Case studies

Forest of Dean runs a host of different exercise and rehabilitation classes. As well as running them from local leisure centres, the council is using 15 different community venues, from village halls to social housing common rooms, to reach remote residents. This case study shows how district councils have improved the health of their local areas.

Cherwell District Council are a lead organisation as part of Bicester’s Healthy New Town Programme (BHNT) which aims to use housing growth to develop communities that promote health and wellbeing, prevent illness and keep people independent. This case study shows how district councils have improved the health of their local areas.

This pilot project focused on developing an intervention to reduce sugar consumption in schools through a series of personalised ‘sugar swap’ messages.

To help educate primary and junior school children across the London Borough of Havering about the rewards of healthy eating, the in-house HES Catering Service developed Veggie Run, the first council-created app in England designed to teach children to dodge unhealthy foods through digital game play.

Bracknell Forest Council has built on its involvement with the national Self Care Week by running a Year of Self Care and then setting up a community-wide network of clubs and groups that is seeing thousands of local people taking part in activities and looking after their health and wellbeing. This forms part of our resource on self care.

Self Care Week has been running across Bradford and Craven for a number of years. Last year the council’s public health team and three clinical commissioning groups introduced a new campaign: the Make One Change Challenge. It inspired thousands to start taking action This forms part of our resource on self care.

In Cheshire, two CCGs and the council have worked together to engage the wider local community in self care by recruiting a network of champions and setting up a Self Care Award to entice employers to get involved. This forms part of our resource on self care.

Huntingdonshire District Council has worked with its local academic health science network to encourage cancer and cardiac rehab patients to become active and involved in the self-management of their recovery. Patients are being taught how to use remote monitoring technology, while taking part in exercise classes. This forms part of our resource on self care.

Leeds City Council and the local NHS have adopted the House of Care model as a framework for developing self care. Health and care professionals have been given training and patients are being empowered with the skills and confidence to self-manage their own health. This forms part of our resource on self care.

The NHS and county council in Lincolnshire have worked with partners to use social media and the local press to get the message out there about the importance of self care. It has helped reach thousands of local people. This forms part of our resource on self care.