self-care week 2014...a calendar of free events held throughout the week included sessions for...

Self-Care Week 2014

Activity Report for

Bracknell Forest

By Matthew Clift, Project Manager (Prevention and Self-Care),

Bracknell Forest Council and Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group

May 2015

Self-Care Week 2014 Report

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Executive Summary

Self-Care is, ultimately, the art of looking after yourself. It is managing any on-going medical

conditions and preventing others: making sure you eat healthily, do enough exercise and

look after your emotional and mental wellbeing. It is also about knowing the right place to go

when you need help. This can be hard for some people, particularly when information and

advice is difficult to find.

Self-Care doesn’t have to be difficult. It doesn’t mean you have to put yourself first at all

times and not think of others. It doesn’t mean you have to run marathons and live off

smoothies. It doesn’t mean you can’t eat or drink, to an extent, what you want. It just means

finding the balance of eating, drinking, physical activity and self-moderation that makes you

feel at your best.

Self-Care Week is a national initiative that in 2014 ran from 17th to 23rd November; the aim of

the yearly event is to encourage individuals to take responsibility for their own health and

wellbeing.

Self-Care Week 2014 in Bracknell and Ascot was run in partnership between Bracknell

Forest Council and Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group, as part of the Better

Care Fund. Building on the successes of the previous Self-Care Week events held in

Bracknell Forest and Ascot in 2012 and 2013, this year’s Project Team set out to be more

ambitious. Through strong partnership working and pooled resources, the public

engagement campaign was able to reach a larger number of people in Bracknell Forest than

the Self-Care Weeks of 2012 and 2013.

The planning process saw engagement from all Council departments, with Adult Social

Care, Health and Housing leading on the project alongside the Bracknell and Ascot Clinical

Commissioning Group and Bracknell Forest Public Health. Other stakeholders included

Berkshire NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust and Healthwatch Bracknell Forest.

The week’s events included:

A large presence throughout the week in Princess Square and Shopmobility that

saw over 30 organisations attend with information stands.

Two Self-Care Week themed vehicles were sited at various locations throughout

Bracknell Forest during Self-Care Week.

The four Bracknell Forest Council managed Children’s Centres worked with Health

Visitors from Berkshire NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust to facilitate Self-Care

themed lessons and activities for children and families.

A calendar of free events held throughout the week included sessions for Zumba,

Boxercise, Tai-Chi, Ranger Walks at both South Hill and Lily Hill Parks and Run

Coaching.

Close to 100 locations across Bracknell Forest had a Self-Care Week 2014

presence. Locations included GP surgeries, Children’s Centres, Bracknell

Healthspace, Bracknell Leisure Centre and The Look In Café. A further 40 locations

displayed posters promoting Self-Care Week Activities.


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Information on offer to the public, at the stands in the community, included posters and

leaflets on healthy eating, physical activity, falls prevention, the NHS Choose Well campaign

and self-help guides for maintaining physical and mental wellbeing. The Street Doctor

sessions in Princess Square were well attended with the doctor, a qualified GP, checking

people’s health and offering Self-Care advice.

In terms of engaging the public and promoting the prevention and Self-Care agenda, Self-

Care Week 2014 was a success. 1929 surveys were completed, over double the amount

collected from the previous year’s event. This level of response from the public gives the

partnership a wealth of data to improve and inform future support, services and information

provision. There are many ways the Prevention and Self-Care Board can continue to

improve Self-Care in Bracknell Forest, including:

Continued “ChooseWell” publicity to help people understand which service to access

Working to learn from negative feedback and reflect the positive

Working to mitigate against the barriers to Self-Care

Shifting people’s self-reported health up the spectrum towards “Excellent”

Ensuring people are supported and motivated to continue Self-Caring

Treat mental health support equally with physical health support

Partner organisations represented on the Project Board will work to understand the data

behind the report and produce measurable results based on this feedback. This report can

also provide learning to inform future Borough-wide public engagement events. This learning

will be used when planning preventative support to meet the needs of the local community.


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Contents

Introduction and Background

Project Team & Plan

Communications and Volunteer Training

Self-Care Week 2014

Highlights of Self-Care Week 2014

Measuring Methodology

Analysis of Survey Data

Conclusion

Annex 1: Highlight Report for Self-Care Week 2013

Annex 2: Schedule of Tweets published on Bracknell Forest Council’s Twitter feed

Annex 3: Healthwatch Bracknell Forest Report on people’s personal experiences of health

and social care


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Introduction and Background

“A great many A&E attendances, hospital admissions and even

GP appointments are avoidable if people improve their Self-Care

and conditions get diagnosed earlier rather than later. The most

common chronic conditions causing hospital admissions are

Chronic Bronchitis (more commonly known as "Smokers Cough"),

Diabetes, Heart Disease and Strokes often caused by high blood

pressure. When high blood pressure is diagnosed and treated

early it can prevent Strokes, Heart Attacks and other conditions.

If you are over 40, your doctor will offer you a free NHS health

check every 5 years. Take the opportunity and ask for it! Also,

there are free local smoking cessation services, free stop drinking support and support in

drug addiction (New Hope), free Slimming World vouchers from your GP or practice nurse,

free or low price gym opportunities via your practice nurse with a scheme called "Activate"

and free counselling through Talking Therapies.

All of these services support your desire for better health. We encourage you use them for a

happier and healthier future."

Quote from Dr. Martin Kittel, Director and Self-Care lead for Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group and Forest End GP

Self-Care doesn’t mean that you’re on your own, or that the necessary support or services

won’t be there for you when you need them. Talking to your GP and other healthcare

workers, including pharmacists can help, but there is a lot you can also do yourself.

More information on lifestyle factors including Alcohol, Smoking, Healthy Eating, Physical

Activity, Social Interaction and their effects can be found on the JSNA Self-Care Guide

website: www.jsna.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/self-care-guide

Is Self-Care new?

Self-Care, as a concept, has been discussed for many years. At the Fifteenth Annual Self-

Care Conference the Self-Care Forum quote the Minister for Health, Virginia Bottomley, as

saying as early as 1989 that “people are increasingly demanding the right to control their

lives and be able to choose high quality services.”

The first Self-Care Week was launched in 2009 by the Department of Health.

Following the launch of the report ‘Self-Care: An ethical imperative’ by the Self-Care

Campaign group in 2010. Momentum for the campaign grew which led to the creation of the

Self-Care Forum in 2011, with the Forum then taking over responsibility for running and

promoting the national Self-Care Week.

http://www.jsna.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/self-care-guide

http://kittel.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MTKpassport_w.jpg


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NHS England is a partner in the Self-Care Forum, as are a number of GPs and

organisations including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the National Association for

Patient Participation (NAPP).

Prevention and Self-Care in Bracknell Forest

Starting in 2012 and continuing in 2013 Self-Care Week in Bracknell Forest has expanded

into one largest health and social care events the Council is involved in.

Self-Care Week activities in 2012 and 2013 received engagement and support from all

Council departments as well as partners and stakeholders. From these events there was a

growing consensus among the partner organisations that more should be done to promote

Prevention and Self-Care throughout the year in Bracknell Forest.

In order to achieve this, the Prevention and Self-Care Board was formed in 2013. The Board

members included individuals from Bracknell Forest Council’s Public Health and Adult Social

Care Teams, Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group, Berkshire Healthcare NHS

Foundation Trust and Healthwatch Bracknell Forest.

The aim of the Board is to work jointly to oversee the Prevention and Self-Care Programme

and its underlying projects. The health and social care areas covered by the programme

include:

Long-Term Conditions

Carers

Children's Health

Mental Health

Sexual Health

Falls Prevention

General Health and Wellbeing

Intelligence & Insight

Falls Prevention

The Prevention & Self-Care programme has campaigns that cover the entire age-range of

the population of Bracknell Forest.

Since the Prevention and Self-Care Board’s inception, the Programme has become one of

the nine workstreams that make up the Better Care Fund scheme in Bracknell Forest. A

smaller Prevention and Self-Care Steering Group has been formed to guide the operational

side of the project.


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Project Team & Plan

In August 2014 a bid to run a week long calendar of events and activities for Self-Care Week

2014 in Bracknell Forest and Ascot was presented to the Prevention and Self-Care Steering

Group. The funding for the event, which came from the Prevention and Self-Care budget (as

part of the Better Care Fund) was agreed.

To organise and give direction to this year’s event a Project Team was formed. The Team

consisted of individuals from all of the partner organisations and the main local stakeholder

groups. The Team set out to build on the momentum gained from the successes of the two

previous Self-Care Weeks held in Bracknell Forest and Ascot. Whilst the Team wanted to

increase the number of activities and organisations involved, one of the key aims was to

have a larger, more cohesive publicity campaign to engage more people. Although some

members of the Steering Group were also part of the Project Team, regular progress

updates were given to the Steering Group during the four month planning process.

A new Project Team was established over the summer and consisted of:

Core members:

Matthew Clift – Project Manager (Prevention and Self-Care) & Project Lead –

Bracknell Forest Council

Dave Rossiter – Joint Commissioning Officer – Bracknell Forest Council

Daniel Green - Public Health Programme Officer – Bracknell Forest Council

Kate Kitto - Project Manager – Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group

Karen Maskell – Lay member for Patient and Public involvement – Bracknell and

Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group

Jennie Ford – Practice Manager & Representative at Bracknell and Ascot Clinical

Commissioning Group – Sandhurst Group Practice

Chris Taylor – Co-ordinator – Bracknell Forest Healthwatch

Supporting members:

Clive Malcolm - Communications & Social Media Officer – Bracknell Forest Council

Kulbir Sandhu - Communications Officer - NHS Central Southern Clinical Support

Unit

Martin Kittel – Director and lead for Self-Care – Bracknell and Ascot Clinical

Commissioning Group

Robyn Dow - Communications Officer – Talking Therapies

Mary Purnell - Head of Operations – Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning

Group

Lynne Lidster - Head of Joint Commissioning - Bracknell Forest Council

Lisa McNally - Consultant in Public Health - Bracknell Forest Council

Kathryn Mullen - Public Health Programme Officer - Bracknell Forest Council

Julie West - Locality Manager Community Health Services Bracknell – Berkshire

NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust

Sandra Woodward - Centre Manager - The Oaks Children Centre Children's Centre

- Bracknell Forest Council


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Mike Porter - Admin & Marketing Assistant (Assistive Technology) - Bracknell Forest

Council

Bobbi Johal – Project Manager – Solutions 4 Health

Libby Whittaker – National Self-Care Forum Representative

Building on strong partnerships and good relationships developed through previous Self-

Care Weeks held in 2012 and 2013, the Project Team had a foundation to improve and

increase the publicity campaign, the number of organisations involved and an increased

number of information stands in locations across the borough to spread the Self-Care

message.

In order to continue to have comparable data and measure people’s self-reported health

against what people reported at previous events; the questionnaire template from 2013 was

used for 2014 with a slight change being made to one of the questions (Q5. Heatherwood

Minor Injury Unit (MIU) changed to Urgent Care Centre). Like the 2013 survey this year’s

survey was designed for two-sided postcard production making it short, engaging and in a

format that could be easily posted in one of the sixty locations, using ballot boxes provided

by Democratic Services at Bracknell Forest Council.

Close to 100 locations across Bracknell Forest displayed Self-Care Week 2014 information.

60 of these locations had stands where people could complete surveys, pick up information

leaflets and find out about the activities being run during the week. These included GP

surgeries, Children’s Centres, Lloyds Pharmacies, Healthspace, Bracknell Leisure Centre,

Time Square, Solutions 4 Health Clinics and The Look In Café. A further 40 locations

displayed posters promoting Self-Care Week Activities.

Each location hosting a stand was supplied with a stand pack containing posters promoting

Self-Care, the free activities being held during the week and leaflets. The leaflets covered

topics including falls prevention, mental wellbeing (supplied by Talking Therapies), NHS

Health Checks and the Helping You Stay Independent Guide 2014.

Also included in the stand packs was “Self-Care Service Station” themed leaflets written and

designed Bracknell Forest Council’s Public Health Team. These leaflets were used to

signpost individuals to commissioned support for smoking cessation, physical activity, drugs

and alcohol, weight management and mental health support.

The Bracknell Forest Council’s Self-Care Webpage: www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare

was used to promote the Week’s events and inform visitors the support the Council and its

partners provide to help people look after themselves.

http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare


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2000 “What’s On” guides, listing the events of the week on a day by day basis, were

distributed to local community groups and businesses. They were also on offer to the public

at the majority of the 100 community locations across Bracknell Forest with a Self-Care

Week presence. The guide presented reader the opportunity to find out about the different

organisations, and what support they can offer.

An electronic version of the “What’s On” guide can be viewed at

http://issuu.com/selfcare/docs/scw_what_s_on_guide. This version was also available

through Bracknell Forest Council’s Self-Care webpage.

A calendar of free activities was planned, which would take place at locations across the

Borough and at different times of the day. Activities included sessions for Zumba, Boxercise,

Tai-Chi, Ranger Walks at both South Hill and Lily Hill Parks and Run Coaching. With the

exception of the Rangers Walks, all the other free activities required people to reserve a

space.

This year’s event saw the new addition of two Self-Care Week themed vehicles

commissioned by the Project Team. These vehicles were at various locations throughout the

Borough during Self-Care Week. The Solutions 4 Health teams staffing the vehicles were

trained to perform Health MOTS, quick health assessments (blood pressure, body mass

index measurements (BMI) etc.) and making referrals to services like the smoking cessation

service.

The Team members were conscious that this year’s engagement and involvement of young

people should be increased from 2013’s efforts. With the support of Bracknell Forest

Council’s Children, Young People and Learning department, a school poster competition

was again planned to take place in all primary and secondary schools across the Borough to

raise awareness of the Self-Care.

Students were asked to design a poster on: “Things you can do to keep yourself healthy and

happy”. This involved the pupils creating an A3 sized poster themed around the benefits of

healthy eating, exercise and staying happy.

http://issuu.com/selfcare/docs/scw_what_s_on_guide


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A selection of posters was displayed in Shopmobility during Self-Care Week to bring both

colour and a community feel to the week’s main information hub. The top three were

selected by Deputy Mayor, Cllr Andy Blatchford and Deputy Mayoress Mrs Ann Blatchford.

The winning entry won swimming tickets for themselves and Self-Care kit bags for their class

mates. The second and third place entries won swimming tickets for themselves.

Twenty students from the Health and Social Care, Childcare course at Bracknell and

Wokingham College agreed to volunteer during Self-Care Week 2014. As the Team were

no-longer able have a large presence in the main foyer of Princess Square due to

commercial activity, it was be important to actively engage the large footfall of shoppers to

engage with Self-Care messages. Every day was split into a morning and an afternoon

session, with six students scheduled for each session to canvas the shoppers.

With planning finalised the focus of the Project Team turned to the implementing Self-Care

Week 2014 across Bracknell Forest.


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Communications and Volunteer Training

This year every effort was made to make sure the event was well publicised in the

community. Lessons learnt from the communications of 2013’s event meant a working group

was set up, separate to the main Team, consisting of communications staff representing:

Bracknell Forest Council

Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group

Talking Therapies

Berkshire NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust

With the Self-Care Week communications schedules complete, promotion through digital

media channels started on Wednesday, 15th October, one month before the Grand Opening

on Saturday, 15 November 2014. An example of one the of communication plans prepared

for Bracknell Forest Council’s Twitter feed is given as Annex 2. Bracknell Forest Council,

Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation

Trust and Talking Therapies all implemented their respective digital and social media plans

(both Twitter and Facebook). A Twitter hashtag of #BFSelfcare was agreed upon early in the

communication planning so people could easily access all the tweets in one place. Third

parties were also encouraged to tweet and retweet the Self-Care messages.

Bracknell Forest Council issued a joint press release on behalf of the partner organisations

explaining what Self-Care is and advertising the activities. The press release appeared in a

prominent position of the Bracknell Times Newspaper the week before Self-Care Week and

also on the Get Reading website during Self-Care Week. An additional press release was

issued by Bracknell and Wokingham College during the Self-Care Week to showcase how

their students were helping to support the local event.

GP surgeries in the Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group area were all

encouraged to send a text message encouraging public participation in Self-Care Week. The

message was sent to over 66,000 people registered with the practices involved.

A volunteer training session was held at the Bracknell Open Learning Centre on Tuesday, 4th

November 2014. The session was an opportunity to inform people of what Self-Care is and

what the messages and activities of Self-Care Week 2014 were. Each attendee was given a

Self-Care Information pack, which included information on Prevention and Self-Care support

in the local community, a volunteer T-Shirt, Self-Care related equipment (for example, water

bottles, stress balls and first aid kits), guidance for volunteers and a Self-Care Quiz. In total

60 people attended the session.


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The session started with a Self-Care Quiz, consisting of questions supplied by partner

organisations on Nutrition/Healthy Eating, Smoking, Alcohol, Physical Activity, Mental

Wellbeing and the NHS Choosewell campaign. The quiz was a light and enjoyable way to

start the session and helped improve everyone’s Self-Care knowledge. It also highlighted the

level and depth of public knowledge and how important a consistent and clear message was.

The quiz was then followed by presentations on Self-Care (produced by Daniel Green and

Kathryn Mullen of Bracknell Forest Council’s Public Health Team and presented by Kate

Kitto of the Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group) and on Self-Care Week

(written and presented by Matthew Clift and Dave Rossiter, both of Bracknell Forest

Council’s Joint Commissioning Team). The organising and running of the volunteer training

session was a prime example of excellent partnership working and set-up the main event for

success.


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Self-Care Week 2014

Saturday, 15 November 2014 To launch Self-Care Week 2014 a Grand Opening was held in Shopmobility between midday and 2pm on Saturday, 15 November 2014. This was seen as a great opportunity to raise the profile and awareness of the week-long event with the public through local media. The opening was attended by the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Andy Blatchford and Deputy Mayoress

Mrs Ann Blatchford.

At the Grand Opening there were stands representing:

Forest Care Assistive Technology (Bracknell Forest Council)

Harmony Nutrition

Healthwatch Bracknell Forest

The Community Policing Team

Bracknell Forest Self-Care

Street Doctors

Talking Therapies

Forest Care Assistive Technology (Bracknell Forest Council) provided information about

their lifeline alarms and other assistive technology they offer individuals to help them remain

independent and in their own homes.

Harmony Nutrition used the Grand Opening to launch a new healthy eating initiative, called

5,4,3,2,1, which was commissioned by Bracknell Forest Council. The initiative aims to help

people make nutritious meals using five foods, costing £4 or less, providing three of their

five-a-day fruit and vegetables, producing two portions and looking after Number One!

Harmony Nutrition also offered free healthy smoothies and nutritional advice to people

visiting the stand.


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Healthwatch Bracknell Forest representatives gave members of the public the opportunity

to express their views on the health and social care services in the Bracknell Forest.

The Community Policing Team consisting of Police Officers and Community Support

Officers were on-hand to fit free personal safety devices to people bags and purses. They

were also advising people on how to stay safe over the coming winter.

Bracknell Forest Self-Care had a week long presence at Shopmobility promoting

Prevention and Self-Care support and advice. The stand helped in giving the residents of

Bracknell Forest the best possible opportunity to remain independent and have a high level

of health and wellbeing. It showcased what support the partners of the Prevention and Self-

Care Steering Group offer to help the community in preventing the deterioration of on-going

health conditions and helping individuals Self-Care. Over the course of the week it was the

most visited stand as it offered a wide range of literature on health and adult social care

issues such as weight management, nutrition, physical activity, smoking cessation as well as

offering a selection of free Self-Care items including water bottles, skipping ropes, first-aid

kits and pedometers to aid the public in actively participating in Self-Care.


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The Street Doctor was Dr. Kassianos from the Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning

Group, who was offering free blood pressure checks. Cllr Blatchford posed for photos while

his blood pressure was taken by Dr. Kassianos.

Talking Therapies is an NHS service offering friendly, confidential advice on individuals

living with low mood, worry, stress or phobias. Talking Therapies had a stand in

Shopmobility for the duration of Self-Care Week. Representatives of this service were able

to make referrals for the psychological therapies and also to give advice to those living with

depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.


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Monday, 17th November 2014 Monday was the first day of the national campaign of Self-Care Week 2014 and the first full

day for the event in Bracknell Forest and Ascot.

Student volunteers from the Health and Social Care, Childcare course at Bracknell and

Wokingham College volunteered to canvas members of the public in Princess Square to

complete the Self-Care Week Questionnaires and educate them on Self-Care messages.

Monday also saw the first appearance of the Solution 4 Health Self-Care vehicles, out and

about in Bracknell Forest. Staff at the vehicles offered the following to the public:


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Encouraging individuals to complete the Self-Care Week survey

Health MOTS

Quick Health Assessment consisting of Blood Pressure & BMI measurements

Smoking cessation packs along with referrals to Smoking Clinics in Bracknell Forest

Distributing Prevention and Self-Care literature and advice

Throughout the course of the day the vehicles travelled to Bracknell Train Station, Ascot

High Street, Bracknell Leisure Centre, Ascot Train Station and Easthampstead House.


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Tuesday, 18th November 2014 With Shopmobility open, a larger Self-Care Week presence in Central Bracknell was available throughout the day. The following organisations had stands at Shopmobility:

Forest Care Assistive Technology (Bracknell Forest Council)

Involve

Stronger Voices (EIF)

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Physiotherapists

Street Doctors


Talking Therapies The Self-Care Week Vehicles visited Great Hollands Square, Redwood Technologies and

Bracknell Leisure Centre.

Forest Care Assistive Technology (Bracknell Forest Council), continuing from the grand

opening, promoted their assistive technology and tele-care services including keysafes, falls

detectors and pendant alarms.

Involve are the central support organisation for all voluntary, community and faith

organisations in Bracknell Forest. Involve staff promoted the volunteering, training and

befriending opportunities available in the local area; all ways of reducing isolation and

increasing wellbeing.

Stronger Voices (EIF) aims to enable newly arrived members of the community (resident in

the UK for less than ten years) from the non-EU nations to access support such as ESOL

(English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes, health related programmes, a

horticulture project and an opportunity to learn about the UKs culture and heritage.


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Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service gave advice on how to prevent fires, keep

yourself safe in the home and also offered individuals the opportunity to sign up for a free

Home Fire Safety Check.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Physiotherapists gave information and

provided leaflets on maintaining mobility as well as offering referrals to their services.

Bracknell Leisure (Bracknell Forest Council) attended to promote the groups and fitness

activities they offer. Bracknell Leisure manages three sport and leisure centres, Coral Reef,

a golf complex and The Look Out Discovery Centre.

The Street Doctor was Dr. Kittel, Director and Self-Care lead for the Bracknell and Ascot

Clinical Commissioning Group offered blood pressure and cholesterol tests to the passing

member of the public.

Bracknell Forest Self-Care and Talking Therapies were also still providing information.


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The free physical activities calendar started on the evening of Tuesday with a free Zumba

event being held at Sandhurst Memorial hall.

Alison Koen, an attendee of the Zumba event:

“Myself and my daughter attended the free Zumba session in Sandhurst as part of Bracknell

Forest Council's Self-Care Week.

When we arrived, the hall was ready and the instructor was very welcoming and friendly. We

were asked to sign in and fill in a questionnaire and then we were ready to go!

The session was very well attended with a real mixture of ability which the instructor handled

very well. She was very encouraging, constantly checked on how we were feeling and

helped us with intricate dance steps. The music was a mixture of contemporary chart tracks

as well as latin-american which was great. The session was thoroughly enjoyable and I

would love to do Zumba again. I have also signed up for Boxercise on Friday night as these

sessions are fantastic. Well done to the organisers whose careful planning made the event

run so smoothly and was so enjoyable”


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Wednesday, 19th November 2014

Today the stands at Shopmobility included:

Downshire Golf Complex

The Dementia Advisor (Bracknell Forest Council)

Street Doctors

The Urgent Care Centre (UCC)

Mindfulness, Relaxation and Wellbeing

Sustrans

Talking Therapies


The Self-Care vehicles were located at Binfield Shopping Centre, Crowthorne High Street

and South Hill Park.

Downshire Golf Complex – Staff from Bracknell Forest Council’s Downshire Golf Complex,

which is considered one of the best Pay and Play courses in the local area, promoted the

activities and facilities they offer. As part of their stand there was a putting green where

people could test their putting skills as well as being informed of the health benefits of a

leisurely round of golf.

The Dementia Advisor (Bracknell Forest Council) offered advice to people on how

choosing a healthy lifestyle can dramatically reduce the risk of certain types of dementia. In

addition they promoted the new Dementia Directory produced by Bracknell Forest Council.


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Street Doctors – Dr Martin Kittel resumed his Street Doctor duties from Tuesday. The

health checks offered were well received, with a constant flow of people taking the

opportunity to discuss medical conditions and how to stay healthy in a setting away from the

GP surgery.

The Urgent Care Centre (UCC) treats minor injuries and illnesses that require immediate

assessment and treatment but do not require care in an A&E Department. The UCC is a key

part of the NHS Choose Well agenda in Bracknell Forest and Ascot, which aims to reduce

the number of individuals accessing unnecessary forms medical treatment for preventable

illnesses. Members of staff from the UCC were at Shopmobility to promote the support and

medical treatment available.

Mindfulness, Relaxation and Wellbeing – a qualified mindfulness coach provided relaxing

hand massages and discussed how people can stay relaxed whilst at home and in the

workplace.


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Sustrans is an organisation that works in the community to enable people to choose

healthier, cleaner and cheaper journeys through cycling. Like Self-Care Week 2013,

Sustrans brought along their Smoothie Bike. This created a great buzz with people wanting

to have a go at powering the bike (physical activity) and those wanting to enjoy a healthy

smoothie produced from the pedalling of the bike (nutrition). Wearable reflective strips were

also given away for free to help people stay safe on the roads at night by being more visible

whilst cycling.

Bracknell Forest Self-Care and Talking Therapies continued their presence at

Shopmobility.

The first Ranger Walk of the week took place in the morning at South Hill Park. The walk

was led by the Manager of South Hill Park, who guided the participants on an interesting

walk, providing information on some of the unique elements of the park.


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Thursday, 20th November 2014

Today at Shopmobility there were stands representing:

Falls Clinic (Bracknell Forest Council)

Drugs and Alcohol Team (DAAT) (Bracknell Forest Council)

Sensory Needs Team (Bracknell Forest Council)

Berkshire Carers Service

Dietitians and Oral Health Nurses (Berkshire NHS Healthcare Foundation trust)

HealthMakers

Sustrans

Adult Safeguarding Team (Bracknell Forest Council)

Community Learning (Bracknell forest Council)

Street Doctors

Talking Therapies


The Self-Care Week vehicles today concentrated on areas away from central Bracknell. The

locations were the Tesco superstores in Martins Heron and Warfield as well as appearing for

a second day running in the High Street of Crowthorne.

Falls Clinic (Bracknell Forest Council) is a joint NHS and Local Authority service which

aims to reduce the number of falls people have in the community. Staff from the clinic were

on hand to give advice on how to avoid falls and how to be referred to the clinic.

Drugs and Alcohol Team (DAAT) (Bracknell Forest Council) – DAAT is responsible for

ensuring that people in Bracknell Forest can access drug and alcohol services.

On DAATs stand there was a selection of imitation samples of illicit and medicinal

substances to inform the public of their looks, various names, uses and effects (both short

and long term). The highlight of DAATs stand was the “beer goggles” that individuals could

try on to experience what it is like to see through the eyes of someone heavily intoxicated.

Sensory Needs Team (Bracknell Forest Council) provide a range of support and services

to people with sight and hearing impairments to help them to live a safe and independent

life. The team’s stand had a range of assistive technology on display to show that people

with a sensory impairment can still live a full, independent and happy life.

Berkshire Carers Service enables carers to access free support to help them maintain their

health and wellbeing and give them respite from their caring duties. Staff signposted people

to information and support for carers.

Dietitians and Oral Health Nurses (Berkshire NHS Healthcare Foundation Trust)

provided tailored dietary and oral health advice. Members of the public were encouraged to

try and guess the amount of sugar in branded soft drinks and the amount of fat in well-known

snacks. This participation gave both the Dietitians and Oral Health Nurses the opportunity to

talk about the benefits of a healthy diet and good oral health.

HealthMakers were on hand to promote their new scheme being introduced by Bracknell

and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group. The role of a HealthMaker is to create strong


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communities and through their own experience helping patients with the Self-Care of their

Long-Term Conditions. They do not replace doctors or nurses, but complement them.

Members of the scheme were at Shopmobility to promote the future work of HealthMakers

and sign-up members of the public to volunteer for the scheme.

Sustrans continued to have a lot of interest in their stand with the Smoothie Bike.

Adult Safeguarding Team (Bracknell Forest Council) - Adult Safeguarding Development

Workers were at Shopmobility in the afternoon to give advice on internet safety, advocacy,

the deprivation of liberty legislation, issues around mental capacity and signposting to other

agencies.

The Adult Safeguarding Development Worker said the following:

“I provided information to the public about safeguarding issues and how to stay safe. The

feedback was very positive and interest around internet safety and scams were the main

focus. All of the people said they were impressed with the range of work that the

Safeguarding Team undertook, especially the support and monitoring of Care Services and

joint working with the Police. When discussing the Safeguarding work I highlighted the Self-

Care events and contact information. One lady said she was going to access the Lily Hill

Ranger Walk on Friday. Feedback from the people I spoke too was very positive about Self-

Care Week and the availability of things to do in Bracknell Forest as a whole.”

Community Learning (Bracknell forest Council) provided information on their courses

including First-Aid, Photography and ICT courses.

Street Doctors – Trainee doctors provided quick health assessments and advice on medical

ailments and health conditions with the public. Both trainees said taking general practice out

of the doctor’s surgery had been enjoyable and given them invaluable experience.


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Shopmobility.

Away from Princess Square saw Glee Club UK lead the Bracknell and Ascot Clinical

Commissioning Group’s GP Council in a group singing exercise.

A free Tai-Chi session was held at the later time of 21:00-22:00 at the Martins Heron and

The Warren Community Centre. The later time was planned to allow a different range of

people to attend a free session who may have not been able to make the earlier times of the

other free activities.

In the run-up to Self-Care Week this activity had had the most interest from the public of all

the free activities. The session was overseen by a qualified Tai-Chi instructor who runs

existing classes in the local area.


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Friday, 21st November 2014

NRS (Nottingham Rehab Supplies, community equipment supplier)

SEAP

National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS)


Slimming World

Talking Therapies


On the final weekday of the event the Self-Care vehicles were located at Waitrose in

Sandhurst and at The Meadows also in Sandhurst, which hosts large Tesco and Marks &

Spencer’s stores.

NRS is a provider of products and services designed to support independent living. Their

range of equipment on show at Shopmobility included daily living aids, mobility equipment

and therapeutic resources.

SEAP staff provided information to the public on their advocacy services for NHS

complaints, independent Mental Health issues and Community Mental Health Issues.

National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) in the afternoon provided information on

rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and how they support people living

with these conditions as well as their families, friends and carers.


continued providing information and advice as they did on Thursday.


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Slimming World is a healthy eating plan that helps people to lose weight. Slimming World

staff gave free BMI measurements as well as advice on nutrition and healthy eating.


Shopmobility.

Councillor Dale Birch, Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing and Deputy

Leader of the Council came to Shopmobility to thank the students for their efforts over the

week. Councillor Birch spoke to the students of the need to motivate people to look after

themselves and not just informing people of how to Self-Care.


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To celebrate the final weekday of Self-Care Week, Solutions 4 Health provided novelty

entertainment acts and free face-painting to encourage more people to come into

Shopmobility to learn more about Self-Care.

The final Ranger walk of the week took place at Lily Hill Park in the early afternoon and was

led by the Manager of Lily Hill Park.


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Saturday, 22nd November 2014

A week on from the Grand Opening saw the final day that Shopmobility would be open

during Self-Care Week 2014. There were stands representing the following organisations:

Healthwatch Bracknell Forest

Bracknell Forest Society


Talking Therapies

The Self-Care vehicles were located at areas of high footfall in Central Bracknell. One

vehicle was at Princess Square with a staffed marquee in Charles Square throughout the

day. The second vehicle was stationed at The Peel Centre for the same period.

Healthwatch Bracknell Forest representatives gave members of the public the opportunity

to express their views on the health and social care support in the Borough. They were also

promoting the volunteering opportunities they offer.

Bracknell Forest Society members spoke to the public about their organisation, which

meets to celebrate the borough’s heritage, environment and community. Joining

organisations like the Bracknell Forest Society is seen as a great way of overcoming social

isolation.


Shopmobility.

The last free activity of Self-Care Week 2014 was held today with a Run Coaching session

led by a qualified running coach. The session took place in the pleasant surroundings of

Swinley Forest. Participants were taken through how to prepare for a run, how to pace

themselves and how to warm down properly.


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Sunday, 23rd November 2014

With Shopmobility closed today, a Self-Care vehicle was stationed from 11am to 3pm at

Princess Square to take advantage of the high footfall. Staff at the vehicle canvased

members of the public to complete Self-Care Week questionnaires and have a Health MOT.

The second vehicle was sited today from 10am to 4pm at The Look Out Discovery Centre.


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Highlights of Self-Care Week 2014

This year’s event was a success with all of the activities being well received. There was

unprecedented engagement from the local community.

Town Centre Engagement

In total, 1929 people completed the survey at the sixty locations with information stands

across Bracknell Forest. Of these, 485 were completed in Princess Square over the week.

Below is a breakdown of the amount completed in Princess Square on each day:

Saturday, 15th: 45 surveys

Monday, 17th: 93 surveys

Tuesday, 18th: 103 surveys

Wednesday, 19th: 79 surveys

Thursday, 20th: 71 surveys

Friday, 21st: 81 surveys

Saturday, 22nd: 13 surveys

For every two people that completed the survey in Princess Square it is estimated that one

other person was engaged and took away information, resulting in approximately 750 people

benefitting from the town centre activities. This is likely to be down to a combination of

factors:

Bracknell & Wokingham College students directing the public to Shopmobility

Better marketing of the events through traditional and social media

Town centre regeneration focusing footfall on Princess Square rather than spread

across a larger area of the town.


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The stands at Shopmobility were well attended during the week with the Self-Care stand

giving away approximately:

300 Pedometers

700 Stress Balls

500 Water Bottles

400 First-Aid kits

200 Sweatbands

150 Headbands

200 Skipping Ropes

800 Pens

Self-Care Week Vehicles

The Self-Care Vehicles over the course the week engaged with the public across the

borough and managed to achieve the following:

535 x Questionnaires completed

257 x Quick assessments completed

102 x Health MOTs completed

47 x Smoking cessation referrals

10 x Smoking cessation sign-ups

1x Confirmed Stop smoking clinic Binfield

Marketing and Social Media

Bracknell Forest Council’s Self-Care webpage accounted for nearly a third of all Bracknell

Forest Council’s Adult Social Care Health and Housing web traffic during the month of

November 2014.

One third party’s Twitter account had 2536 views of their Self-Care tweets and retweets

during Self-Care Week.

From the day posters advertising the free activities were displayed, places were being

booked on all the activities with some events being fully booked up before the start of Self-

Care Week. Highlights included:

The Tai-Chi Class held at Martins Heron and The Warren Community Centre had a

total 20 people take part

The Ranger Walk at South Hill Park had 26 adults and 6 children take part.

Engaging Young People

Further engagement and involvement of Bracknell and Wokingham College saw students at

the Wick Hill campus, aged fourteen to sixteen, participate in physical activity based lessons

using skipping ropes provided throughout Self-Care Week.

School Poster Competition


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In total fifty-seven entries were received for the school poster competition, this is an increase

of forty-five entries from the number of entries received for 2013’s event.

The First, Second and Third place designs were selected from the ten shortlisted entries by

Deputy Mayor, Cllr Andy Blatchford and Deputy Mayoress Mrs Ann Blatchford in December

2014. All the winners received certificates and Swimming Tokens to Bracknell Leisure

Centre, Self-Care equipment for their classmates to encourage to a healthy lifestyle.

To encourage people to complete the survey, at the end of the form they could voluntarily

choose to enter a prize draw by leaving their contact details. The prizes were donated from

partner organisations and the local business community. The winners of the prizes were

drawn at random by Deputy Mayor, Cllr Andy Blatchford and Deputy Mayoress Mrs Ann

Blatchford.


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Measuring Methodology

Self-Care Week offers partner organisations a chance to engage with the local community

and asks for their views on the health and social care support available and how they view

their own health. With the event being borough wide and open to all, the data collected can

be seen as fairly representative of what the local population thinks.


against what people reported at previous events; the questionnaire template from 2013 was

used for 2014 with a slight change being made to one of the questions, to better reflect local

services (Q5. Heatherwood Minor Injury Unit option changed to Urgent Care Centre). The

survey was again designed for two-sided postcard production. This helps in making it short,

engaging and easily posted in one of the sixty collection points. For the collection points

ballot boxes were again supplied by Democratic Services at Bracknell Forest Council. Using

the same questions allows for analysing trends over time and understanding what changes

are happening.

The following questions asked were in the 2014 survey:

How people rate their overall health

Whether people were interested in living a healthy lifestyle, treating minor injuries or

ailments, or taking care of their Long-Term Conditions

Whether people took an active role in living a healthy lifestyle, treating minor injuries

or ailments, or taking care of their Long-Term Conditions

Whether people knew how to live a healthy lifestyle, treating minor injuries or

ailments, or take care of their Long-Term Conditions

The services people had used within the last six months (Options included: A&E,

Urgent Care Centre, Social services, Out of Hours GP, GP, District Nurse, Practice

Nurse, Pharmacist and 111)

People’s experiences of using health and social care services

Whether the person had any on-going medical conditions (Long-Term Conditions)

The barriers people experienced when trying to Self-Care


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Analysis of Survey Data

Of the 1929 surveys completed, 64.1% were completed by females and 35.9% were

completed by males. Compared with the values from 2013’s event the proportion of males

completing surveys has seen a 10.7% increase.

The youngest person to complete a survey was aged 11 years and the oldest was 95 years

with the average age of respondents being 43. This is similar to the average age of 44 years

and 11 months recorded for the 2013 event.

Aside from helping the Council and partners understand how health and social care support

can be improved, the data will be helpful in directing which media channels are used to have

the most impact when promoting Prevention and Self-Care campaigns to specific age

groups. Analysis of the data showed that the majority of those aged sixty years and under

preferred to leave an email address to be contacted, whereas people aged sixty years and

above predominantly left a phone number to be contacted.

Table 1. Number of questionnaires completed by general location

Location Number of Surveys Completed

GP Surgeries 559

Solutions 4 Health Clinics and Vehicles 520

Princess Square 485

Other Locations* 245

Children’s Centres 72

Free Activities 45

Pharmacies 3

*Includes the Look-In Café, Healthwatch Bracknell Forest and Online surveys


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Table 2. Distribution of residents who completed the questionnaire

Ward Total % of Responses (Excluding No Postcode / OB)

Self-Reported Health (1=Excellent, 6= Very Poor)

Average Age (years)

Out of Borough 366 - 2.70 40.69

Ascot Ward 15 1.30% 2.6 58.47

Binfield with Warfield Ward 175 14.70% 2.77 43.86

Bullbrook Ward 91 7.60% 2.76 44.23

Central Sandhurst Ward 15 1.30% 2.53 47.8

College Town Ward 15 1.30% 3.13 54.4

Crown Wood Ward 69 5.80% 2.7 40.49

Crowthorne Ward 44 3.70% 2.8 48.95

Great Hollands North Ward 82 6.90% 2.98 43.79

Great Hollands South Ward 70 5.90% 2.98 42.7

Hanworth Ward 93 7.80% 2.76 43.98

Harmanswater Ward 75 6.30% 2.89 41.89

Little Sandhurst and Wellington Ward 16 1.30% 2.5 55

Old Bracknell Ward 94 7.90% 2.79 42.27

Owlsmoor Ward 10 0.80% 2.5 31.7

Priestwood and Garth Ward 127 10.60% 2.76 40.85

Warfield Harvest Ride Ward 61 5.10% 2.54 43.61

Wildridings and Central Ward 121 10.10% 2.79 47.34

Winkfield and Cranbourne Ward 21 1.80% 2.57 58.05

Please note that 369 surveys were not included in the data above as no postcode was given

on them, so it cannot be determined where these people reside. However it could be

assumed from the above proportions that a further 282 surveys were completed by residents

of Bracknell Forest.

This year saw a decrease in the proportion of people from out of borough completing

surveys, down to 19% from 26.9% in 2013. This shows that a higher proportion, as well as a

significantly higher number of Bracknell Forest residents, were engaged with Self-Care

Week this year compared with the 2012 and 2013 events.

Taking each of the survey’s questions in turn, the following section shows graphically the

data and analysis collected for each question. Where the totals do not add up to 1929 (for

2014 data) this means that the question was not answered by every respondent.


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Q1. How would you rate your overall health?

Participants were given a choice of six options to choose from ranging from “Excellent” to

“Very Poor” as to how they rated their own health.

Chart 1. Self-Reported Health for 2012, 2013 and 2014

The 2014 results show a similar trend to 2013’s self-reported health with the majority of

people rating their overall health as “Good” or “Very Good”. The 2014 results show a further

pinching to “Good”, with reassuring downwards trend of the proportion of people reporting

their health as Very Poor. However there is also a downwards trend of the proportion of

people reporting their health as Excellent and Very Good.

When self-reported health is plotted against age it was found that those individuals aged 65-

80 years saw the start of a decline in self-reported health and by the time people were 80

years and above there was a dramatic decrease in self-reported health.


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Q2. I am interested in…

Q3. I take an active role in…

Q4. I know how to…

The next three questions have been grouped together on Chart 2 (2013) and 3 (2014) to

show people’s attitude to towards Self-Caring.

Chart 2. Interested, Doing and Knowledge 2013

Chart 3. Interested, Doing and Knowledge 2014


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The biggest change from the 2013 results is the proportional decrease of individuals

reporting they are “Interested, doing and (have the) knowledge (to Self-Care)”. Individuals in

this group have an interest and the knowledge to Self-Care and are doing Self-Care

activities. The people in this group are considered to be already Self-Caring and so they do

not need to be supported as much as the other less engaged groups. From these results it

shows that work is needed to make sure those individuals who are currently in this group are

supported to continue Self-Caring.

There is significant difference for people living with Long-Term Conditions reporting they are

interested and doing but have no knowledge. This could be an area where people with Long-

Term Conditions are educated to Self-Manage their conditions and in doing so reduced the

need for health and social care support.


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Q5. Have you had contact with any of the following services within the last six months?

People were asked to tick which health and social care services they had used in the last six

months and how many times they had used any particular service.

Chart 4. Self-referral service use in the past six months

Key changes from 2013 survey data:

Reported Urgent Care Centre usage has increased, against the 2013 data relating to

Heatherwood Minor Injuries Unit

Usage of A&E is similar to that of 2013

People’s use of local pharmacies has proportionally increased since 2013 in-line with

goals of the NHS Choose Well campaign

NHS 111 use is slightly up however it was hoped that the use of this service would

be higher

From these results it could be said that the NHS Choose Well campaign to get individuals to

use services, other than A&E or booking GP appointments, is filtering through to some

extent. Although there is an increase in use of the Urgent Care Centre, community

pharmacies and 111, there is more work to be done in the community to reduce the use of

A&E for minor ailments and preventable conditions.

The average uses of a service per person was calculated by the total number of uses for a

particular service divided the total number of people who reported they had used that

particular service.


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Q6. Thinking of your personal experience of services recently, for you or a family member, can you

tell us:

a, What was good about it?

b, What could have been improved?

Individuals were asked to comment on their experiences, both positive and negative, of

health and social care services.

Each individual answer to this question has been analysed in-depth by Healthwatch

Bracknell Forest to look into the specific reasons for the positive and negative experiences. It

is hoped through this exercise local support can be fine-tuned to maximise the positive

experience felt by individuals when using local health and social care services.

The full Healthwatch Bracknell Forest report can be viewed at the end of this report as

Annex 3.

The highlights of the report are:

The majority of the comments (1157) received were about GP surgeries.

The main theme concerning improvements in communication, across all services,

was about communication between services (such as GPs and hospitals) or between

different departments.

Accident & Emergency departments – the majority of positive comments about

clinical care and waiting times was received from females aged 25-44. These were

mainly for both the clinical care their children received and the waiting time.

Urgent Care Centre – of the 51 comments received about the clinical care provided,

76.5% were positive.

Hospital care, as an in-patient or attending out-patient clinics, was not identified as a

service on the survey. Of the 57 comments identified, 28% were positive about

clinical care received and 21% were about the need to improve access to out-patient

services.

Out of Hours GP Service – only 28 comments were received about this service.

Analysis suggested that many people were more likely to use an alternative service –

particularly the Urgent Care Centre or Accident and Emergency.

Social Care – of the comments received, 48% were positive about the community

services received; this was mainly concerning domiciliary care received by older

people (themselves or a relative).

111 – 27.5% of responses were about improving the service. When analysing the

text responses a pattern did emerge that some people, unhappy with the service

received from 111, then went on to access other services such as Accident &

Emergency independently.

The cohort that responded the most to access requiring improvement were females

aged 25-64. The issues with access these groups experience have two contributing

factors; being able to make an appointment that fits in with other commitments, such

as work, and these individuals are also more likely to make appointments not just for

themselves but also for other family members: - children (including teenagers and

young adults living at home) and older relatives.

Q7. Do you have any on-going medical conditions?


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People were asked to state what Long-Term Conditions they are living with.

Chart 5. Top 15 Long-Term Conditions reported (85% of total LTCs reported)

The graph above shows the 15 most prevalent reported Long-Term Conditions, accounting

for 85% of all Long-Term Conditions reported.

Table 3. Long Term Condition Prevalence by year (2013 and 2014)

Long-Term Condition 2014 Rank 2013 Rank Change

Musculoskeletal 1 2 +1

Mental Health 2 4 +2

Blood Pressure 3 1 -2

Asthma 4 3 -1

Diabetes 5 5 0

As can be seen from the table 3 there has been little change in the position of the top five

Long-Term Conditions since 2013’s survey.

A concern however is that when depression is included in Mental Health (including other

Mental Health conditions such as anxiety, panic etc.), Mental Health as a whole becomes

the second most prevalent Long Term-Condition reported. This is up from the fourth most

prevalent Long Term Condition reported at last year’s event. The rise of this reporting could

be due to the stigma around living with Mental Health issues being reduced by the

widespread positive coverage of Mental Health issues in the national media.

Lower down the rankings there have been large shifts in the number of people reporting they

live either with a Neurological Condition, Sensory Impairment, an Allergy or COPD.


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Q8. What do you feel stops you from looking after yourself?

This question focused on what people felt held them back from Self-Caring.

Chart 6. Reported Barriers to Self-Care

The seven biggest barriers reported in 2013 (in order) were: time, health, family, motivation,

work, money and lifestyle. As per last year’s reported barriers to people looking after

themselves, time was again the stand out issue. These results show that people should be

encouraged to consider Self-Care as a natural part their lives. The barriers reported will also

be at the heart of any planning of future Self-Care support and activities so that they are

overcome as much as possible.

After time, the next six reported barriers are the same as 2013’s results, in a slightly different

order. This shows that partner organisations need to continue working together to support

people in overcoming these barriers to Self-Care. A key part of this working will be to see

what can be done to reshape preventative support to get over these barriers.


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Conclusion

Self-Care Week 2014 saw an increase in public engagement and involvement, building on

the successes of previous Self-Care Weeks held in Bracknell Forest. The number of surveys

completed more than doubled, with 1929 surveys being completed, from 938 being

completed during Self-Care Week 2013. This increased level of public engagement is linked

to certain key factors:

A larger Self-Care Week publicity campaign across multiple digital and print media,

with the social media plan being followed by all of the partner organisation’s

Communication departments

Increased number of community locations hosting Self-Care Week stands to reach

more people

Planning for the event started earlier in the year than 2013

Strong partnerships and relationships from previous Self-Care Weeks gave a better

starting point

Funding from the Better Care Fund was used to support the events.

From the analysis of survey data, the health and social care support priorities going forward

include:

Building on the progress made, shifting people’s self-reported health up the spectrum

towards “Excellent”

Improving access to support and activities that promote health and wellbeing,

especially for those people who are interested and motivated in looking after

themselves

Promote choice, independence and self-management of Long Term Conditions

Ensure that the level of support given to those living with a Mental Health condition is

equal to those living with a Physical Health condition

Improve community awareness and understanding of Health and Wellbeing support

available

Encourage people to Self-Care as part of their daily lives in a way that feels natural to

overcome the reported barriers

Incentivise and support healthier behaviour


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Key learning points from the week’s activities, and ambitions for future Prevention & Self-

Care activity, include:

Co-ordinating communication departments of partner organisations in publishing

preventative messages all year round through their media channels.

Continued local “Choose Well” publicity campaign including Patient Group led public

educational events, the formation of a local calendar of events and a funding

mechanism to support this.

Consider the commissioning of projects and educational support for individuals living

with Long-Term Conditions like dementia, depression, anxiety as well as those who

are socially isolated.

Work with internal departments and external providers to run a series of free physical

activities at intervals throughout the year in community locations throughout Bracknell

Forest.

Self-Care isn’t just for Self-Care Week. The Prevention and Self-Care Programme will be

promoted throughout the year with free activities and public engagement events being held

across the borough. Through this high level of engagement with the residents of Bracknell

Forest and Ascot, they will be given the support needed to manage on-going medical

conditions. It will ensure the public know how to eat healthily, exercise regularly, maintain

emotional wellbeing and know that the right support is available to them when they need

help taking care of themselves.

Bracknell Forest, on a national level, is at the vanguard of Self-Care public engagement and

involvement as well as the implementation of community and person focussed preventative

support. With the continuing implementation of projects linked to the Prevention and Self-

Care Programme, the partnership will continue to strive to give its residents the best possible

opportunity to enjoy a healthy, happy and independent life.


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Annex 1: Highlight Report for Self-Care Week 2013 Self-Care Week 2013 ran from 18th to 24th November. This was the second time Bracknell

Forest Council ran a week-long public engagement campaign to support residents in Self-

Care.

Building on the success of Bracknell Forest’s first Self-Care Week in 2012, the Project Board

set out to be more ambitious. Wanting the event to be more than a Bracknell-centric

engagement project, the week’s activities were held across the Borough.

The week’s activity included engagement and support from all Council departments with

partners including Bracknell and Ascot Clinical Commissioning Group, Bracknell Forest

Council’s Public Health Team, Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Healthwatch

Bracknell Forest. Events included:

A presence in Princess Square and Shopmobility with workshops and information

about healthy lifestyles - approximately 500 people were engaged throughout the

week

An evening Wellbeing Event in Sandhurst with free Zumba and Yoga sessions

Guided walks across the Borough throughout the week

Information about Self-Care in over 40 community locations including children's

centres, libraries, GP surgeries and community pharmacists

Repeating and improving on the success of the Princess Square engagement in 2013 was a

key aim of this year’s project. Due to the Christmas Light Switch-On event in Princess

Square, the use of the central floor space was restricted to Monday to Friday. Shopmobility

was approached and offered flexible use of the shop unit throughout their usual opening

hours from Tuesday to Saturday. This allowed a sustained presence in the shopping centre

and gave a venue to host the Mayoral prize draw at the end of the week.

People were given information about healthy eating, physical activity, physical and mental

wellbeing and appropriate use of services. The Street Doctor and Street Physio sessions in

the town centre were well attended with the doctor taking over sixty blood pressure checks in

the day.


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Hand massages and breathing exercises, provided by a qualified mindfulness coach were

particularly well received throughout the week in Shopmobility, Princess Square.

Bracknell Forest Council’s Domiciliary Intermediate Care Team also provided support

throughout the week. The team were knowledgeable and approachable, really helping to

engage the public and get them talking.


against those given last year; the previous questionnaire was rewritten, reformatted and

reused for 2013.

In terms of engaging the public, Self-Care Week 2013 was a success. Over 900 surveys

were completed, up from 108 in 2012, and over 500 people were engaged in Princess

Square. The data from these surveys was collated, analysed and used to improve and

inform future support, services and information provision.

Recommendations from the 2013 report on continuing to improve Self-Care in Bracknell

Forest included:

Continued “ChooseWell” publicity to aid appropriate service selection

Working to address negative feedback and reward the positive

Working to mitigate against the barriers to Self-Care

Shifting people’s self-reported health up the spectrum towards “Excellent”

The report highlighted a slight downward trajectory of self-reported health which was cause

for concern. Partners will work to understand the data behind the report and produce

measurable results based on this feedback. This report can also provide learning to inform

future Borough-wide public engagement events.

Self-Care Week 2013 would not have been possible were it not for the efforts of Dave

Rossiter, Debra Venning and Caroline Lasenby, pictured above, and the support of their

respective teams and organisations.


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Annex 2: Schedule of Tweets published on Bracknell

Forest Council’s Twitter feed

Date Message

15-Oct Self-Care Week 2014 starts 17-23 November. Self-Care Week empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing. #BFSelfcare

17-Oct Find out more about #BFSelfcare at www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare

20-Oct Helping you to help yourself. Find out more, visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

23-Oct ‘Self-Care is for life.’ For tips and advice to keep you happy and healthy visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

27-Oct “I'm starting with the man in the mirror.” Visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare to make that change! #BFSelfcare

29-Oct Free Ranger Walk in Lily Hill Park at 13:00 on 21 November. For more details, visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

31-Oct Well done to everybody who took part in Stoptober! It's never too late to stop smoking. Visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

03-Nov See what's happening across the borough for Self-Care Week. Check out www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

05-Nov Today is National Stress Awareness day. Visit www.talkingtherapies.berkshire.nhs.uk for tips on reducing stress #BFSelfcare

07-Nov Self-Care Week 2014 starts 17-23 November. Self-Care Week empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing. #BFSelfcare

10-Nov Check out the Bracknell Forest van of Self-Care for a free Health MOT. For locations visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

11-Nov Free Zumba session in Sandhurst Memorial Hall next Tuesday at 8pm. For more details, visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

12-Nov Try our Free Tai-Chi session at Martins Heron Community Hall next Thursday at 9pm for more details visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare


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12-Nov Come to the ‘How to avoid Diabetes’ event tonight at 7pm at Easthampstead Baptist Church #BFSelfcare

13-Nov Get lots of good advice and information at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility during Self-Care Week 2014, 17-23 November #BFSelfcare

13-Nov Free Ranger Walk in South Hill Park next Thursday at 10:00 for more details visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare

14-Nov Complete a Self-Care Week Survey for chance to win some great prizes #BFSelfcare

14-Nov Come along to the Grand Opening of Self-Care Week 2014 tomorrow at 1pm at Shopmobility, Princess Square #BFSelfcare

15-Nov Free Run Coaching at The Look Out next Saturday at 10am for more details visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

15-Nov Self-Care Week 2014 Grand Opening is taking place today at 1pm at Shopmobility in Princess Square. #BFSelfcare

16-Nov Check out our stand at Shopmobility, 18-22 November, for lots of good advice and ideas to keep you healthy. #BFSelfcare

16-Nov Activities @BracknellForest for Self-Care Week. Free Zumba, talk to a Street Doctor. Visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

17-Nov Look out this week for Bracknell Forest’s Self-Care van. Tweet us your photos of the van for a chance to win a prize. #BFSelfcare

17-Nov Worried about your health? Talk to our Street Doctors at the Self-Care Stand this week in Shopmobility #BFSelfcare

17-Nov Tomorrow afternoon: Forestcare (assistive technology) and Bracknell Leisure at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility. #BFSelfcare

17-Nov Want a free family ticket to The Look Out? Complete a Self-Care Week survey for your chance to win! #BFSelfcare

18-Nov Tomorrow morning: dementia advisors and Downshire Golf Course Putting will be at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility. #BFSelfcare

18-Nov Tomorrow afternoon Conscious Choices will be offering relaxation techniques and hand massages at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility. #BFSelfcare


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18-Nov Join us tomorrow for our guided walk at South Hill Park at 10am as part of #BFSelfcare.

18-Nov Want a free family ticket to Coral Reef? Complete a Self-Care Week survey at GP surgeries across the borough for a chance to win! #BFSelfcare

19-Nov Tomorrow morning: Sensory Needs Team, the Falls Clinic and Berkshire Carers will be at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility. #BFSelfcare

19-Nov Tomorrow afternoon: see the great courses Community Learning has to offer at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility #BFSelfcare

19-Nov Regardless of age, it’s never too late to take control of your health and wellbeing. www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare

19-Nov Want a free family ticket to Coral Reef? Complete a Self-Care Week survey at GP surgeries across the borough for a chance to win! #BFSelfcare

20-Nov Tomorrow morning: Conscious Choices will be offering relaxation techniques and hand massages at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility. #BFSelfcare

20-Nov Tomorrow morning: the Bracknell Branch of the Samaritans will be at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility. #BFSelfcare

20-Nov Tomorrow afternoon the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) and Slimming World will be at the Self-Care stand in Shopmobility.#BFSelfcare.

20-Nov Join us tomorrow for our guided walk at Lily Hill Park at 1pm as part of #BFSelfcare. Visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare

21-Nov Send us your photos of the Bracknell Forest Self-Care van @BracknellForest for a chance win a prize. #BFSelfcare

23-Nov Thanks to everyone who participated in our #BFSelfcare activities this week. Remember ‘Self-Care is for life’.

23-Nov Today's your last chance to complete the Self-Care Week survey and to be entered in the prize draw.#BFSelfcare

23-Nov Remember – Self-Care is for life. For more information on staying in shape, visit www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/selfcare #BFSelfcare


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24-Nov Thanks to all partners for making Self-Care Week 2014 a great success. Look out for more #BFSelfcare events during the year

24-Nov Remember – Self-Care is for life. #BFSelfcare


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Annex 3: Healthwatch Bracknell Forest Report on people’s

personal experiences of health and social care


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self-care week 2014...a calendar of free events held throughout the week included sessions for...

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