WCVA’s Health and Care Project aims to better connect the voluntary sector with the health and care system.
WCVA’S HEALTH AND CARE PROJECT THEORY OF CHANGE
The Health and Care Project’s Theory of Change. Find a plain text version of the Theory of Change here.
WCVA’s Health and Care Project aims to ensure the voluntary sector and volunteers are trusted and valued as equal partners in delivering a healthier, more resilient Wales, while driving innovation in health, care and wellbeing. The outcomes sought by the project include:
- The sector influences early and is engaged in constant dialogue with health and care partners, creating more person-centred outcomes
- Statutory health and care organisations value, trust and respect the third sector and volunteering’s contribution to health and care outcomes
- The sector is engaged and resourced to take part in strategic structures
- The sector’s collaborative and collective voice is stronger
- The sector and volunteering is resourced to make meaningful contributions for people
There are many ways in which we hope to achieve these outcomes:
- Being a critical friend to drive improvement in policy and practice
- Advocating for sustainable investment in the sector to build capacity and meet demand for services
- Enabling the third sector to evidence its value and plan accordingly
- Connecting sector organisations to each other and the health and care system
Our paper, Why the third sector matters to health and social care in Wales, explores actions that stakeholders can take to maximise the sector’s impact on health and social care.
We work closely with our sister projects, Helpforce Cymru and the Macmillan Community Innovation Project, sharing expertise and knowledge. Find out more about these projects further down the page.
THE PROBLEM TREE
WCVA’S Health and Care Project Problem Tree. Find a plain text version of the Problem Tree here.
We interviewed dozens of stakeholders to find out what they believed the problems faced by voluntary sector organisations in health and care are, the causes of these problems and the potential solutions. Our Problem Tree sets all this out in an at-a-glance guide. From this information we co-produced a Theory of Change (top of page) to address some of the problems the tree identifies.
THE SECTOR’S WORK IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Some statistics about the voluntary sector and health and care:
- Over 12,000 Wales-based organisations contribute to health and care delivery in Wales.
- There are 2,700 places of employment
- There are 58,924 employees
- 60, 431 people volunteer for registered health and care charities
- 17% of volunteers are engaged by the public sector
- 938,000 people volunteer across all sectors in Wales each year.
Find out more by reading our infographic.
The services that the sector provides within health and social care are immensely valuable, from providing transport to and from hospital, to befriending schemes, collection shopping or prescriptions and much more. This can prevent people from having to access statutory care, giving vital relief to pressured NHS services.
OUR PARTNER PROJECTS
Helpforce Cymru
Helpforce Cymru is the Welsh arm of Helpforce, the charity that aims to accelerate the growth and impact of volunteering in health and social care. It brings together health and social care professionals from around the sector in Wales, and its expertise and resources are an integral part of the Health and Care Project.
The Bevan Commission and Helpforce Cymru have published The values and value of the third sector, exploring the touch points between the statutory and voluntary sector and where better collaboration could achieve greater health and care outcomes in Wales. Read the full report and the Executive Summary.
The Macmillan Community Innovation Project
The Macmillan Community Innovation Project seeks to engage with cancer sufferers in Wales who have not been engaging with the range of support offered by cancer charities across the country, and explore the reasons why.
KEY CONTACTS AND MORE INFO
Do you need more information about the WCVA Health and Care Project? Contact us at healthandcare@wcva.cymru or call us on 0300 111 0124. You can also take a look at our Health and Care discussion forum for regular news and updates, and your chance to join others to discuss the latest key topics in the field of health and care.