The Health Creation Alliance has given its Best Health Creating Cross-Sector Programme award to Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, run in partnership with CWVA and other local infrastructure organisations (LIOs) in the region.
The programme funds Social Action Leads, who work with community groups to give information on cancer signs and symptoms, and promote screening in a bid to find cancer earlier when treatment is easier and more effective.
More people die from cancer in Cheshire and Merseyside than the England average, but early diagnosis rates have been improving from significantly below the England average in 2019, to slightly higher than the England average in 2024.
This programme is one area of the Cancer Alliance’s work that has contributed to the progress.
The Social Actions Leads help facilitate discussions and conversations about cancer in grassroots networks, including art groups, old people’s organisations, schools and in workplaces.
Across Cheshire and Merseyside, 48,000 connections have been made with individuals and 200 organisations have been included in the project over the past two years.
Examples in Cheshire West include working with Live! Cheshire to deliver Our Best Chance, as well as funding All About Greens, Let’s Farm and many more community organisations.
John Buchanan, Cancer Alliance Social Action Lead at CWVA, said: “This is an amazing programme that has a lasting impact in our communities, and another award is the least it deserves.
“We’ve worked with many groups and organisations where discussing cancer and other health issues can be a challenge, but this programme has worked hard to break down some of those barriers and embed health messaging in a fun, innovative way.
“Small grants have helped develop some brilliant programmes that have made such a huge difference in our communities, both in the short and longer term.”
Jon Hayes, Managing Director of Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, said: “Together with our eight LIO partners, we have developed an innovative community delivery model to empower our communities to own information to reduce their risk of cancer mortality and seek advice when something isn’t right.
“Projects our Social Action Leads have worked with include art, fitness, cooking, laughter and singing workshops, outdoor activities, community theatre, and ambassador programmes, through to beauty and hairdressing students.
“The common denominator is local people being given useful health information by other local people that they know and trust. That makes an enormous difference to taking on board advice and acting on it.”
To contact your local Social Action Lead, please email: john.buchanan@cwva.org.uk.
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