Our suite of case studies showcases some of this outstanding work. From transporting people to medical appointments to supporting carers, helping communities shape their own places and providing emergency aid for those suffering cardiac arrest, this selection of stories highlights the huge difference the voluntary sector makes to Wales and its people.

PROVIDING VITAL SUPPORT TO PREGNANT SEEKERS OF SANCTUARY

The Birth Partner Project is a Cardiff-based charity, providing birth partners to pregnant women and birthing people seeking sanctuary, who would otherwise face pregnancy, birth and the first few weeks with their new-born baby alone.

#widerwellbeing #tacklinginequalities

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

The Birth Partner Project has a strong track record of working with women and birthing people seeking sanctuary in Cardiff, from its inception as a registered CIO in 2018 and for two years prior. The women and birthing people it supports are all displaced by conflict and/or persecution, and are all seeking sanctuary. The charity support people who have been trafficked, who are survivors of domestic violence, and who are victims of abuse against women and girls.

Lone pregnant asylum-seekers often arrive in Cardiff during their pregnancy and are forced to navigate a new city and new health system alone. The Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries 2022 report found that Black women are four times more likely, and Asian women twice as likely, to die than white women as a result of childbirth. The specific needs and circumstances of this diverse demographic group can result in maternal isolation, loneliness, mental ill health, and poor health outcomes including near misses and neo-natal death.

BENEFITS

Each woman or birthing person is supported by a small team of three or four volunteer birth partners, who meet together from week 34 of the pregnancy onwards, to build friendships and provide practical information and emotional support in the lead up to the birth.

When labour begins, the team provides 24-hour support using a rota system to ensure that the woman or birthing person has someone with them at all times. After birth, volunteers continue to meet weekly with mum and baby for a further eight weeks, offering additional support and making sure they have everything they need.

Volunteer Birth Partners provide non-medical, emotional and practical support, comfort measures and a positive, nurturing presence, as well as information and signposting to assist with access to other relevant support during this period.

In addition to partnering women and birthing people during labour and birth, TBPP provides a weekly drop-in service focusing on access to health information and services as well as wellbeing activities. 

2022/23 figures show:

• 100% of women and birthing people BPP supported felt improvement in their mental wellbeing having the project alongside them
• 90% of women and birthing people felt they were listened to and their voice was heard
• 83% of women and birthing people were more aware of their rights and choices in terms of birth and labour
• 71% of women and birthing people felt more confident in looking after their new babies and how to access support if they needed it
• 85% of women and birthing people felt a reduced sense of loneliness and isolation

CHALLENGES

As a very small charity, the Birth Partner Project has to manage a lot with a tiny team, and is always carefully managing its resources to increase financial sustainability. It can also be hard to recruit volunteers who have sufficient time to dedicate to such a demanding role with unpredictable hours and an on-call rota. Despite these challenges, volunteers involved in the charity say it’s some of the most rewarding work they have ever done, and the impact for the people using the service makes it all worthwhile.

COLLABORATING WITH YOUNG PEOPLE ON DESIGNING DIGITAL SERVICES

ProMo Cymru is a social enterprise and registered charity that works collaboratively to develop digital communications to increase a target audience’s engagement with services.

#innovation #coproduction

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

ProMo-Cymru was established in 1984 as South Wales Co-operative Development Association. ProMo as it is now began in Butetown in Cardiff, working with young people to help them promote their business ventures such as club nights. They then began developing digital youth information services. This led to the development of a range of work for the public/voluntary sectors, including the design of websites, the production of digital media, and cultural engagement. They support the voluntary and public sectors in imagining, testing, and creating better services. Their work is informed by their experience delivering digital youth information projects. They also provide training and consultancy services to a range of organisations.

ProMo’s work since the advent of social media has included designing the communications for the Cardiff and Vale sexual health clinic. Potential patients needed to be better informed and triaged appropriately to avoid long waiting times. The charity created a sexual health web app that was informative and user-friendly, providing detailed information on a range of sexual health topics, including contraception, STI testing, and treatment. They also produced informative leaflets, designed to provide clear and concise information to users of the service.

The charity’s approach recognises the contribution of the people involved in consultations and works to increase engagement. During a project between ProMo and Newport Mind, they decided to pay young people for their time discussing their lived experience of mental health problems or experience of using mental health services, to help develop better pathways for young people to access support.

BENEFITS

As a charity with a trading arm, and not a private company, ProMo needs to be sustainable as an organisation and so sets an appropriate cost value for its work, but it is not driven by profit. The organisation attracts employees whose values align with public service, and they are committed to delivering high-quality work that benefits the wider community.

CHALLENGES

These include securing funding for projects, adapting to changes in technology, and keeping up with changing user needs, such as the explosion of TikTok and the search habits of younger people, who are less likely to Google a problem, turning instead to social media sites. Much of their work involves testing new services, digital products and communication strategies to ensure that a range of potential service users are involved in design – and this could include younger people who are far removed from the job market or services set up to help them, for example.

COMMUNITY TRANSPORT SERVICES GO THE EXTRA MILE TO SUPPORT PEOPLE

The Community Transport Association (CTA) supports the community transport sector, working alongside organisations that are involved in delivering or accessing accessible, inclusive, not-for-profit transport.

#usinginfrastructures

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

CTA was established in 1982. It provides training, advice, and networking opportunities for community transport groups to help them improve their services and reach more people. In Wales, the CTA advocates for transport to be considered more deeply when health and social care services are designed. CTA has about 1,400 members across the UK, of which about 100 are based in Wales. These groups operate a range of vehicles and services, from minibuses to wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

CTA’s groups provide services such as community buses and work with local authorities to deliver community-commissioned services in circumstances where commercial operators have pulled out for financial reasons. There are also groups that provide demand-responsive transport, such as dial-a-ride services, which are bookable and door-to-door. There are also volunteer car schemes, car clubs, and wheels-to-work schemes, where mopeds can be rented to help people get back to college or work.

BENEFITS

Community transport enables people with limited mobility to access healthcare and social services, including hospital appointments. It reduces social isolation and loneliness by providing a means for people to participate in community activities. And in one recent case, a community bus driver noticed one of his regular passengers was, unusually, not answering the door. He investigated, realised she had fallen in the house, called emergency services, and arranged for someone else to take his other passengers to their destination. These community drivers are arguably in a better position to provide added support than if they were working for a purely commercial service.

CHALLENGES

Many community transport groups rely on grants and donations to operate. They also face operational challenges, such as recruiting and training volunteers, maintaining vehicles, and managing schedules and routes. The cost-of-living crisis means increasing numbers of volunteers cannot afford fuel, or they do not have as much time to volunteer because they must work to pay for their own living expenses.

SUPPORTING CANCER SUFFERERS IN COALFIELD COMMUNITIES

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) is leading a project aimed at improving cancer outcomes in former coalfield communities in North Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil.

#tacklinginequalities

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

The CRT ‘Together the Cancer Journey’ programme, a project in Partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, aims to improve outcomes for people affected by cancer, and the services designed to support them, in some of the most deprived communities. The project was established in response to the higher incidence of cancer in coalfield communities compared with the national average. The overall cancer mortality rate in the most deprived fifth of areas in Wales was almost 55% higher than in the least deprived fifth in 2021.

BENEFITS

The CRT Together and Macmillan partnership will raise awareness of symptoms and options for screening, and the project will also offer one-to-one non-clinical support for people diagnosed with cancer. Each patient will have an electronic holistic needs assessment and a care plan implemented, and help to manage the physical, emotional, and practical challenges of living with cancer.

The partnership also wants to improve understanding of engagement barriers in communities of high deprivation, raise awareness of access to cancer services and co-create inclusive solutions. Coalfield communities often have low levels of engagement with health services, particularly around cancer screening. The project will work with community groups and local stakeholders to build trust.

If the project yields positive results, the partnership will consider if it could be rolled out to other Health Boards and coalfield communities across the UK.

CHALLENGES

One of the key challenges of the project is engaging people who are traditionally difficult to reach – which includes men. Coalfield communities often have low levels of engagement with health services, particularly around cancer screening. The project will work closely with community groups and local stakeholders to build trust. Socio-economic factors that contribute to higher rates of cancer in coalfield communities, including poverty, literacy, unemployment and poor housing, also pose a challenge.

‘TALKING POINTS’ HELPS PEOPLE AVOID REACHING CRISIS POINT

Denbighshire County Council collaborates with the voluntary sector on its Talking Points service, running sessions in every library throughout the county. The sessions offer an informal, non-judgmental environment with the aim of removing the stigma and fear associated with seeking help. The idea behind Talking Points is to bring support out into the community, to be more accessible and to support people to find activities or organisations in the community that can help with social care-related issues.

#socialprescribing #earlyintervention

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

Talking Points began in 2016 as part of a national ‘community led social work programme’ in which a small number of local authorities were testing a different way of working that was more community focussed, geared around promoting independence and aiming to reduce bureaucracy.

It was an approach that sought to support and empower people to gain in independence, remain living in their homes for longer and achieve outcomes that were important to them. Most importantly, it was a preventative approach to help strengthen the person’s resilience in an attempt to avoid future crises. It reached out to local people who were encouraged to get involved, being treated as equals and working alongside practitioners with each person being valued for their unique knowledge, expertise and experience.

Drop-in or appointment based sessions offer advice, information and assistance to people struggling with various issues, including signposting to voluntary organisations who may be able to help.

Talking Points sessions are staffed by Community Navigators, funded by the Welsh Government’s Health and Social Care Regional Integration Fund (RIF), and employed through the British Red Cross – the Community Navigators are the host and a friendly familiar face.

BENEFITS

By increasing collaboration with the voluntary sector, Talking Points aims to break down some of the mistrust that many people hold around involving the ‘authorities’ in their problems, such as benefit issues or their struggle to maintain their independence. Talking Points has observed some residents will visit a session to “test the water” and may return with someone who needs assistance.

Supported by voluntary organisations, Talking Points offer advice on benefits, housing, and other social care issues. Social prescribing is an approach that connects people to activities, groups and services in the community to meet the practical, social and emotional needs that affect their health and wellbeing. One of the many benefits of the Talking Points includes helping individuals cope with mental health issues, enabling them to live the best lives they can. 

CHALLENGES

The lack of long-term funding, or late-notice decisions on grant renewal, makes it more difficult to retain staff, because the service can only employ people on short-term contracts, which contributes to employee turnover. This has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis as employees are less able to continue with short-term, insecure contracts because of their own financial commitments.

Commitment from voluntary organisations to attend has also proven a challenge on occasion – many are understaffed and face their own funding pressures.

A lack of transport is also an issue for some in the most rural communities, but staff always seek to find alternative solutions.

INCREDIBLE CREDU PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR CARERS

Credu provide support to unpaid carers and their families in Powys, Ceredigion, Wrexham, Conwy, and Denbighshire.

#coproduction

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

Credu began as Powys Carer Services in 2003, a small group of volunteers who recognised the need for support for carers who were often isolated and struggling to cope. In 2014 they changed their name to Credu and won service commissions in other counties.

BENEFITS

The remit of the Creative Respite Initiative, a council-commissioned service, means that they have some flexibility within their statutory funding to develop tailored support. This could be as simple as providing an autistic adult with an hour’s online activity, so their elderly carer feels able to complete housework. In one case, it meant connecting up a garden shed with electricity to provide a young carer with a quiet and warm space in which she could prepare for her GCSEs. Credu also run several young carer and adult carer groups, events, trips, and coffee mornings as part of their support for carers, from primary age children through to centenarians. Other support activities include weekend or day trips to help build memories and happy family experiences, or to provide unpaid carers with some respite from their caring responsibilities.

The long-term nature of their relationship with Powys Social Services means that they are a trusted provider and have helped shape creative solutions to individuals’ situations. Credu team members go to Powys screening meetings every morning with the local authority and Health Board to see if they can assist any of the people who have asked for help, either for themselves or for a loved one.

CHALLENGES

Financial constraints are a challenge for Credu, as well as a lack of recognition for the vital role that unpaid carers play in society. The COVID-19 pandemic presented further challenges for the organisation, as they had to adapt their services to meet the changing needs of carers during lockdowns. They want to strengthen relationships with other organisations and service providers to improve the support available to unpaid carers to improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

SUPPORTING BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE TO ACCESS SERVICES

RNIB Cymru provide practical support and services to blind and partially sighted people, as well as their families, friends, and carers to help improve lives and empower people to live well with sight loss and retain independence. They raise awareness of the issues that blind and partially sighted people face and challenge inequalities through campaigning for social change and improvements to services.

#widerwellbeing #tacklinginequalities

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

RNIB’s campaigning work sprang from the need to present a collective voice for the experience of people with sight loss. It aims to make Wales more accessible and inclusive through securing changes to policy and legislation, holding Welsh public services to account for compliance with existing policy and standards and supporting them to improve practice. The charity regularly briefs politicians to improve the quality of scrutiny and debate and to enhance public understanding of the lived experiences of people with sight loss.

BENEFITS

RNIB’s work with visually impaired people means that it has expertise in their day-to-day experience of accessing public services, and the charity is well placed to highlight solutions. It can amplify patients’ voices to help drive improvements, such as public bodies’ compliance with the Welsh Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED).

One area of work is ensuring that people with visual impairments receive accessible communications so they can, for example, read the details of an upcoming appointment, fill out forms, or access test results on an equal basis. RNIB Cymru’s ‘Make it Make Sense’ report found that a third of visually impaired people had missed an appointment because they could not read their appointment letters.

In Wales, Health Boards should comply with standards for accessibility¹⁶ and the reasonable adjustments duty under the Equality Act 2010. RNIB’s campaigning has helped put this issue onto Welsh Government’s policy agenda and a cross-departmental programme of work is being established to ensure that legal standards are implemented.

RNIB’s eye care reform campaign focuses on patients at risk of permanent but avoidable sight loss who are waiting long beyond their target date for treatment. Using data monitoring and research, the charity highlights areas for improvement. It also works to raise public and political understanding of clinical prioritisation measures for ophthalmology to drive more effective scrutiny.

CHALLENGES

It is challenging for the charity’s public affairs team to cover the breadth of relevant policy areas and engage with all the organisations involved, including 22 councils, seven Regional Partnership Boards, and seven Health Boards. It can also be difficult to strike the balance between being a collaborative partner that works with services to drive improvements, while also holding public bodies to account.

A key issue for RNIB is the ageing population – the number of people living with sight loss is predicted to double by 2050. RNIB Cymru’s view is that the voluntary sector would be better placed to help effect positive change if there were stronger statutory obligations on public bodies to engage with groups holding different protected characteristics.

TAKING CARE TO HELP PEOPLE STAY PART OF THEIR COMMUNITY

Solva Care is a charity run by the people of Solva and Whitchurch in Pembrokeshire to improve residents’ health and wellbeing and remain part of their community.

#earlyintervention

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

Solva Care was set up by the community council as a pilot project in 2015 and became a registered charity in 2017. It was the brainchild of Mollie Roach, a retired teacher who also served as a lay member of the Hywel Dda University Health Board. She recognised the challenges the village faced as an ageing community, but also realised there were many healthy residents who had retired from busy careers, missed being active, and wanted to connect with others. The charity was later separated from the community council for governance reasons. Some volunteers are heavily involved as trustees with regular responsibilities, while others help out on an ad hoc basis for tasks as varied as picking up shopping, cooking for a community event, or dog walking for a resident recovering from an operation.

BENEFITS

Self reports have shown that Solva Care improves wellbeing for all involved. Coordinator Lena Dixon observes that ‘what makes people feel great is connection’, and those who remain active by volunteering stay healthier for longer. Not everyone, however, wants to be involved, but residents know assistance is there if they need it. As well as reducing isolation and improving wellbeing, evaluations undertaken by the NHS have shown that Solva Care has prevented hospitalisations. In addition the team has examples to show that residents have been helped to come home from hospital more quickly.

CHALLENGES

Funding is a problem because it is ‘short term and competitive’ says another trustee, Sue Denman, Emeritus Professor of R&D policy who retired to Solva and set up a research and development arm of the charity . She said some funders ask for evaluation data that is out of step with how small charities work.

Solva also does not want to be seen as a replacement for public services nor be taken for granted as providing a cheap solution to a problem. The team is careful not to replace paid employment with volunteers.

Getting more younger people involved as volunteers is a challenge, but the Solva Care team recognises that younger residents pre-retirement may not have the time or energy to help.

Also, Solva are thinking about what happens when the current generation of volunteers gets to the stage where they need assistance themselves. Some trustees are involved in other work in the village to try to make the community more viable and attractive for young families. They still want to strengthen domiciliary care provision too, by partnering a social enterprise provider in the county. This remains challenging because of recruitment problems but there are ongoing talks with neighbouring communities to join forces in finding a solution.

THE CIRCUIT CAN SAVE PEOPLE SUFFERING CARDIAC ARREST

The Circuit is the UK-wide defibrillator database, and the result of a partnership between the British Heart Foundation (BHF), Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), St John Ambulance, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE). 

#supportingstatutorydelivery

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

The early adoption of the Circuit was to build on the Welsh Ambulance Service’s own data and improve the maintenance of defibrillators. The aim is to build a map of all public access defibrillators, so if someone has a cardiac arrest, 999 call handlers can point bystanders to the nearest defibrillator while they wait for an ambulance. The Welsh Ambulance Service was an early implementer of the scheme alongside two other ambulance services in the UK. The scheme went live across Wales in 2019.

Part of the Circuit initiative is the involvement of “guardians”; people in the community who look after public access defibrillators and replace expired pads or batteries when needed. As a result of the Circuit scheme, guardians are sent an email reminder every three months to check their defibrillator. If used by Welsh Ambulance in an emergency incident, the guardian is also notified, and the defibrillator automatically deactivated on the Circuit. BHF has invested heavily in a defibrillator network across Wales, with funding from Welsh Government. There are now 7,564 public access defibrillators registered in Wales, and there has been an increase in the number of guardians.

BENEFITS

BHF data shows that only one in 10 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the UK. It can happen to anyone, at any age, so knowing how to do CPR and having access to a defibrillator can improve the chance of survival. The scheme has boosted the number of public access defibrillators that are registered across Wales (as of February 2024, there are 7,564), and the enrolment of guardians means more of the defibrillators are properly maintained.

CHALLENGES

A quarter of registered public access defibrillators still do not have guardians, indicating that they may not be “rescue ready” and call handlers cannot therefore direct 999 callers to them. Also, not all defibrillators in the community are accessible to the general public. They might be designated to the immediate vicinity only, such as a sports centre. An ongoing challenge is raising awareness of schemes so that as many defibrillators as possible are registered and have guardians.

WHEN COMMUNITIES SHAPE THEIR OWN PLACES, THOSE COMMUNITIES BENEFIT

Medrwn Môn provides support and advice to voluntary and community groups on sustainable funding, volunteering, good governance and engaging and influencing. Additionally, it runs two largescale projects: the Place Shaping programme and Môn Community Link.

#usinginfrastructures

WHY THIS WORK BEGAN

In 2013, Medrwn Môn secured National Lottery funding for a project to engage the hardest-to-reach communities in the design of local services, to include people who were younger, older, or homeless, or with physical/learning disabilities, or other protected characteristics. Since the creation of the Seiriol Alliance in 2014, five community alliances have been established, under what became the Place Shaping programme. Place Shaping is delivered in partnership with Anglesey County Council, developing ‘Community Alliances’. The alliances create a map of community ‘assets’ in their area, to include physical facilities and skills and experience in the area. They then identify work with statutory services to develop services based on local need.

Môn Community Link is a social prescribing programme for residents, based around the community assets identified by Place Shaping. It is funded by Welsh Government and a number of other Funds and Foundations.

BENEFITS

The benefits of Place Shaping have included an increase in attendance of community groups, use of community buildings, and opportunities for volunteering. The Seiriol Alliance is now employing its own staff, runs its own community transport scheme and is generating its own money for small-scale community-led projects. Medrwn Môn hopes that other alliances will be able to follow suit, depending on the needs in their area.

Môn Community Link has become the single point of access for early intervention and prevention services for many statutory providers including the Community Mental Health Team, Community Resource Teams, Housing Support Providers forum, GPs, and North Wales Police.

CHALLENGES

It has taken 10 years to develop six alliances, with eight more to go across Anglesey. In the early years, Medrwn Môn encountered some scepticism that the model would improve service design and delivery, but statutory partners have remained committed to meaningful planning with communities. Resourcing further alliance development and making sure that asset mapping is up to date is an ongoing challenge.

The Anglesey Council executive team now has Place Shaping responsibilities within their job roles, and there is a commitment to create a formal reporting structure to ensure all council departments are aware of their responsibilities to sustain this way of working.

VITAL AFTERCARE FOR STROKE SURVIVORS

The Stroke Association has many years of experience in helping stroke survivors in the UK to rebuild their lives. They have also further developed their expertise through links with organisations in other countries.

#coproduction

Why this work began

The Stroke Association developed its services with the aim of providing a person-centred approach that addressed the nuances of survivors’ experiences. Their surveys suggest that, once stroke survivors are beyond needing acute medical care, they can feel ‘abandoned’, as the specific support they need is not available. For example, if someone has mental health problems following a stroke, they may need a therapist who also understands the effects of their stroke.

Once a survivor leaves acute care and is discharged from hospital, they potentially face a host of issues with which they require assistance. They may need mental health support, practical advice on finance and benefits, adjustments to their home, or even help so they can be fully involved in family life again, among other interventions.

Benefits

The Stroke Association says its services save money in the long run, as they reduce readmissions into hospitals and relieve the strain on social services. On a personal level, their service user feedback suggests they improve health outcomes and wellbeing for stroke survivors, providing practical solutions and support.

In Wales they are commissioned by some health boards to provide Life After Stroke support services for stroke survivors.

Challenges

The Stroke Association feels it important to collaborate more deeply with the statutory health and social care sector to design and co-create services.

After care for stroke survivors has changed considerably in recent years. The positive news is that more people are surviving a stroke, but this means there are more patients with complex needs, which may include mental health problems and other co-morbidities. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic put extra strain on all health services, so more complex problems are being left unaddressed.

The Stroke Association believes it could help the health sector approach these issues more efficiently, and provide a more beneficial and cost-effective service, if it were involved at an earlier stage in co-designing the services. At present it becomes involved at the later stage of bidding for the contract for support services, the remit of which has been defined by the health board.