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smoking cessation, menopause workshops and counselling which meets the aims of the project to empower local people to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing and to reduce social exclusion and health inequalities through the provision of a free service which also encourages social integration.

Targeted Communities: The Healthy Lifestyle Clinic is a free drop in service in

Whitehaven, which is in one of the top 10% of the most deprived wards in Cumbria, called Harbour. The clinic is easily accessed by public transport by those in surrounding wards that are high on Indices of Deprivation District Scores list. The clinic provides a service to anyone who attends the clinic however we promote and target the service in the areas of most deprivation through local groups and other organisations working in the areas of deprivation. We ask all service users to provide us with a postcode on the register so that we can analyse the areas that are clients live to ensure that the service is meeting the needs of the deprived communities in the area. The project has achieved the objectives, being based in Whitehaven, in the Harbour ward, with the majority of the clients attending the clinic coming from the Harbour ward or the deprived areas surrounding the clinic.

Evaluation: The project has been carefully monitored throughout, on uptake and

client profile and continues to be well used with the attendance figures for 2008 surpassing those of previous years in the first 10 months, with 546 clients attending the clinic which is more than in previous years and could well exceed 600 by the end of the year. The project has been funded in 3 year cycles and a comprehensive review is undertaken as the period comes to end on the monitoring data and through undertaking case studies on clients who attended with the outcomes both of which indicate that the project is successful in meeting a community need. The health of the people in Copeland has improved since the project was set up but is still generally worse than the England average with death from early heart disease and stroke being a major problem (Copeland Health Profile-The Association of Public Health Observatories 2008). There are

health inequalities by gender and level of deprivation, with both men and women from the most deprived area having a nearly seven year shorter life span than those from the least deprived areas ((Copeland Health Profile-The Association of Public Health Observatories 2008). As there has been a move towards better health in the area and are clinic has been a successful in providing a service that identifies the major causes of early death from heart disease and stroke, the Trust feels that the evidence gathered shows the effectiveness of the service in contributing to the improvement of the health of the community in which it serves.

Contact Details:

Kerry Maxwell

The Whitehaven Community Trust +44 1946 590 590

[email protected] http://www.whitehavenpottery.co.uk

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The Chai Centre is a new initiative that has proved a massive success with the community. By providing several services, it aims to improve health and quality of life and to reduce health inequalities.

Aim: The Centre aims to improve the health and quality of life of individuals and

communities in Daneshouse & Stoneyholme, and reduce health inequalities, this area being amongst the most deprived wards in the country.

Design: The project is a community-led initiative that started in 2004. It was a

new initiative that has proved a massive success with the community. The Chai Centre is a combined Sure Start Children’s Centre and Healthy Living Centre, located in the Daneshouse and Stoneyholme area of Burnley.

Services include:

Children’s Centre services, including group sessions and family support Café Culture (open to the public)

Gym (membership open to the public) Exercise classes

Sauna and Steam Room Little Acorns Day Nursery Ante-natal care (by appointment) North Health Visiting Team

Women’s health clinic (by appointment) Complementary therapies (by appointment) Welfare Rights advice (by appointment) Smoking Cessation (by appointment) Opportunities for volunteering

Soups and Salads project (healthy eating and cooking skills, by appointment)

Benefits to the community include:

A healthy living/well-being centre that offers comprehensive services run by staff based on site or other services hosted by the centre that tackle the wider determinants of health

Volunteering and employment opportunities A neutral venue for all sections of the community Benefits to individuals include improvements in:

Employment and job opportunities Parenting skills

Health of children Access to services Fitness levels

Healthy eating and cooking skills Social networks

Mental well-being and stress management

Physical health indicators such as weight management and blood pressure

Support: The Daneshouse Economic Development Trust - DCEDT (a community

organisation) came up with the idea and approached East Lancashire NHS (then Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust) who agreed to work in partnership and became the accountable body. Other agencies involved included; New Opportunities Fund (Big Lottery Fund); Bradford & Northern Housing; Daneshouse & Stoneyholme Sure Start & Burnley Borough Council. The financial support initially came from Burnley Borough Council and Bradford & Northern Housing then proceeded with funding from the Big Lottery Fund – Healthy Living Centre Initiatives and East Lancashire NHS. The project has now

The Chai Centre

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