Conference brings health and housing together

Published by Deb Booth for Together Housing Group in Housing and also in Health

Improving the health of social housing tenants was the subject of the “Healthy Housing” conference at Turf Moor recently. 

The conference aimed to explore how social factors which impact on health can be influenced, how to support healthier lifestyles and promoting independence in people’s own homes. 

Support for people with long-term conditions, such as dementia, and the role of assistive technologies were also on the agenda. 

Together Housing Group, Managing Director West, Ian Clark said: “The health of our customers is as important to us as the health of our properties. 

“This conference was vital in exploring some ways in which the housing and health sectors can work together. 

“Some very interesting areas were covered and we look forward to working more closely together in the future.” 

Ian Clements, Locality Lay Adviser for NHS East Lancashire, chaired the event which hosted some influential speakers from health and housing. 

Gill Leng, an independent Health and Housing Consultant, started the discussions on how health and housing reforms could be managed to bring about positive outcomes. 

Jeremy Porteus, Director of Housing Learning and Improvement Network and former National Programme Lead for Housing at the Department of Health, spoke on ‘Living well at home: new vision for the UK’s government’ and Susan Warburton, Head of Community Services, NHS East Lancashire, discussed the development of telehealth in East Lancashire.

A series of workshops followed, covering various local initiatives. Delegates shared examples of best practice locally and worked on how they could strategically work together following the event.