Health and Social Services Advisory Group (HASSAG) – Camden Social Services

The main aims and objectives of HASSAG is to improve and facilitate community involvement and participation in the commissioning of integrated health and social care services for adults and children’s social services and reducing inequalities. The main focus is on strategy and commissioning issues.

Contact
Niam McAleer
E-mail: to be supplied
020 7974 2810

Health Inequalities and Health Improvement Group (HIHIG)

To support the Local Health Partnership (LHP) in its core objective and functions, through a comprehensive work programme and appropriate policy and strategic support.
The HIHIG has overall responsibility for delivering on the targets identified by the LHP. It does this by overseeing a series of working groups that actually co-ordinate and deliver on joint working in the borough around health improvement and addressing inequalities.

The HIHIG also oversees the Inequalities Commissioning Group, a multi-
agency group that allocates Health Action Zone (HAZ) funding in the borough.

Under Review

Local Health Partnership (LHP)

The core objective of the Local Health Partnership (LHP) is to tackle inequalities and address the wider determinants of health. It aims to champion, drive and broker agreements; develop systems to assess the impact of policies developed and focus on targets not currently progressing well and on a few shared activities leading to practical actions. The LHP identifies the strategic priorities for health in Camden in response to nationally set priorities. It also has responsibility for signing off the health targets contained in the Community Strategy.

The Health Inequalities and Health Improvement Group (HIHIG) has operational responsibility for implementing the actions agreed at LHP meetings. The HIHIG achieves this through the work of five subgroups.

Currently Under Review

Professional Executive Committee (PEC) – Camden PCT

The PEC brings together front line staff from different professional groups and is designed to ensure that local clinicians and professionals are fully represented at the heart of decision making at the PCT. Some of the PEC members are also on the PCT Board. The PEC aims to explore and influence policy and the strategic direction of the PCT, by examining the main business of the Board before it is delegated further to management team for action. It also has an evaluation, performance monitoring and scrutiny role of the functions delivered by the PCT.

Contact
Maureen Brewster
E-mail: To be supplied
0207 284 6574

Black & Minority Ethnic Consultative Forum

The purpose of the forum is to create dialogue between Camden’s Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, Camden Social Services and Health and Social Care Trusts to ensure that the services delivered to these communities are appropriate, effective and of a high quality. The forum to be run as a partnership between Camden Social Services Department, Camden Primary Care Trust, Camden and Islington Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Voluntary Action Camden (VAC) and Camden Health and Race Group.

Contact
Niam McAleer
E-mail: to be supplied
020 7974 2810
or
Maureen Brewster
E-Mail to be supplied
0207 284 6574

Camden Obesity Task Group

This group has been established in response to the NHS Plan, CHD, Diabetes and Children’s NSF’s and Forth Coming Public Health White Paper which prioritises the development and implementation of effective policies and interventions at local level to improve health and prevent Chronic Diseases, through reducing the prevalence of obesity as a risk factor.

Suicide Prevention Steering Group

The aim of the Suicide Prevention Steering group is to develop the recommendations for action from the suicide prevention report into clear action points for different organisations/ services, promoting inter-agency working where appropriate. It also works to provide a cross agency overview of the different areas of suicide prevention work in Camden, by having representation from the key agencies involved and has a steering and monitoring role in relation to implementation of the Action Plan. It also advises on methods for regular reporting of suicide-related data from the different agencies involved to link in with the Local Authority Overview and Scrutiny Commission Panel on suicide prevention (due to start in next few weeks) and establish leads for the different areas of work identified who will report back to the steering group. The advisory group reports to the Health Inequalities and Health Outcomes Group (HIHIG) and the Local Partnership Board.
Contact
Judy Leibowitz
E-mail:To be supplied

Camden Refugee Forum

The aim of the refugee forum is to ensure that the needs of refugees in Camden are identified and addressed in service planning.

Contact
George Binette (equalities Unit)
0207 974 6126
E-mail: to be supplied

Camden PCT Race Equality Scheme (RES) Steering Group

The aim of the steering group is to oversee the development and implementation of the Race Equality Scheme

Contact
Ila Gocoldas
Race Equality Lead
020 7530 3193
E-mail: To be supplied

Camden Community and User Involvement in Health (CCUIH) Network

The CCUIH Network is a forum for all who work in user and community involvement (U&CI) in health and integrated health and social care, in Camden. It aims to consider the respective organisational obligations with regard to Section 11 of the Health & Social Care Act (2001) and to advise about, develop, and share good practice.

Uncertainty around funding and Project might roll to a close

Voluntary Sector Health Forum (VSHF) - VAC

To strengthen the contribution of the voluntary sector in the promotion of good health and accessible and relevant health care in Camden by promoting networking amongst voluntary organisations on health and community care issues
securing the accountability of commissioners and providers of health and community care services to the people of Camden

Contact
Alison Blackwood

0207 284 6575

The Camden Refugee Network

The Camden Refugee Network is a multi agency network of statutory, mainstream Voluntary Sector and Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs). It was set up to promote the needs of refugee communities in Camden. One of it’s main priorities is to work with RCOs creating opportunities for capacity building and by developing partnerships to address the needs of refugee communities. Membership of the Network is open to any individual or organisation in Camden committed to, and in support of, the aims and objectives of the Camden Refugee Network.

Post is presently vacant

Bangladeshi Mental Health Forum

This forum is for anyone or any agency concerned with mental health issues and the Bangladeshi community to attend. This forums main role is to advocate on behalf of the local Bangladeshi community for improvement of their mental health and mental health services. the forum invites speakers to speak on mental health issues relevant to the local Bangladeshi community. It also provides opportunities for networking and information sharing. The forum meets once every three months.

Contact
Kawser Zannath
0207 530 3907
E-Mail: To be supplied

Bengali Women’s Health Project

The Bengali Women’s Health Project (BWHP) aims to ensure that Bengali Women are able to exercise their right to health and social care services, which are accessible, acceptable and appropriate to meet their needs. The BWHP seeks to promote the health and well-being of Bengali women living or working in the borough of Camden.

Contact
Kawser Zannath
0207 530 3907
E-Mail: To be supplied

Camden Network Of Networks

The Network of Networks will strive to develop a clear and co-ordinated voice for the voluntary and community sector at a strategic level to Enable the sector to feed into the Camden Strategic Partnership (CSP) and other strategic partnerships and forums and provide an effective link between those partnerships and forum and the voluntary and community organisations and groups on the ground.

Contact
Linda Fergusson
0207 284 6565

Camden Homelessness Forum

The purpose of the Camden Homelessness Forum is to provide a space for homeless people and front-line workers to impact upon policy, its implementation and homelessness provision. The forum aims to identify unmet need and gaps in service provision, highlight problems in existing or developing policy and its implementation, lobby for more opportunities for homeless and front-line worker participation at every level. Also the forum aims to ensure that its membership are well informed about relevant issues, concerns and policies and provide an opportunity to Network and Share Good Practice.

Post is presently vacant

CAMDEN WOMEN’S HEALTH FORUM

Camden Women’s Health Forum’s mission statement is ‘championing women’s health in the widest sense’. The Camden Women’s Health Forum acts as a channel for communicating ideas and/or concerns to and from the authorities. The forum is guided by the health for all principles that are: partnership working, reducing inequalities in health and community participation, increasing awareness among health professionals of the needs of socially excluded women, increasing opportunities for women to engage with and influence service providers and develop more responsive and women centred services, improved access to health services through outreach and the removal of barriers, enabling women’s groups to acquire the capacity to develop and deliver “women centred services”, developing innovative ways of working, inputting into service, policy and strategic issues to do witn women's health, inputting into health service provision and commissioning when relevant to women's health.

Contact
Sandra Van der Feen
0207 284 6562

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES NETWORK

The Children and Families Network is an open forum for all voluntary organisations in Camden who work with children, young people and families or who have an interest in the way in which services to children, young people and families are planned and delivered.

The overall aim of the Network is to enable the voluntary sector to influence how services for children, young people, and families are planned and provided, by improving voluntary sector participation and involvement in the planning process and ensuring better co-ordination between the statutory and voluntary sectors.

Contact
Mohamed Hussein
0207 284 6572

Camden Healthy Living Centre Forum
(HLC

The Camden Healthy Living Centre Forum aims to co-ordinate and strengthen strategic links to statutory agencies by formalising links to Voluntary Action Camden and networks and representation from HLC forum on relevant strategic bodies. Objectives of HLC include, raising the profile of HLCs and their programmes, to advise on innovative practices in addressing inequalities in health, to gather and disseminate good practice and to identify sustainable funding mechanisms.

Health & Race involvement is being reviewed

Camden Carers Centre

Camden Carers Centre’s remit is to provide a focus for carers in Camden and too raise the profile of carers in the borough. The centre has workers who specifically work with Asian carers and those from the African and Caribbean communities.

Contact
Claire Wheeler
7 388 5422

South Asian Older People

This forum aims to raise awareness of issues facing older South Asian people.
Contact
Laura Coutts
0207 837 3777

Camden and Islington Providers Forum (CIPF

Camden and Islington Providers Forum is made up of voluntary organisations working in the field of mental health in Camden and Islington. It aims to promote collaboration and help co-ordinate the interface between the voluntary and statutory sector by increasing communication and cooperation between CIPF members and others, keeping its members informed of local and national policy developments, facilitating communication between voluntary and statutory sector agencies, working for improvements in mental health services in Camden and Islington.

Contact
Aiden Moloney
Tel 020 7428 5999

Revised on 3 Apr 2007

Revised on 22 May 2007