Public Health
Argyll and Bute Council · 4 February 2025
Back to Bute and Cowal Area Community Planning Group — 4 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 Argyll & Bute Community Planning Partnership Area Community Planning Group Partnership update Date: 4 February 2025 Partner update – Public Health The Public Health team would like to share some aspects of their current work. The Argyll and Bute Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), compiled by the Public Health Intelligence team, was published in December. The JSNA is a systematic approach to assess health and social care needs in the population based on available data. The requirement for the HSCP to consider the needs of the population and service-users is embedded with the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. It is an essential foundation to inform commissioning and service planning and provides an evidence base for the next Joint Strategic Plan and Joint Strategic Commissioning Plan. Resources & Publications — Living Well. Community Link Workers The Argyll and Bute Community Links project is expanding in 2025. Recruitment for new Community Link Workers is currently underway. This service is dedicated to assisting individuals facing social, financial, and practical difficulties. It connects people with both national and community-based support, equipping them with the essential resources needed to navigate their situations and access appropriate support and services. https://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/news/2025/01/new- contract-and-expansion-for-community-link-working-service-in-argyll-and-bute/ Introducing the Mental Health Hub – Living Well We are delighted to announce the launch of Mental Health Hub – Living Well in Argyll and Bute, a new digital resource for you to share with colleagues. This hub is a dedicated space where you can access trusted national support services available across Scotland, with a particular focus on Argyll and Bute. It includes helplines, practical self-help tools, and resources to provide support. Designed to promote mental wellbeing and prevent suicide, the hub aims to make it easier to navigate the vast number of available services. It provides a clear, user- friendly way to signpost to the support available to communities in Argyll and Bute. Developed with input from local organisations, the hub is designed to empower individuals, families, and professionals to access support tailored to local needs. For further details, please contact: olena.mishanina@nhs.scot Tel: 07483320722
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2 Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention Training The Public Health team is proud to continue supporting mental health awareness and suicide prevention training for people who live or work in Argyll and Bute. Several training sessions are scheduled until the end of the financial year: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): ASIST training is being run in Islay in January, Oban in February and Bute in March. Ask, Tell Workshops can be delivered online or in person upon request, making them flexible and accessible to suit the needs of communities. For further information on both please email nhsh.ab-sptraining@nhs.scot . Youth Mental Health First Aid Training will run in January, February, and March. Due to high demand, we are also planning an extra cohort in February. To sign up: Book for February Book for March Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) Prevention and Early Intervention – Planet Youth Planet Youth is all about communities acting in the best interest of children and young people to make Argyll and Bute a great place to live. It is a community-based approach focused on improving young people’s health, wellbeing, and relationships by working with parents, carers, schools, communities and organisations. Planet Youth originated in Iceland, which went from having the highest rates of teen smoking, alcohol and drug use across Europe to the lowest. The Planet Youth team are running a comms campaign from Jan-March/April to promote their health topic leaflets for parents and carers. The Planet Youth team are delivering a ‘Risk and Protective Factors for Children and Young People’ live Webinar for any interested adult community members in A&B. Date tbc: argyllandbute@planetyouth.scot Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD) in collaboration with stakeholders are developing a partnership plan informed by gathering evidence from those in services, people personally impacted and professionals working within the community to reduce alcohol and drug harms. The plan will outline priorities to embed a whole family approach through local organisations and services with governance, monitoring and evaluation, and ongoing community engagement.
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3 Recovery Orientated Systems of Care (ROSC) Lomond and Argyll Advocacy Service provide specific independent advocacy support to people affected by alcohol and drugs with an extended presence in Argyll and Bute. https://laas.org.uk/contact-us/ An analysis of the interviews conducted by Scottish Drugs Forum with families, service providers and people with lived experience of Medically Associated Treatment (MAT) will be submitted to Public Health Scotland in April. The ADP submitted feedback on the consultation of the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill in December. Alcohol and Drug Partnership Strategy and Health Needs Assessment The reviewing and development of the ADP Strategy is almost complete. Led by a steering group, a consultant held 23 stakeholder interviews and three workshops. The final draft will be presented at the next ADP Partnership meeting. In Dec/Jan an online survey was used to gather the views of people living and working in Argyll and Bute asking about community priorities and what differences or changes would indicate that drug or alcohol related harm is being reduced. Alcohol Brief Intervention Training Alcohol Screening and Brief Interventions (ABIs) are effective and evidence-based early intervention for those individuals who are drinking at hazardous and harmful levels. Training dates to learn how to deliver Alcohol Brief are bookable on Turas: https://turasdashboard.nes.nhs.scot/ Naloxone Training Administering Naloxone can reverse the effects of an Opioid Overdose. Training on how to use Naloxone is planned for Helensburgh and Dunoon. For more information, please contact Kirsteen Menzies, Tel. 07900146571. GP Training Bespoke training sessions for GPs, designed in consultation with our GP representative and the Drug Related Deaths group will be provided by the Scottish Drugs Forum. This will cover Gabapentin, Ketamine and Benzodiazepines. For further details, please contact: nhsh.argyllandbuteadp@nhs.scot Screening inequalities grants funding We are delighted to announce that Screening Inequalities funding has been awarded to Argyll and Bute. This is being used to address barriers and facilitate access across the screening and treatment pathway to reduce inequalities in screening and
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4 improve health outcomes. Small grants were offered to organisations working with the people less likely to participate in the NHS Screening Programmes to promote screening in ways which will benefit their clients, such as to facilitate community events, provide information sessions and make culturally appropriate promotion materials which reflect the needs of communities. End of the Waverley Care contract NHS Highland’s contract with Waverley Care was due to end in December 2024. Following completion of a detailed review and exploration of options for future delivery, a decision was made to bring the services in-house. NHS Highland worked closely with Waverley Care to ensure a smooth transition of services. The Argyll and Bute Health Improvement Team are delighted to announce that Debbie Lees from Waverley Care has joined them, with the remaining staff joining the Health Improvement Team in North Highland. Debbie will bring her experience from Waverley Care to work in Argyll & Bute on developing sexual health promotion and the prevention of poor sexual health. The condoms by post service has transferred to the HIRS Team in North Highland and promotion materials for this service is being printed to be shared. The weblink is: Argyll & Bute HSCP Free Condoms by Post Living Well Networks The existing Living Well Networks (LWNs) are for partners with an interest in building healthy communities. They provide an opportunity for partners to come together to find out what issues matter to local communities; to plan activities and events together; and to network with individuals, services and organisations with an interest in improving health. Argyll and Bute HSCP Public Health team has provided funding for the network coordination time for a number of years. Over the past few years, there have been changes within HSCP structures, including the refreshed Living Well Programme Board and these transformations are continuing. The way people access information and support has also undergone changes as are the opportunities for communities to come to engage and plan community activity. As such, a decision has been made to bring the existing Living Well Network coordination to an end. We encourage the networks to consider their future direction. They can choose to continue without the funded coordination or explore the option of self-sustainability, allowing them to maintain their meetings and ongoing networking. The multi-partner initiative, Community Assets for Living Well is also focused on promoting healthy communities and work is ongoing to explore how this translates into work within local communities. This includes plans to further improve the Argyll and Bute community directory by developing a centralised and accessible platform for health and wellbeing information, resources, support, and services. Health,
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5 wellbeing and support service information can still be accessed via Argyll and Bute’s Community Directory on https://abcd.scot . We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our past and present coordinators: Dee James/Nicola Hall from Argyll and Bute Rape Crisis, Fiona Kalache/Lynn Johnstone from Mid Argyll Youth Development Services, Tracy Chambers from Kintyre Link Club, and Independent coordinators Carol Flett and Veronica Ferguson. REPORT AUTHOR AND CONTACT Author Names: Angela Coll, Health Improvement Senior Email: nhsh.abhealthimprovement@nhs.scot