The population of North East Lincolnshire (NEL) is ageing with more people living longer with poor health which is generally worse than the England average. Deprivation is higher than the average and approximately 8,500 children live in poverty. Life expectancy for both men and women is lower than the England average. There is a 12.7 year gap for men and 9.3 years for women in the most deprived areas of NEL than in the least deprived. Health inequalities are the ‘differences in health status or in the distribution of health determinants between different population groups and these differences arise due to our social determinants such as where we are born, grow up, live and work. Some health inequalities are the result of natural biological differences or free choice; however others are beyond the control of individuals or groups and can be avoided. The burden of ill health and deprivation not only has a financial cost but a human one as well. The lifestyle choices that people make can lead to disease/illness and in England the cost of treating illness and disease as a result of health inequalities has been estimated at £5.5 billion per year and by halving the health gap between the least deprived fifth of the population and the rest would save 1543 premature deaths, resulting in an average extra 1.3 life years per person.
Commissioners and service providers can help reduce social inequalities and improve health inequalities. However, traditionally service providers and commissioners have approached such problems with a ‘find it, fund it, fix it model’ or a ‘deficit model’ or a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Through the ‘top down’ approach the commissioners set Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and outcomes. They can assume they know what the community needs are. However they can forget the actual voice and the needs of the community.
‘The wisdom of the community always exceeds the knowledge of the expert’
The ‘top down’ approach can set a ‘red tape’ attitude and can dilute passion within the community, but this can be changed by working collaboratively to ‘release or build community capacity’.
Building Community Capacity can be visualised through Figure 1 (see page 3) It describes a broad range of approaches that sustain strong, supportive communities to grow as well as release local social capital. Social capital describes the pattern and intensity of networks amongst people and the shared values that may arise from those networks. The greater interaction between people generates a greater sense of community spirit, and opens up new opportunities as public resources are able to tap into and release skills, talent and energy of local people. This is crucial with the current financial challenges. Figure 1: shows the many approaches used to build community capacity
- Asset Based Community Development
- Networking
- Co-production
- Health and Wellbeing