Our Healthy Community
Our Neighbourhood includes several large villages and one small town. The Chalfonts PCN serves: Chalfont St Peter(13,000), Chalfont St Giles (6,700), Gerrards Cross Town (8,400), Hedgerly (800). Communities served by the South Bucks PCN include Denham, (8,000), Iver (7,500), Fulmer (500) Jordans and Seer Green (3,000), Richings Park (6,000) Wexham (4,000), Farnham (7,000) and Stoke Poges (4,000) across S E Bucks 80,000 are served by the hospital.
The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the Community Board Profile for this area shows our communities have a somewhat older age profile than other areas of Buckinghamshire. .People living in South East Bucks generally have above average levels of Health (as measured by Healthy Life Expectancy) and good levels of Wellbeing (as measured by the Office for National Statistics). However it appears that people in our neighbourhood face several health issues, including: higher than average rates of obesity and diabetes, poor mental health with rising diagnosis and referral rates for both adults and children, rising rates of social isolation and injury from falls and increasing numbers with chronic pain amongst older people. There are increasing rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease, with cancer being the leading cause of death, though more die with but not necessarily of dementia. A Prevention Matters report noted that two thirds of early deaths are preventable by addressing: overweight, smoking, alcohol consumption and high blood pressure. Key objectives are to improve physical activity, diet and other lifestyle behaviours, increase attendance at NHS Health Checks and participation in community health and wellbeing groups. However while some 98% of eligible adults are offered Health Checks less than half take up the service and rates are now falling.
National and County level policy is now focussed on the development of integrated Neighbourhood Services bringing together physical, mental and social care services and working with local community groups that support health and wellbeing. The Friends share this vision, applied to our community and developed through an engagement process in 2022 in discussions with with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Buckinghamshire County Council Social Care Team, Oxford Mental Health Team our Primary Care Network, Town and Parish Councillors and Community Groups. We hope our Neighbourhood Centre for Health and Wellbeing will provide integrated, whole person care in or near our homes while supporting our healthy caring community.
Teams operating from the centre include: Rapid Response Intermediate Care,, Frailty Support, Health Visiting, District Nursing, School Health and Start Well services. We believe that a truly healthy community requires the full engagement of the community organisations and groups that support health and wellbeing in our villages and Town. We are delighted to support the Buckinghamshire Community Wellbeing Hub at our hospital.
In addition to the primary and community health services of local GP practices and BHT, there are many pharmacies, dental practices, opticians and physiotherapists which are also part of our local health and wellbeing services. The News Item on Pharmacy First Services explains their role in provide basic prescriptions advice and signposting to services and support groups following the Make Every Contact guidance.
S E Bucks has good rail and road links to central London and commuting is common (over 20% of working age adults) though "working from home" has brought changes. It also means that house prices are high. Fortunately we also benefit from wonderful access to parks and open spaces, including Buckinghamshire Country Parks such as Black Park, Langley Park, Denham Country Park , and Burnham Beeches which provide many opportunities for healthy activities and contact with nature. For example the Chalfont St Giles Open Air Museum provides companion walks and buggy transport for elderly people and those with disabilities.
Gerrards Cross Town Council and our Parish Councils stimulate and support community action and events working with the Denham, Gerrards Cross and Chalfonts Community Board. These include fun runs, walking events and dances that stimulate physical activity in parks, open spaces and halls, there are over 300 local groups active in our area.
They also make use of the many meeting rooms and halls available, including: sports halls, libraries (SEE News Item on Healthy Libraries), Community centres and village halls in Denham, GX, Chalfont St Peter, Little Chalfont, Hedgerley, Jordans, Seer Green, Farnham Royal, Stoke Poges and Iver. There are over 25 church halls in S E Bucks, the Baptist Church Hall has opened as a “Community Hub” close to the hospital with a range of spaces.
There are also numerous sport and leisure facilities including from bowls clubs, golf courses, sports grounds, swimming pools and playgrounds. Chalfont St Peter Leisure Centre, run by a social enterprise (SE) called “Everyone Active” offers paid and concessionary health regimes including: Physical Activity Referral Schemes, Balance and Falls Prevention, Cardiac, Cancer and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Diabetes, Weight Management and Mental Health Classes. Evreham sports centre in Iver is run by another SE “Better”.
There are more than 30 residential and care homes ranging from nursing homes to sheltered housing, and 4 homecare services, at least 7 homes offer support for people with Dementia. Specialist homes, including those of the Epilepsy Society, and until its closure in 2024 the Leonard Cheshire Home in Gerrards Cross provided care for people with disabilities.
As we have noted our neighborhood is proud to be the home of many local community support groups and activities. To explore these you may with to use the Bucks Online Directory at Find activities, groups and services near you | Bucks Online Directory | Buckinghamshire Council If you are looking for activities, organisations, and services for families and children up to 19 years (25 with SEND) see the Family Information Service at Find activities and organisations near you | Family information service | Buckinghamshire Council .
We also welcome the uptake of the Joy App which enables community groups to share their services for our neighbourhoods, offer befriending and other forms of support in what can be described as a market place for wellbeing. You can sign up for the Joy App at Joy - The right support is just a few clicks away
The Friends are pleased to support this development and have offered funding to support the refurbishment of the site to meet the requirements of this new role.
