Praise for Larne health project

The Northern Health and Social Care Trust project Health and Wellbeing Group for Service Users was a finalist in the Patient and Client Council’s Making A Difference award 2012 at the council’s User Carer Celebration day in the Assembly Buildings, Belfast recently.

The awards are to recognise the value of involving patients, clients, carers and communities in improving health and social care services.

The judging panel of Dr May McCann, Michael O’Neill and Noel McKenna paid tribute to the quality of all five nominations for the award, describing them all as winners.

The Northern Health and Social Care initiative is to promote the health and wellbeing of service users and carers by involving them in age appropriate activities. A steering group which included service users and trust staff was set up and they formed a partnership with Newtownabbey Borough Council. People with a physical disability and their carers can now use the gymnasium and other facilities in the leisure centre.

The service users and carers have formed their own informal support group and are taking ownership of the project and other social activities. It all started in Ballyclare but due to the success there and service user feedback the service is now being developed in Larne, Antrim, Carrickfergus and Ballymena.