Citizens Engagement

The new name and scope for the previous Engaging People Project.

Why have a Citizens Engagement team?

We firmly believe that people and communities should have the power to be involved in decision-making when it comes to their health and care and deciding what is best for their own communities.

We understand that more people want to be involved in these decisions but may not always know how to get involved or may experience barriers to becoming involved.

By involving people and communities Citizens Engagement will:

• Listen, so we can understand individual’s experiences and aspirations for health and care.
• Use community development approaches and accessible methods that empower people and
  communities, making connections to social action.
• Build relationships with excluded groups, especially those affected by inequalities.
• Work with a range of key partners across our district
• Provide feedback to partners who deliver health and care services, to inform longer term plans and future decisions about healthcare services across the Bradford District.

By involving people in decisions about their health and care, people’s overall health and wellbeing will improve.

Who is involved?

The Citizen Engagement work is delivered through a partnership led by:

HALE – An award-winning health development charity working with diverse communities with the highest health inequalities “To improve health where there is greatest need”.

Key delivery partners include:

BTM (Bradford Talking Media) – a Bradford-based charity that is passionate about making information accessible to as many people as possible.

CNet (Bradford and District Community Empowerment Network Ltd) – a Bradford based charity working to make sure that views of voluntary and community groups and active citizens are heard on the key decision-making partnerships.

KHL (Keighley Health Living) – A Keighley-based charity with skills/expertise in working across Keighley, Airedale, Wharfdale and Craven.

The Bradford District and Craven, Health and Care Partnership – The partnership makes decisions about the health and care services in our area and is responsible for improving the wellbeing of everyone who lives here.

People and Communities – Our most important partners are YOU, the individuals who, live and work in the district.  Our ambition is to reach out to, involve and include as many of you as we can, so that you can have your say, share your views, ideas and opinions and enable you to have the  power to influence decision making and create positive change.

Where will we be?

You can find our Citizens Engagement Team out and about in the community across Bradford, Aire Wharf and Craven e.g. visiting existing community groups, attending community events and visiting places where people go such as local parks, supermarkets, and places of worship.

We will also be online through our Facebook page and our Engaging People blog where you can talk to us, share your views and ideas.

How can you get involved?

We want to hear from and listen to as many people living in Bradford who want to tell us how they feel about their health and care services. You can get involved by connecting with us whilst we are out and about, or calling 01274 271088 and asking to speak to a member of the Citizens Engagement team.

You can share your thoughts with the local NHS on the Engage Bradford website. Sign up to the website to share your ideas about health and care, ask questions and discuss health topics that matter to you.

You can also get involved by volunteering with the team and helping us reach out to other people within your community. Email involvingpeople@haleproject.org.uk