Health Exchange is a Birmingham based social enterprise, delivering free and confidential health information and lifestyle choice (behaviour change) services.
Health Exchange engages people in a dialogue that enables them to make positive lifestyle choices. We work with and support communities to achieve good health and well-being.
Health Exchange was originally a partnership development between Heart of Birmingham teaching Primary Care Trust and Birmingham City Council, launched in July 2006.
The Health Exchange approach moves away from health as either disease prevention or cure to a “fully engaged” model of health as a choice, which is available and accessible by all.
In October 2007 the board of the Heart of Birmingham teaching Primary Care Trust agreed to launch Health Exchange as a Social Enterprise and in December 2007 the Health Exchange became a Community Interest Company.
By bring together the advantages of the Community Interest Company with core public health objectives the Health Exchange is in a prime position to deliver the following:
- To empower people to make positive wellbeing and lifestyle choices
- To engage with communities and voluntary sector to strengthen capacity and sustainability in support of Health and Wellbeing
Health Exchange delivery is through life style choice services encompassing:
Universal services
Supported Service
- Supporting people to access information and signposting
Motivational Service
- Offering behavioural change support and one to one support such as reducing weight, stop smoking, eating more healthily through our Health Trainer service
Self Management Service
- Enabling individuals to take control of a health condition and improve their quality of their life by education support
To underpin our developing services Health Exchange is developing and implementing a sustainable network of trained local residents who can act as a supporting infrastructure for their local communities breaking down those barriers that block services to local communities through language and culture.
What is on offer at the Community sites?
At the Community sites we will offer:
- Resources – both printed and on-line, supported by a dedicated resources team at the hub in the Central Library.
- Publicity, marketing and awareness for health campaigns.
- Membership of a network across the city, supported by our hub in the centre.
- Health promotion support; access to health promotion campaigns, resources and specialist support.
- Training for members of the community to become health supporters.
- Access to development trials for new services.
Building the network
Currently we have Community sites in the north of the Heart of Birmingham region and our hub in the Central Library. These Community sites are just the beginning. Over the coming months we are working to expand into the south of the region. It is anticipated that eventually clients will be able to access the Health Exchange via a number of other routes – pharmacies, businesses and so on.
The way the Health Exchange develops in the long term will be led by what the communities we are working with need and expect from us.
How can you help?
With the support in place to enable the Community sites to deliver effective service to their communities, the Health Exchange is ready to support groups running programmes for obesity, smoking cessation, breast-feeding and teenage pregnancy (amongst others) to the communities in the north of the Heart of Birmingham area.
If you find an area where you feel you cannot access enough information we can work with you to develop new information resources.
We are now in the process of building a programme of public health campaigns and support services across the Heart of Birmingham region for the coming year (see enclosed Programme of Events). Our aim is to create a balanced programme of mainstream public health initiatives and community specific support programmes.