- a pioneering support programme The aptly named Wellmoor initiative promotes community health and wellbeing in the North East of Dartmoor.
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riginally a project of the Moretonhampstead Social prescribing is a growing movement where GPs and Development Trust, Wellmoor came into nurses are able to refer a patient suffering with non-clinical being in after the closure of the in-patient beds at problems to a link worker. The link worker will spend time Moretonhampstead Cottage Hospital, when volunteers understanding the needs and interests of their client and ‘grasped the nettle’, as chairman Richard Foxwell put it, offer personalised solutions, often by connecting them to deciding to take action to fill what appeared to be a gap local services provided by the voluntary and community in provision of community health. sector. Ideally it should be a win-win situation, freeing up It now covers the parishes of Moretonhampstead, GP time while making a real and long-lasting difference to Lustleigh, Manaton, North Bovey and Chagford, and the wellbeing of the client. thanks to successful funding applications, has a growing Camilla said: ‘Becky is ideal in this role - she’s dynamic, team of dedicated employees. she knows so many people Project Officer Camilla Rooney locally, she’s really approachable The picture that emerged was and personable - she’s quite said: ‘We decided early on to look into loneliness and isolation one of a really strong and dynamic exceptional. and ran a series of “listenings” or ‘She is also really well placed community spirit and huge focus groups in the community to make sure our community advantages to living in such a to find out what the issues were services are accessible and beautiful landscape in such a rural area. There sustainable. She has helped to were obvious issues about identify gaps in what we have limited transport and access to services. But the picture locally and has looked at starting new groups or services that emerged was one of a really strong and dynamic to help fill that need - it’s a really effective way of community spirit and huge advantages to living in such community building.’ a beautiful landscape. We decided early on that we really One such project is Wellmoor’s ‘community allotment’, wanted to build on those positives.’ kickstarted by GPs from the local health centre who As a result of the ‘Listening Project’, an action plan was wanted to be able to prescribe growing and working drawn up and one of the main successes has been the outdoors to suitable patients. A bramble-covered patch implementation of social prescribing for the area, with a of land at the far end of Moretonhampstead’s allotments Wellbeing Co-ordinator, Becky Beesley, being taken on was taken on and initial clearance of the site took place, board in December 2018. thanks to a band of enthusiastic local volunteers.
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