaches across young people's lives, spanning education, work, housing and health.

The NENC region has some of the highest domestic violence and abuse rates in the UK, while nationally, one in four women are affected by violence. Asking for help can be difficult, and often it's not easy for professionals to spot the signs.
 
So, it's fantastic news that the ICB has secured £4.7 million to improve support for people affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence. The North East and North Cumbria has been selected as one of just 12 ICBs in England to roll out Steps to Safety, a three-year national programme to help GP teams identify abuse earlier, connecting people to specialist support quickly and safely.

Over the coming months, NENC ICB will work closely with people with lived experience, voluntary and community sector partners, specialist providers, GP practice colleagues and wider stakeholders to shape the programme. A dedicated programme team will oversee mobilisation and delivery, with the aim of building on and strengthening existing services.

If you want to connect into this work, please contact our Health Partnerships Manager: claree@cumbriacvs.org.uk

Britain's weather is changing and we can’t afford to be complacent. 

Right now, 6.3 million properties in England are in areas at risk of flooding; and as our climate keeps changing, that risk keeps growing.

Many of those properties are in Cumbria. Between April 2025 and March 2026 alone, the EA issued over 3,400 flood alerts, around 1,000 flood warnings, and 3 severe flood warnings nationwide. 

Yet most people don't see the danger on their doorstep. Polling shows almost 50% of the public have not looked up the flood risk for their home. That's a big gap between risk and readiness. Everyone deserves to know their risk, and what to do about it. Take five minutes to look up your flood risk now.  

Know your risk. Take simple steps now. 

Preparing for flooding doesn't have to be complicated. A few small actions today could protect your home, your family, your business, and your bank balance, potentially saving you thousands in damage and disruption tomorrow. 

Are you flood ready, or not? Know your risk, sign up for warnings and take simple steps now to protect your home, your family and your business this winter.

A consultation and engagement exercise asking people for their views on how library services should be delivered in Brampton and Longtown has started. 

Users of the libraries and the wider communities will be asked for feedback on several options for each site that are being considered by Cumberland Council. 

The options that the council wishes to consult on centre around the location of the library buildings. There will be an online survey which can be accessed from the council website, a paper version which can be obtained from the libraries and the opportunity to attend drop-in sessions with dates still being finalised. 

The six-week exercise, which ends on Wednesday 25 November, is part of the council's wider Libraries Fit for the Future programme, which aims make sure the service meets current and future needs.

People living with severe mental illness in England face a persistent and unacceptable health inequality, dying on average 15-20 years earlier than the general population, largely due to preventable physical illnesses.
This Rethink Mental Illness report examines the complex drivers of this mortality gap and sets out a comprehensive case for urgent national action.

Cumbria Adult Learning is offering a range of courses including mindfulness, resilience and grit, digital skills and getting started with NHS apps. 

Explore opportunities to learn new skills, build confidence and support your wellbeing. 

For more details on the different courses, please click the link below.

Westmorland and Furness Carers is a charity commissioned by Westmorland and Furness Council to provide support to unpaid carers of all ages, including adult carers, young carers and parent carers across the area.

We provide carers assessments, information and advice, one-to-one support, activities, training and peer support opportunities to help carers maintain their own health and wellbeing alongside their caring role.

#DoWith is an emerging grassroots movement bringing together people who believe that lasting change will come if government and public services do things with people rather than to them.

The thinking behind this approach and why it is particularly urgent at this time of crisis is explored in this King’s Fund essay Doing With: reinventing public services in a time of crisis. Or if you prefer something shorter: the DoWith Charter.

#DoWith began in early 2025 when a group of national organisations came together around a shared frustration: across public services there are many people already finding better ways to do things with individuals and communities but the wider systems around them too often refuse to follow their lead. The result was the DoWith Call to Action, initially backed by thirty national organisations, and an online gathering in March attended by more than 800 people who wanted to turn that shared ambition into action.

Do With has now created a new website for the DoWith Charter. The DoWith Charter wording is here, and you can sign at the bottom of the page:

https://dowith.org.uk/dowith-charter

The website also has the opportunity to download the DoWith Charter as a jpg or Word document, to use in your own organisation:

https://dowith.org.uk/share-the-dowith-charter

In this edition you will find:

• A local update: Health and Wellbeing Strategy and first working group meetings
• National news: recent government announcements
• Wider perspectives on Neighbourhood Health: Neurological Alliance report - ‘A vision for neuro neighbourhood health
• News from our partners: third sector consultation event to support the development of the Health and Wellbeing strategy

Westmorland and Furness Council is inviting views on proposals to change its locality working arrangements, including how the Council works with elected Members, communities and partners to respond to local needs and priorities. The aim is to strengthen local influence and support a more community-focused and preventative approach.

The proposals include moving from three to five or six localities, replacing existing Locality Boards with new Locality Forums, and strengthening connections between Council services, elected Members, communities and partners.

The VCFSE sector has an important role in this ambition, bringing local knowledge, trusted relationships and community networks. We would welcome your views on how the proposed arrangements could build on these strengths, support greater community influence and enable more effective joint working.

The engagement exercise is running from 19 October to 27 November 2026. The proposal document, including maps of the geographical options and details of how to respond, are available on the Westmorland and Furness Council website:

You are welcome to submit written feedback at any point during this period.

The Council is holding an online briefing for VCFSE organisations:

Monday 9 November 2026, 0930 - 1030 Join briefing

The session will provide an overview of the proposals, explain the engagement process and offer an opportunity to ask questions. There is no need to wait until the briefing to provide your feedback.

All feedback received will help inform the final proposals before a Full Council decision anticipated in January 2027.

CNTW is inviting people to take part in the PIONEER-MH study, which aims to understand how different services—including NHS services, ambulance services, voluntary organisations and the police—work together to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

They would like to hear from:

• People with experience of accessing mental health

crisis services

• Family members or carers
• Healthcare professionals
• Police staff
• Service managers, commissioners and policymakers

You can get involved through interviews, focus groups or workshops and share your experiences of how crisis services work in your area.

Participants may receive up to £30 in recognition of their time, depending on their role and level of involvement.

For more information or to express an interest, please contact:

Research assistants: Sara/Harry at PIONEERMH@CNTW.nhs.uk or 07970991212

The latest guidance on Right Care Right Person. Information on how to report something to the police and prompts on what to say 

The Winter Warmth Fund provides financial support to those unable to afford to keep warm and well. Funds are raised through voluntary donations from individuals and local businesses. 

To find out more information and who can apply, please click the link below.

Let's Talk Bereavement: Inclusive Conversations for Difficult Times builds on the core Let's Talk Bereavement materials, with additional material to help us break down barriers and make conversations about grief and loss more inclusive.

Drawing on The Glenmore Trust's experience of supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and other disabilities, our version remains conversational and relevant to a wide range of audiences, but is especially valuable for those who support people with a range of needs.

It's great to see this community continuing to grow. We now have almost 150 members and over 140 entries into the database.

The library is helping us to share engagement insight, avoid duplication, and learn from each other's work across the region. We now have a growing collection of engagement reports, consultation findings, case studies and resources available for members to access and use.

If you submitted a report over the summer, there may have been some delay in adding it to the system. Some reports were caught in the back-office system due to staff absence. These have now been loaded to the library. Sorry for the delay.

How you can help

We continue to raise awareness of the Community Engagement Library so it can help as many of us as possible. You can help by:

• Upload your engagement reports, findings or resources so others can learn from your work.
• Share the library with colleagues who may benefit from using or contributing to it.
• Browse the library and see what resources may be useful for your current projects. Also let us know if you have something to add.

By working together, we can build a richer evidence base and make it easier for teams across the North East and North Cumbria to access community insight.

If you have any questions, need support accessing the library, would like to contribute content, or know of teams that would like to hear more, please get in touch with me Kirsty.mcnally2@nhs.net or the wider team nencicb.involve@nhs.net

Grassroots organisations across Lancashire and South Cumbria can now apply for grants of up to £15,000 to help get more people talking about cancer, increase awareness of screening and encourage earlier help-seeking.

Lancashire and South Cumbria Cancer Alliance, in partnership with Spring North, has launched the next stage of its community cancer early diagnosis and awareness funding programme. This round focuses on reaching people and communities experiencing health inequalities and supporting people who may face barriers to accessing health information, taking part in cancer screening, and seeking help from healthcare services.

The programme is seeking applications from grassroots organisations with strong community connections and trusted relationships with the people they support. This could include organisations working with people experiencing financial or social disadvantage, LGBT+ communities, people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, people with learning disabilities, autistic people, people experiencing homelessness, and other groups who may face barriers to accessing healthcare and health information.

Every community is different, and this list is not exhaustive; applications are welcomed from any organisation working with communities affected by health inequalities.

Funded organisations do not need to be cancer experts. Cancer awareness training, information, resources and ongoing support will be provided, enabling organisations to use the relationships, activities and spaces they already have to start conversations in ways that work for their communities.

Four levels of funding are available:

Grants of up to £1,000 are available for single cancer awareness events, with up to £500 for the event itself and £500 for resources and merchandise.  

Grants up to £5,000 can support organisations to introduce cancer awareness activities into existing projects over six or 12 months.

Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 are available for 12-month programmes that explore different or creative ways to engage communities.

Funding of between £10,000 and £15,000 is available for larger, sustained programmes with greater community reach and dedicated capacity to deliver them.

Applications can be made now until 6 November 2026.

Apply here: https://springnorth-system.org/grants

Lakeland Wellbeing CIC was successful in securing funding for another round of our fully funded programme for women in Cumbria. 

The Thriving Women Project is a three day group programme for women who want to return to work or begin self employment. It is not a classroom course and does not use PowerPoint presentations. Instead, it offers a warm and welcoming space where women can reconnect with their strengths, rebuild confidence and leave with practical next steps. Every participant also receives three one-to-one coaching sessions with me.

When the programme previously ran in 2025/2026, 80% of participants moved into employment or training.

Details of the Carlisle programme:

Dates: 17th to 19th November
Time: 10am to 3pm each day
Venue: St James’, Carlisle
Lunch and refreshments are provided
Places: 12 available
Funding: Fully funded by The National Lottery Community Fund

The programme is open to women who are currently unemployed, on zero hours contracts or wanting to begin self employment. It is neurodivergent affirming and LGBTQ+ inclusive.

Our latest post has key updates, including funding and project opportunities, representative roles and working groups you might want to get involved in and much more.

The latest vacancies in Cumbria, from across the sector. You'll also find vacancies with Cumbria CVS here too.

Cumbria CVS offers a free membership service for Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations throughout Cumbria. This membership gives you access to our free services, including:

• Early access to our monthly e-bulletin newsletter
• Focus on Funding online - the latest funding opportunities
• Online Learning Programme (Volunteer Management, Funding, Governance, and Business Support)
• Evaluation and research resources
• Add your organisation to our member's directory and searchable map
• Advertising of your job vacancies on our website
• Right to vote at our AGM
• Other resources and support in development, including priority/early booking for our training and events

If you want to receive the latest news, events and updates on:

General sector info for your area
Our volunteering network
Volunteering vacancies
Our Action for Health and Mental Health Provider Forum networks
Trustee network
+ more

You can sign up for individual newsletters and manage your subscriptions to our mailings, all in one place!