Lagan Village Youth & Community Group with Boots Chemist
It takes a village...
Lagan Village Youth and Community Group (LVYCG) aims to inspire, motivate and support local residents. Their core mission is to strengthen local communities to tackle disadvantage and transform people’s lives. Located in East Belfast, in the Woodstock area, LVYCG recognised intense clusters of deprivation in their local community. They offer a range of services to tackle educational disadvantage, improve health deprivation and reduce crime and disorder.
They recently completed a Level One BCPP project in partnership with a Local Pharmacist, Emma McConnell, from Boots the Chemist on Woodstock Road. The programme supported a group of 15 young mothers from the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) community and local mothers. The programme provided a peer support network for young mothers to share their experiences and offered parenting advice in a relaxed environment. Issues explored included maternal mental health, social norms, baby health and social isolation. As we come out of the other side of the pandemic, LVYCG recognised the importance of staying connected to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Emma the Pharmacist, George the Project Lead and the mothers worked together to plan informative sessions to get as much out of the project as possible. “Baby Blues” was covered at one of the weekly sessions. It was important that the women understood health risk factors associated with being a mother, managing expectations of caring for the baby at home and reaching out for support when it is needed.
At another weekly session, LVYCG worked in partnership with East Belfast Sure Start and ALTERNATIVES to expel the myths around certain childhood ailments and health and wellbeing practices. The mothers focused on the practice of touch in healing and building a rapport with their babies.
At another weekly session, LVYCG worked in partnership with East Belfast Sure Start and ALTERNATIVES to expel the myths around certain childhood ailments and health and wellbeing practices. The mothers focused on the practice of touch in healing and building a rapport with their babies.
The BCPP funding enabled the Pharmacist to build trusted relationships with women in the local community, enhancing their understanding of health and addressing their health concerns through an interactive and informal approach. This funding allowed the women to share their lived experiences which helped the Pharmacist’s understanding of issues that impacted the group. Medication safety was explored throughout the programme, with the Pharmacist reporting that she will now ensure that her patients understand their medication in terms of why they are taking it and how to take their medication. Emma is confident that she will be the first point of call for these young mothers and is seen as a trusted person in their healthcare journey.
This Project has highlighted that more work needs to be done in the Woodstock area to improve health literacy in addressing health inequalities. LVCYG hope to apply for Level Two BCPP Funding to delve deeper into the health issues reported by the young mothers and to continue to build partnerships with local pharmacies.
Quotes
“The women on the programme were able to speak about their children’s health and wellbeing but found it very difficult to speak about their own personal health issues. As we progressed through the programme, they found it more comfortable and easier to talk and highlight their own concerns about their health issues. This programme allowed me to come to an understanding more about the difficulties that exist in the community regarding people’s health and wellbeing”- Emma McConnell, Pharmacist
“People’s health and wellbeing is a main concern for us with a host of issues around personal health problems. We also have a high rate of people not fully understanding their own medication and the Pharmacy programme allowed us to address all these issues. This programme was a major benefit to people in not only understanding medication and health problems but also building the relationships with local Pharmacist who they can confide in more easily”- George Newell, Lead Community Partner
“I have never really spoken to the chemist before only to pick up my prescription, now I can go in and talk about my health and concerns without being embarrassed. Being part of the chemist programme give me the confidence to speak about my health concerns to others” - Jenny, Mother
