Fiona Reynolds, Deputy Regional Director of NW OHID and Deputy Regional Director of Public Health NHS NW, led an insightful discussion on the intersection of climate change, health, and social care in the North West.

The session began with an interactive poll, gathering participants' views on the role of health and social care, as well as attitudes towards climate change within organisations. The results highlighted a broad range of perspectives, showing a general understanding of the health and social care sector's role, but with significant variation in organisational and individual positions on the issue of climate change.

Fiona then provided a comprehensive risk assessment on social vulnerability to climate change and discussed the necessary actions society must take to mitigate and adapt to its impact. She shared the North West England Climate and Health Narrative, a document produced by the North West Public Health and Sustainability Collaborative, which explores the links between climate change, health, and health inequalities.

Dr. Thomas Smart, Senior Officer for the Natural England Cheshire to Lancashire Area Team, delivered a compelling presentation on the role of nature-based solutions in addressing the impacts of climate change, particularly in adult health and social care settings.

He began by outlining how climate change disproportionately affects individuals with reduced resilience, exacerbating existing comorbidities and complicating medical treatments. This creates increased costs and significant challenges in delivering health and social care services effectively.

He discussed the concept of mitigation and adaptation based on the "services" provided by nature. For example, planting trees not only helps mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon, but they also offer adaptation benefits, such as providing urban cooling and reducing heat stress in built-up areas.

The presentation explored several nature-based solutions that can enhance health and wellbeing in health and social care settings, emphasising how natural environments can offer both environmental and health benefits. Dr. Smart presented case studies from the North West, showcasing successful examples where nature-based solutions have been implemented to improve health outcomes and address the challenges posed by climate change in these settings.

Lindy Wardle, Service Manager for Provider Management & Market Development at Wigan Council, delivered an insightful presentation on the Ethical Home Care Transformation in Wigan, highlighting the significant improvements made in the local home care system since 2015.

She outlined the challenges faced by the home care sector including carers spending more time traveling than providing care, making it difficult for them to establish strong relationships with the people they cared for. The system was largely time- and task-oriented, with many visits lasting only 15 minutes. Additionally, issues such as recruitment and retention challenges.

To address these issues, Wigan Council undertook a comprehensive process to remodel the home care market, focusing on localised care. Today, 86% of the home care workforce in Wigan lives in the areas where they deliver care. This has led to significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of care delivery, including:

• 45% of visits are made by walking or cycling

• Reduced travel times 

• The localised system is also more resilient to external factors like traffic and bad weather, ensuring more reliable service delivery.

• The introduction of Virtual Visits, through phone or video calls for certain tasks, has saved an estimated 7,500 hours of travel time per year.

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