East Dunbartonshire to become blueprint for healthier & happier communities

SCVO media release 3 June 2014 NEW NATIONAL PROGRAMME GETS CHARITIES READY FOR SHIFT TO MORE LOCAL HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) and partners today (Tuesday 3 June) launched Building Healthier and Happier Communities, a national programme to improve the health and quality of life of people across Scotland. The programme is kicking off in East Dunbartonshire where SCVO is working with East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action (EDVA), East Dunbartonshire Community Health Partnership, East Dunbartonshire Council and local third sector organisations to tap into the ability of charities to help people lead healthier and happier lives. The official launch is taking place as part of the NHSScotland Event 2014 at the SECC, Glasgow. Sarah Currie, Health and Social Care Pathfinder Programme Manager, SCVO, said: “By supporting charities and other third sector organisations to deliver health and social care services in their local communities, Building Healthier and Happier Communities will help more people get the help and support they need locally without having to visit their GP or other health and social care providers. This should help to manage demand on these services and help prevent more serious health conditions developing. “We’re very excited that the first stage of this national programme is getting underway in East Dunbartonshire. There’s so much which charities and third sector organisations can do to help people lead healthy and happy lives and we’re confident that this programme will put in place the building blocks to unlock this potential not only in East Dunbartonshire but right across Scotland.” Gordon Thomson, Chair at East Dunbartonshire Voluntary Action (EDVA), said: “This project is both a welcome recognition of the positive work achieved to date within East Dunbartonshire and a sign of the great potential there is to further increase the capacity of the third sector as it continues to deliver effective and appropriate services that make a significant difference to lives of individuals in our local area.” ENDS Notes to editors:

1. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national body representing the interests of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.  The Scottish third sector turns over £4.9 billion a year and employs 138,000 people in over 45,000 organisations. For more on SCVO see www.scvo.scot
2. For more details, please contact Charlotte McNeill, Communications & Press Officer, SCVO on 0779 060 1995