Improving neighbourhood resilience for better health and wellbeing one step at a time

I love to walk, and  I walk everyday One of my favourite walks is from Fleetwood to Lytham. We live halfway between the two towns. The walk is just over 12 miles long. You can walk along the promenade or on the beach for most of the way. If the wind is with me, I can walk it in three hours, but usually it takes just under four hours. I sometimes vary the walk, by taking a bus to Lytham and walking back to Fleetwood. It’s easy to do this as there are many great pubs selling food and drink in both places. If you are visiting Lytham, I can recommend the Queens Hotel on the front. At the other end, there is the fabulous and famous North Euston Hotel.

The North Euston Hotel is still a rather grand building. It was designed by Decimus Burton. It is a semicircular building, built in 1841. I have never stayed there but I think every bedroom will enjoy super panoramic views over the Wyre estuary, Morecambe Bay and the Lake District. The hotel got its name from being at the end of the railway line that started at Euston Station in London. It was a gentler version of the now defunct HS2.

The hotel was, at one time, said to be the jewel in Fleetwood’s crown. Sadly, these days much of Fleetwood is showing many of the physical signs of a deprived northern town. Much of the once thriving deep sea fishing industry has disappeared, and one of the other big employers, ICI, closed its doors in 1992. The main employer now is Lofthouse’s of Fleetwood Ltd. They make the menthol lozenge Fisherman’s Friend, which although very popular worldwide, seems to have a special place in the hearts of folk from Japan.

The steady decline in industry and the increasing unemployment of the town’s population has adversely impacted on the health and life expectancy in the town. Back in 2016, a local GP, Mark Spencer, and NHS Practice Manager, Karen Boylan called a public meeting (held at the North Euston Hotel) to see what could be done to improve the health and wellbeing of the town. Healthier Fleetwood, a not-for-profit organisation, was formed. This aimed to support and improve the physical and mental health of Fleetwood folk by connecting them to each other, and to services and voluntary groups across the Fleetwood community.  

To me this initiative is very much an early example of what can be done through place-based, and neighbourhood approaches to promoting good health and wellbeing. It works through addressing more positively some of the underlying social determinants of poor health. There is lots of evidence that tells us people who are supported to take greater control of their own wellbeing and take an active role in the decisions that might affect them, have better health outcomes. Indeed, the number of people with Fleetwood postcodes seeking appointments at their GP practice and/or attending Blackpool A&E department has consistently reduced year on year since 2019.

So, I was delighted to read last week, that Dr Mark Spencer has been appointed to Chair the Pride in Fleetwood funding Panel. The town is set to receive £2 million each year for the next 10 years, funded by central Government. How the money is spent in revitalising Fleetwood’s public spaces, high street and other community assets will be determined by local residents. I love the idea of trusting the residents of Fleetwood’s communities to use this money to build upon the great work of Healthier Fleetwood. Mark Spencer will bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and energy to the role. I’m sure with his leadership, the funding will be transformative. Whilst similar funding approaches won’t always be possible in other areas, the model of local people determining what best improves their health and wellbeing is surely replicable and desirable.

There is no doubt that we need to see a shift away from individuals and communities always being reliant on others for help and support. There is a place for that of course, but it shouldn’t be the first response to life’s challenges and problems. Individuals and communities need to learn how to better support themselves and others around them, and to be much less dependent on the State to provide solutions and services.

Such a change in approach to how we live our lives, will help bring to life the ambitions in the NHS 10 Year Plan, particularly preventing poor health earlier than we do now; and where care is required, moving services away from  hospitals and closer to people’s homes; and harnessing the opportunities provided by new digital technologies to transform how and where people access their health care and social care support. We can all do something to help improve our health wellbeing. I walk, but there are many others ways to improve your health and wellbeing that are both simple, cost nothing, and are easy to do. Why not find out what works for you and take that first step on your improvement journey of a 1000 miles.