Why it’s important

In some areas of Dorset where people have less money and access to services or resources, they might not live as long or be as healthy as people in wealthier areas. It’s not just about having access to good healthcare, but also other factors that affect our health. We know people in these areas tend to get a long-term condition at an earlier age and are less likely to go to the doctor. They can also find it harder to go to a hospital appointment and have less access to things that play a big part in keeping us healthy. These are known as ‘wider determinants of health’ and include having a good job, enough money, a good education, access to services, and a nice place to live. When we have all of these things, it helps us stay healthy.

Unfortunately, not everyone has access to these important things, which can make it harder for them to be healthy and live a long and happy life. That’s why we need to work together to make sure everyone has a fair chance at being healthy. Our partners, such as local councils, community and voluntary organisations, Healthwatch Dorset, fire and rescue services, police, and our own communities, know that things like money, education, and access to services can affect our health and safety. In this plan, we explain how we will work together with communities to hear what matters to them, change how we do things to meet these priorities and take action on the things that are causing poor health. This means a change in how we do things and working closely with our communities.

Our goal is to be a health service that focuses on keeping people healthy instead of just treating them when they are sick. To do this, we need to address the impact of deprivation on communities, understand how people’s lives can make it harder to take care of their own health and get in the way of getting the best from health and care services. By focusing on this, we can create a healthier and happier Dorset.

What we’ve been doing

We are not starting from scratch. We will build on the work we have been doing with you and other health and care organisations.

We have been working with other health and care organisations through our Health Inequalities Group to make plans to improve the health of communities. We also have a new way of working called ‘place’. This means working closely with the communities where people live to make sure they have the services and support they need.

Using the information we have about our communities and the people living there means we can better understand their needs and target services to support them.

Through the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Poverty Truth Commission, we have actively listened to and understood what makes a difference to you. A Poverty Truth Commission aims to challenge the ‘status quo’ and make change to remove injustices.

What we are going to do

We want to find new and better ways to help people who live in areas where there is poverty and less access to resources which help us to keep healthy. We have picked three specific areas in Dorset with higher levels of poverty and fewer resources to test our ideas and see what works. These areas have rich and diverse communities with skills and talents but are different from each other in terms of the people who live there and how the neighbourhoods are set up. By working closely with you we can learn what works best in different areas and find ways to make things better.

We have chosen three areas in Dorset to focus on:

• Boscombe: this area has a population that tends to move around more, and it is also more diverse with people from different ethnic backgrounds.
• Portland and Weymouth: these areas are geographically isolated and have a population that has been living there for a long time. They have been dealing with deprivation for a while, and they include both urban and rural areas.
• North Bournemouth: this area is home to families many of which have been experiencing deprivation across generations.

We will be working closely with these communities to find the best ways to improve their situations and make a positive difference.

We have four important things we’re focusing on to make sure everyone in Dorset gets the help they need:

How we are going to measure progress

We want to make sure our efforts are making a real difference to the health of deprived communities. To know if we are doing well, we will use different ways to measure our progress.

Sometimes it takes a long time to see big changes in health between communities. That’s why we need to start now and keep working towards our goals. We know it will take a lot of time and effort to create lasting improvements. To track our progress, we use indicators. These are like signs that show us how well we are doing. We are developing these to measure the steps we are taking to achieve our goals.