Energy and enthusiasm are wonderful commodities, especially when they can inspire wide-ranging support. It was through clear-minded explanation and wide-eyed determination that Growing Health Together gained the backing of Sumona Chatterjee, Place-Based Leader for East Surrey supported the funding for this initiative on behalf of the Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System.
Strength to strength
“As the Place-based leader, I am very proud of the work that Gillian Orrow [Co-Founder, Programme Director and Healthy Horley PCN Lead] has done engaging our communities co-creating health,” says Sumona. “It is one our priority workstreams and has grown from strength to strength with Gillian’s hard work and determination. If we are to address some of our health challenges we need to seek the answers in our communities and reconnect with our residents.
“East Surrey Place has the right conditions for creating health and needed a champion like Gillian,” says Sumona.
Powerful
“The way she convinced me was with the wider determinants of health,” says Sumona. “She was very good at bringing that to life. The things she was saying were very powerful.”
That was combined with a number of webinars, one with C2 and with Lord Nigel Crisp, and his drive around Health is Made at Home and Hospitals are for Repairs.
Despite the strength of the Growing Health together ethos, it is often the demands of short-term gains where health creation and the wider determinants of health can come unstuck from getting full support. It was something that concerned Gillian.
Overcome barriers
“We managed to overcome the traditional barriers and gave Gillian the time and space to grow her health creation ambition.
“We did identify some areas of greater need, and thanks to the Growing Health Together programme we now have Champions in all our five Primary Careworks,” says Sumona.
“I have also visited the Growing Health Together Horley Hub and have had the joy of meeting the team on ground making a difference to our communities.”
