The York and North Yorkshire probation trust aims to embed 'making every contact count' within the service at a local level so that staff feel competent and confident at raising lifestyle issues with their clients.
Themes
- Capacity building to support behaviour change
Locality
All probation localities across North Yorkshire and York.
Aims
To skill up the York and North Yorkshire probation trust workforce with a focus on Level 1 of the prevention and lifestyle behaviour change competence framework. The main aims are:
- To train probation staff who have a variety of roles through the healthy chat - train the trainer course;
- For those trained to go back to their staff teams and cascade the training to them in order to embed 'making every contact count' within the probation service at a local level; and
- For probation staff to feel competent and confident at raising lifestyle issues with their clients and to signpost onto other services where appropriate.
Details
Thirteen probation staff or workers linked to the delivery of probation services have been trained to deliver healthy chat training (Level 1).
Public health champions have been identified within each team/office within the probation service.
A number of presentations have been delivered to staff. In November, offender health was included as part of our diversity activity and presentations were delivered to each of the three main offices in North Yorkshire for staff.
Wellbeing workshops are included within multi-agency events at women's projects across the patch including within local churches and children's centres and at Scarborough Women's Centre and Women's Hubs in Harrogate, York, and Northallerton.
All women specialist officers will be trained in healthy chat so that they can contribute to the delivery of a wellbeing module that has been piloted for female clients to complete as part of their probation supervision.
The project has raised awareness of health across the organisation and offender health is now one of our continued business priorities to further develop and improve across our service delivery. The project has contributed to enhanced interactions between probation staff and their clients - seeing the whole person rather than just their offending behaviour.
How will this case study improve health and reduce health inequalities?
Offenders often have poorer health and health outcomes than the average population. Therefore action to support offenders to make positive lifestyle choices will contribute to better health outcomes in this group; and therefore contribute to a reduction in health inequalities.
Contact details
Georgina Wilkinson, health improvement manager
North Yorkshire County Council
Tel: 01609 535857
Email: georgina.wilkinson@northyorks.gov.uk
Kathryn Cooper
York and North Yorkshire Probation Trust
Email: kathryn.cooper@north-yorkshire.probation.gsi.gov.uk
