Sláintecare Healthy Communities Level 6 awards presented to Westmeath trainees
Cathaoirleach of Westmeath County Council, Cllr Liam McDaniel, recently presented Sláintecare Healthy Communities Westmeath QQI Level 6 awards in Health Literacy to 15 newly qualified trainees.
The awards ceremony took place in Tuar Ard Theatre, Moate on Friday, April 5 and was attended by four guest speakers, Cathaoirleach Cllr Liam McDaniel, Sláintecare Healthy Communities Westmeath Local Development Officer, Brigid Geoghegan, representing the QQI award recipients, Mr Philip Woods, and West Offaly Training, QQI trainer Mr David Veitch.
Introduced nationally in 2021, Sláintecare Healthy Communities is a cross-Government initiative to deliver increased health and wellbeing services in 19 areas of greatest need across Ireland. Sláintecare Healthy Communities Westmeath is the successful culmination of close collaboration between many partners including the Department of Health, the HSE and Westmeath County Council.
The goal of the Sláintecare Healthy Communities Westmeath Programme is to improve the long-term health and wellbeing of the communities in the RAPID areas of Athlone and Mullingar.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Liam McDaniel commended the project, saying: ‘‘Westmeath County Council has been at the forefront of developing and supporting communities for many years and had the foresight to actively seek to be one of the pilot areas for Sláintecare Healthy Communities programme.
He added: "The local authority has a central role to play in promoting and supporting the health and wellbeing of our local communities. We do this holistically through delivering the numerous functions of the local authority from the housing and footpaths to the initiatives under the community development team including Westmeath Sports Partnership, arts, community, and leisure centres to the provision of libraries, parks, greenways and blueways and public realm."
The programme works in partnership with local communities to support and empower people to make healthier lifestyle choices to improve their overall physical and mental health and wellbeing.
The presentation of QQI Level 6 awards in Health Literacy to 15 trainees is the culmination of an identified need to support people to be better informed about their health.
Mr David Veitch trainer from West Offaly Training said: "It has been such a pleasure to work with such a motivated and committed group of people. I'm sure they can make a real difference in their communities."
The Sláintecare Healthy Communities Westmeath Health Literacy programme ‘Well Westmeath’ (based on the National Adult Literacy Agency programme) seeks to improve health and wellbeing in the RAPID areas of Athlone and Mullingar by organising and delivering two ‘Train the Trainer’ (QQI Level 6) courses for 15 people interested in helping to delivering Health Literacy in their own RAPID communities in Westmeath. These courses have the potential to reduce health inequalities by supporting the most vulnerable of communities and arming them with the knowledge to support everything from health and wellbeing to increased financial capability, with an ambition to include numeracy and financial literacy into future programmes.
This project is a result of close collaborative co-operation with RAPID area communities of Athlone and Mullingar, along with support agencies including Westmeath County Council, Youth Services, Athlone Family Resource Centre, Westmeath Libraries, and community reps from the RAPID areas.