Our Priorities

Our vision

To inspire communities through a programme of work which enhances the lives of our residents through:

• Strategic partnerships
• Early intervention services
• Community funding

Through the delivery of Inspiring Communities, Breckland will continue to be a place where people can thrive; with strong communities and excellent services working collaboratively to improve health outcomes for our residents.

Our priorities:

To achieve our Vision, we have aligned our priorities to the aims of the Breckland Health and Wellbeing Partnership; to reduce health inequalities. We will do this by continually reviewing the data and, in collaboration with our partners and our communities, drive innovative and evidence-based solutions that deliver place-based health and social care.

Health Inequalities

Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair, and systematic differences in health between different groups of people. Health inequalities can involve differences in:

• health status, for example, life expectancy.
• access to healthcare, for example, availability of given services.
• quality and experience of care, for example, levels of patient satisfaction.
• behavioural risks to health, for example, smoking rates.
• wider determinants of health, for example, quality of housing.

Inspiring Communities focuses on four priorities, each of which is based on evidence of need in Breckland and seeks to reduce health inequalities, overall.

Domestic Abuse

Anyone can be affected by domestic abuse, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, socio-economic status, sexuality or background. There are different kinds of abuse that can happen in different contexts. Exiting abuse is harder, takes longer and is more complex for people living in rural locations as there are significant additional barriers in rural communities compared to urban areas.

• We will continue to invest in our partnership with Daisy Programme to raise awareness of and tackle Domestic Abuse in our district.

Mental Health

Mental health problems are widespread, at times disabling, yet often hidden. Anyone can be affected at any point in their lives, including new mothers, children, teenagers, adults, and older people. Mental health problems represent the largest single cause of disability in the UK.

• We will continue to evolve our Mindful Towns and Villages accreditation, broadening the scope of community training to address other factors known to exacerbate mental health issues. We are expanding that offer to include Youth Mental Health Awareness and Grief and Bereavement Training.
• We will continue to offer mental health support to young people and their families while they wait to access professional services.

See upcoming Mental Health training courses

Social Isolation & Loneliness

Social isolation is becoming more prevalent and is associated with increased risk of mortality, higher rates of hospital admissions, and earlier entry into care homes. Loneliness can lead to depression and poor cardiovascular health. Rural areas, such as Breckland, have a unique set of circumstances that can exacerbate the social isolation of residents.

• We have funded Creative Arts East to deliver a re-imagined Silver Social project. The project uses a range of art forms to promote participation and independent living in our communities.

Early Intervention 

Early intervention provides vital support to our most vulnerable residents. It prevents their issues from escalating and reaching crisis point and delivers better long-term outcome.

• We will continue to invest in the Nourishing Norfolk Network (opens new window) , building on the low-cost food provision available in Breckland - including the continuation of Breckland Mobile Food Store.
• We continue to offer and developCollaboration Meeting, our multi-agency forum of professional statutory and voluntary support services.
• We are evolvingSocial Prescribing to increase capacity and offer services across more of the district.
• We provide general welfare support to residents, including signposting and financial help where available.
• We offer specialist debt advice through our partnership with Citizens Advice.