Healthwise Hull

The programme is part of the Big Lottery Fund – Altogether Better project, a five-year programme to help people and communities across Yorkshire and Humber to eat better, be more physically active and improve their mental health. The aim of Healthwise Hull is to empower local residents to make a difference to the overall health of Hull by improving the health choices that they, their families and friends make.

National Lottery Awards - Final Round of Voting!

Voting in the final round of the annual National Lottery Awards opens at 9 am on Friday 2nd September, and closes at midday on Monday 26th September. (for more details see the article further down this page). We need your votes! Please go to the National Lottery website and cast your vote for Altogether Better. Thank you.

What is Healthwise Hull?

Becoming a Community Health Champion for your local community is a great opportunity for you to make a difference, maybe improve your job prospects, benefit from experience in a variety of skills and situations and have fun at the same time.

Why become a Health Champion?

Training towards a recognised qualification

Becoming a health champion is free and will give you the chance to be trained to OCN accredited level 1 or 2 in an exciting community focused Health Awareness and Improvement training certificate. We can provide some out of pocket expenses, eg. travel costs incurred during training, dependant upon individual circumstances.

To find out about course content, follow the links to the learning outcomes for the OCN accredited Level 1 training course and the OCN accredited Level 2 training course.

As a Health Champion, the Training and Support Officer can help you with health choices important to you, your family and friends, signpost to local health initiatives to allow you to develop your skills. You will receive a filofax full of information about healthy living choices to help you, your family and friends.   

Please contact 01482 485900, or e-mail: healthwise@goodwin-centre.org to register your interest.

Interesting facts about Healthwise Hull and the Community Health Champion project.

Healthwise Hull is part of the Big Lotter Fund - Altogether Better project, a five-year programme to help people and communities across Yorkshire and Humber to eat better, be more physically active and improve their mental health. Our aim is to empower local residents to make a difference to the overall health of Hull by improving the health choices that they, their families and friends make.

2010 was an excellent year for the project, please follow the link to view our 2010 annual report.

A number of Health Champions have stated that their job prospects have improved after completing the accredited training and becoming involved in promoting healthy lifestyles within their communities.

A number of Health Champions have gone on to complete a level 3 qualification, which gives them the skills to deliver health awareness training in their communities.

All Health Champions get 26 weeks of support from the Healthwise Team, which can include invitiations to health events across the city, information on recent health developments both locally and nationally, opportunities for further training, and opportunities to join health focus groups such as NHS Membership or the Altogether Better Panel.

An independant group; Healthwise Champions Unite, formed by and for Community Health Champions meets once a month at the Victoria Dock Village Hall Community Centre. It's an opportunity for all Health Champions to chat to each other, share experiences and good practice whilst enjoying a cuppa or two in a relaxed social environment. For more information about Healthwise Champions Unite, please contact: Colin Lynch on 01482 485926 or e-mail healthwise@goodwin-centre.org

Health Champions Celebration Events are held at the Octagon on Walker Street, twice a year to celebrate the achievements of all the Health Champions, especially those who recently completed their Healthwise training.

Final Celebration Event

This year we had a final grand celebration event on Friday June 17th at the Octagon on Walker Street to mark three years successful delivery of health messages across the city by our dedicated Health Champions, who now number 295. All Health Champions were invited to the event, along with partner agencies; who provided information stalls and prominent people who have been instrumental in the success of the project. We were delighted that Alyson McGregor: Project Director - Altogether Better attended and spoke. We were also really pleased the some Goodwin Trustees attended as well as Chief Executive Officers Peter McGurn and John Illingworth.

Apart from lunch we also always have a fun activity and this time it was a Zumba Class - very energetic!

The closing speech was given by Anna Heddle: Head of Department - Health and Wellbeing, Goodwin Development Trust. Many of the Health Champions commented that they were confident that whatever happend to the Healthwise Project, they were confident that Community Health Champions would continue and that health messages would continue to be across Hull.

National Lottery Awards

The Altogether Better Programme, which works with people across Yorkshire and the Humber, has made it through to the Finals of The National Lottery Awards 2011; from 800 projects, Altogether Better are one of only 3 finalist! The annual search to find the UK's favourtie Lottery-funded projects. Healthwise Hull is one of 16 projects in the Yorkshire and Humber Area under the Altogether Better Banner and so we are keeping our fingers crossed! We would like to thank everyone who voted for Altogether Better. Please see the National Lottery Press release for more information and maybe you would like to visit the Altogether Better Website, which includes photographs of Hull Health Champions at a recent event in Sheffield and news about health projects across the Yorkshire and Humber region. If you would like to see how Healthwise Hull has had an impact on a local and personal level please read the Good News Story.

For further information about Healthwise Hull, please call 01482 485926 or email healthwise@goodwin-centre.org