Voluntary sector Archives - Destination Chesterfield

Community Chesterfield launches interactive sharing sessions

8th July 2021

An organisation that supports local community and voluntary groups within the health and social care sector in Chesterfield has launched a brand new programme of free interactive online networking and learning sessions.

Community Chesterfield, a National Lottery funded partnership between Derbyshire Voluntary Action (DVA) and the University of Derby, is set to hold monthly ‘Connect and Reflect’ sessions, with the first taking place on 13 July.

The sessions aim to connect the community, the health and social care sector and the University to allow them to discuss, learn from and reflect on the common experiences we each have.

Each session will cover a different topic, with the first being ‘Co-Production’. Co-Production is:

Professionals and people who use services working in equal partnerships towards shared goals.
A movement towards frontline staff, people who use services and carers having an equal, more meaningful and autonomous role in services, including the planning, development and actual delivery of the service.
Ensuring the assets of people who use services, carers and staff are valued – recognition that if someone makes a contribution they should get something back in exchange

At this session attendees will get the chance to talk about time when they have worked in a co-produced way: maybe you have used co-production yourself without even realising, or have been involved as a participant, or you think of a time when working in co-production may have been helpful and now you want to use it in the future.

Kate Burns, skills co-ordinator at Community Chesterfield, said: “We are really excited to be launching the brand new Connect and Reflect sessions. At Community Chesterfield, we work incredibly hard to strengthen the offering of local community and voluntary groups through learning and development, with the overarching aim of improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Chesterfield.

“Through these sessions, we are creating a mutually beneficial forum where people will have the opportunity to share knowledge, experience and skills with others in the community. This will help to discover new opportunities for best practice, ultimately helping to strengthen the skills, knowledge and expertise of people within our community.”

The interactive online networking and learning sessions are for those working at or volunteering for a third sector organisation in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas, staff and students of the University of Derby who have an interest in Chesterfield and individuals working within the Health or Social Care sector in Chesterfield.

The Co-production Connect and Reflect will take place on 13 July, with subsequent sessions held on the second Tuesday of every month. To find out more or to book you free place on any of the sessions, visit https://www.communitychesterfield.org.uk/shared-learning

If you have any suggestions for Connect and Reflect topics or for more information contact community@dva.org.uk.

Men across Chesterfield to be encouraged to consider careers in healthcare

15th June 2021

A free event aimed at encouraging men to consider careers in health and social care is set to take place in Chesterfield.

Health and Social Care Needs Men is part of ‘Careers that Care’ week, a series of virtual events organised in partnership with Derbyshire Voluntary Action’s (DVA) Community Chesterfield project, the University of Derby and Joined Up Careers Derbyshire.

The event will see a panel of men who work in health and social care answer questions and discuss what led them to work in the sector, what they get out of it and why there are less men working in certain healthcare professions than women.

The panel will be made up of representatives from the public sector, including a Derbyshire County Council social worker, a 111 senior trainer from DHU Health Care and nurse, as well as voluntary sector workers. These will include Nathan Wood, Chief Executive Officer of the charity Ability, who appeared in a short film made for the event, and a spiritual care practitioner from Ashgate Hospicecare. Questions will be asked by a current nursing student from University of Derby.

Charlotte Repton, project manager at Community Chesterfield, said: “A career in health and social care offers a huge range of career choices, all of which can be hugely rewarding for those who choose to follow that path. Through the Health and Social Care Needs Men event, we wanted to open up the discussion around why, despite this, there is still a higher percentage of women in many healthcare roles, particularly in areas such as nursing.

“The event is set to provide an extremely interesting insight into this topic, directly from men who work in health and social care, as well as giving attendees the opportunity to have their questions or concerns around stepping into a career in health and social care answered.”

This event is open to anyone from Chesterfield and surrounding areas with an interest in health and social care. However, it will be of particular interest to men who may be considering a career in health and social care, parents or teachers who may be offering guidance to a young person making decisions about their future careers and current students who wish to find out about the range of careers their studies could lead them to.

For more information or to book a free place on the Health and Social Care Needs Men event, visit www.careersthatcareweek.org/events.