Amersham and Chesham Locality Profile Prevention Matters Priorities The Community Links Officer (CLO) has identified a number of key Prevention Matters priorities for the locality that will form the focus of the work over the next few months. These priorities also help to determine the sort of services and projects where Prevention Matters grants can be targeted. The priorities have been identified using the data provided by the Community Practice Workers (CPW) in terms of successful referrals and unmet demand (gaps where there are no appropriate services available), consultation with district council officers, town and parish councils, other statutory and voluntary sector organisations and also through the in depth knowledge of the cohort and the locality that the CLO has gained. The CLO has also worked with the other CLOs across the county to identify some key countywide priorities which affect all localities. Countywide Priorities Befriending Community Transport Amersham and Chesham Priorities Dementia Friendly Communities Activities for Men Physical Health and Wellbeing Background data Physical Area The borders of the locality extend as far south as Hughenden Valley and Little Chalfont. A number of small villages on the outskirts make up the whole of the locality together with larger urban settlements, making this the third smallest of the seven Bucks GP localities (72,877 people). The total area is 205.5 Square Kilometres, although this includes the parishes of Penn and Little Missenden, which are shared between two other localities. The population in this locality is generally older than the Bucks average with a higher proportion of over 65’s (18.2%) and the number of older people over 65 is projected to increase. Ethnic Diversity Chesham local area has the highest percentage of people from BME groups and issues have been identified around the integration of young Asian mums into the community. This is mainly due to the fact that English is not widely spoken and this has an effect on the children who also lack to integrate at school from an early age. Some work is being carried out in Newtown school where an Outreach Family Worker is currently involved with a number of Asian families requiring support. Health and Deprivation The health of people in Chiltern is generally better than the England average and deprivation is lower than average, however about 1500 children still live in poverty. As a whole the locality is less deprived than the Bucks average, although the area in and around Chesham is the most deprived fifth of the population for Bucks. Life expectancy is 8.8 years lower for men and 6.00 years lower for women in the most deprived areas of Chiltern than in the least deprived areas. A Public and Patient Engagement workshop identified that the main health issues in this locality were: Cardiovascular disease Falls in older people Mental Health Issues for Older People (including Depression and Dementia) There was also an emphasis on the need for lifestyle changes (physical activity, alcohol, smoking and healthy eating). There were also issues identified around early years (parenting), the varied needs of different communities, education, access to services (GPs, referrals and travel to access services), joint working between health and social care, community care for vulnerable older people and social isolation. Chesham local area has the highest percentage of people from BME groups and issues have been identified around the integration of young Asian mums into the community. This is mainly due to the fact that English is not widely spoken and this has an effect on the children who also lack to integrate at school from an early age. Some work is being carried out in Newtown school where an Outreach Family Worker is currently involved with a number of Asian families requiring support. Local Areas Amersham Amersham is a large urban area and has a very proactive community. The Library hosts a number of activities and the manager is keen to link with local groups to ensure that the needs of the local residents are met. The District Council offices are the base for the Chiltern Clinical Commissioning Group and Bucks Floating Support. The biggest need highlighted by the referrals to the CPWs seems to be Social Isolation. However, the number of social activities in the area is reasonably high and this need is generally met also by additional coffee mornings and lunch clubs offered by the numerous churches in this town. There is a community centre which is well used and hosts a number of social activities during the week. Amersham has 2 day centres for older people. The Camaradiere group meets in a Paradigm Scheme and is well attended. Clients generally use Dial-a-Ride to access the service and the organiser has done some work with the local library to bring a variety of activities to the clients. The group meets once per week and is offered to the clients at a cost of £10.00 including a meal. Transport remains an issue for people to attend as Dial-a-Ride can be quite expensive. The Sycamore Club is hosted by the Free Church in Amersham and offers a day centre once per week for people who suffer from dementia at a very low cost of £6.00 including transport and a meal. Transport here is also an issue for people who wish to come from further afield like Prestwood or Great Missenden. The group is not working at its full capacity although referrals have increased since the start of Prevention Matters. A stroke support group meet at St John’s Methodist Church once per week. Transport has again been highlighted as the main issue and the group could benefit from a higher attendance. Age Concern also provide a reasonable support in the town with their lunch club which meets in the Community Centre which is very well attended and a Good Neighbourhood Scheme which provides befriending and support with shopping and transport. More volunteers are needed for this scheme. In essence, Amersham seems to be very well served when it comes to social activities. The existence of an active Older People Action Group ensures that local issues are raised and brought to the attention of the relevant people. However, access to a lot of activities is made difficult by the lack of affordable transport and the complete absence of any known voluntary car schemes. Old Amersham has a very well established Older People Action Group (OASIS) with a total of 25 members who meet regularly. Amersham has a community centre which provides a central hub for communication. The Chiltern District Council Offices also have a number of leaflets on display. The various churches advertise their groups on their individual websites and the free magazine YourAmersham is delivered to approximately 9000 homes and is also available online. Chesham Chesham has a population of just over 21000 people. Despite the fact that Chesham seems to have an extremely pro-active community, there are a number of serious pockets of deprivation which have an impact on the whole community. Chesham is relatively well serviced with regards to social activities. The Salvation Army run a number of lunch clubs and drop ins for socially isolated elderly people. However, the groups are slightly under attended and this is probably due to not enough publicity. Transport is sometimes an issue although Dial-A-Ride provide quite a range of choice for journeys but this can be quite costly to the client. There is an emergency car scheme for support in extreme weather (CHAV) and Chesham Voluntary Car Service provides transport specifically for doctors or hospital appointments from patients from Chesham surgeries. There is also an Age Concern group which offers befriending and support with shopping and medical trips. A number of organisations like Bucks Mind, Alzheimer’s Society and Mind The Gap offer social activities for older people and people with mental health issues. An overall problem appears to be the recruitment of volunteers. The Chesham Wellbeing project, which aims to raise the wellbeing of Chesham to an acceptable level, involves a number of on-going activities, some of which are linked to Prevention Matters outcomes. Some work is being undertaken by local health partners and other professionals to increase the integration of young Asian Families into the community and ensure that young families have the necessary support in terms of language and parenting skills. The Town Hall in Chesham provides a hub for a number of activities and it hosts a memory café run by the Alzheimer’s Society and an Art Group delivered by Bucks Mind. Both the groups are every popular and well attended. There is also an MS physio session which meets weekly in the Town Hall. The White Hill centre is also a hub for a number of regular activities. There are a number of churches that offer lunch clubs and coffee mornings. The Emmanuel Church hosts a regular Bucks Vision day centre. The group is relatively well attended but there are some problems associated with the overall structure of the organisation. Another good asset in Chesham town is the number of Paradigm Sheltered Housing schemes. These offer a number of activities to their residents such as coffee mornings, silver surfer sessions etc.and a meeting with the Schemes Manager highlighted their intention to offer these activities to the wider community and to use some of their venues to host day centres. Paradigm Housing has a number of Outreach workers who have a case load of residents whom they support with queries regarding their tenancy or any other issue that they may have. The idea was that during their “downtime” they could facilitate activities within the schemes.