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Saying a big thank you to dedicated and often unseen community health and care staff – NCH&C celebrates first ever national Community Health and Care Day

Monday 1 November 2021 marks the very first national Community Health and Care Day

Founded by NCH&C in 2020 to mark its tenth anniversary, Community Health and Care Day is a registered awareness day and will be marked every year on 1 November. The day provides the opportunity for everyone to celebrate the vital role that community healthcare plays, and help raise the profile of this essential part of the NHS.

Community healthcare is the foundation of the NHS, helping people of all ages live independently, stay in their homes longer and leave hospital sooner. Although community health care makes up one fifth of the NHS workforce, it is often overlooked despite being firmly at the heart of every health and care system. Boosting ‘out-of-hospital’ care is one of the key elements of the NHS long-term plan and is vital for ensuring people can access the healthcare we need in the future.

This year’s Community Health and Care Day celebrations will take place virtually and focuses on the emotional side of community healthcare. It is inspired by the personal stories of our staff and their patients, that typify community healthcare over the last two years.

John Webster, Interim CEO for NCH&C, shared his support for the first Community Health & Care Day: “I am delighted that NCH&C is launching the inaugural Community Health & Care Day, giving us the opportunity to raise awareness of the compassion and dedication that goes into community care every day. Our mission to look after people locally drives us to bring our expert care to patients in our community hospitals, within GP surgeries, medical centres, and in their own homes every single day. The breadth of expertise within community health care really is extraordinary – it is a remarkable sector and incredibly rewarding to work in.

“In future years we would love other community health and care providers to join us in this celebration of community health and care to help raise awareness of the work of our devoted staff.”

Carolyn Fowler, Director of Nursing & Quality at NCH&C, added: “I am constantly amazed by the continuous commitment and compassion shown by our community teams. Working in the community is a rewarding and very specialised area of healthcare, our teams our highly skilled and I know how privileged they feel to be delivering care for people in their own homes.”

Cath Byford, Chief Nurse at NHS Norfolk and Waveney Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “Health and care is built on the dedication and hard work by staff who work tirelessly to care for patients every single day. Community healthcare allows patients to get back to living their life independently as quickly as possible. I am pleased to see that that NCH&C has launched the inaugural Community Health & Care Day which aims to raise awareness of the great efforts carried out by our health and care colleagues across Norfolk and Waveney.”

Get Involved

Anyone who wishes to get involved with Community Health and Care Day 2021 can head to the campaign page to find ideas of how to show support. You can also download Community Health and Care Day social media assets, so you can use your own social media channels to say a big ‘thank you’ to your local community healthcare teams.

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