SCDC/CHEX responded to Public Health Scotland’s consultation to support the development of their new strategy for 2025-2035. 

Published jointly by Edinburgh Community Health Forum, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), SCDC & CHEX, and Voluntary Health Scotland, this joint statement comes as major policies and frameworks have set out prevention as a key approach to how public services should operate. 

Earlier in the year Sarah met with Terry, Volunteer Co-ordinator at the Tannahill Centre in Ferguslie Park in Paisley.  The Tannahill Centre is a community hub, which acts as the area’s community anchor organisation. 

Over the summer, Sarah caught up with Steph, the Outreach Lead for the Corner in Dundee.  One of our workshops leads at the CHEX Conference earlier in the year, the Corner are a health and wellbeing service for young people in Dundee. 

Grace (Group Recovery Aftercare Community Enterprise) are a local peer-led membership organisation, providing recovery after-care for people who have experienced life traumas such as bereavement, ill health, loneliness, social isolation, mental health issues amongst others.  

CHEX were invited by Public Health Scotland, Greenspace Scotland and Nature Scot to contribute to a cross sectoral workshop in June to share the knowledge, skills and experience from our Network in the development of Green Health in Scotland.  

CHEX was pleased to be asked along to present at the March 2025 East Kilbride & Strathaven Community Learning and Development Local Action Planning Group meeting in East Kilbride.

Farmstrong Scotland is a new rural wellbeing programme for the farming and crofting sector.  Following their participation at the CHEX Ideas Clinic Sarah met their community engagement specialist, Clare, to find out more about their work.  

A key part of our role at CHEX is influencing national policy and practice on community led health and community development approaches to tackling health inequalities.   

This year for our national conference our focus was turning knowledge and learning into action on the most pressing issues facing our communities.

Sarah was recently invited to provide an input on CHEX and community development approaches to tackling health inequalities at a Conference held in February by the Glasgow University General Practice Society in Ferguslie Park, Paisley. 

The report outlines key findings and is being used to inform the policy development on the future fees for Disclosure Scotland services.

It was great to see so many people at our first ideas clinic online event! We had some great discussion and useful information- sharing, as well as making a space for people to access peer support from others in our sector.

Keeping up to date with what community led health organisations and practitioners are doing to improve people’s health and wellbeing is an important part of the job for the CHEX team. 

One way that we are doing this is linking in with local and regional health and wellbeing networks across the country.

Fair and efficient funding and resourcing is an ongoing issue facing the community-led health sector and this policy response is part of the ongoing work of the CHEX team influencing policy in this area.

We’re excited to announce that we’ll holding the first CHEX ideas clinic online event from 10am - 12pm on 5th December.

The CHEX team out and about: Sarah was in Edinburgh, meeting with Michelle from LGBT Health and Wellbeing at their offices in Leith.