Investing in the next generation

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Our penultimate day of the programme and Robin has been flexing his influence again today by arranging a field visit to the new Angered Hospital where they work with reaching out to marginalized groups in order to provide health care for all citizens.

We were very fortunate to be able to join an information session arranged for EuroHealthNet, a non profit partnership of organisations, agencies and statutory bodies working to contribute to a healthier Europe by promoting health and health equality between and within European countries.

The hospital is literally brand new and only opened its doors at the beginning of last month and on arrival we could appreciate this as it was a modern build, some of the group saying it reminded them of the New College building in Durham.

We started to appreciate how lucky we were to be invited along as there were representatives from a variety of different countries across Europe and we were representing the North East of England.

The introduction was provided by two Research and Development officers for the hospital who provided us with some history and highlighted the need for this facility as the North East of Gothenburg has issues not pertinent to the rest of the region - for example the life expectancy is 9 years less than other parts of the region due to unhealthy lifestyles and something they need to address.

They are governed by Vastra Gotaland and work closely with the Human Rights and Public Health teams to look to improve conditions for all in the area.

An issue of 12% of people missing appointments is a priority for them as this can have a huge impact on the quality of life in general and makes identifying and treating medical conditions even more difficult if not diagnosed in sufficient time.

We were given a tour of the premises but of course not into any of the treatment rooms as it is an operational building - one of the more interesting sights was of a fully functional kitchen facility where they actually teach patients how to prepare healthy food and suggest supplements to diets to help improve lifestyles.

The morning was very interesting proven by the fact Robin had to leave for another meeting but the group decided to stay until the morning was complete as they were enjoying it so much.

We did have a bizarre moment when we were all asked to stand up and carry out various stretches and exercises to a video clip they have produced to help those sitting down for long periods of time - I have visions of our colleagues at work doing this at certain points of the day and would love to try it out even just for the fun factor.

The hospital is working on communication with the local area and have designed various strategies to help this including a mobile app as an intercultural communication aid.

Health Literacy is another big issues they are dealing with trying to ensure all patients have the knowledge, motivation and competencies to administer their treatment as it has been identified 1 out of 2 people have difficulty with health literacy.

They have also produced a video for all their staff as a support function to ensure they all have the knowledge required and there is consistency in advice given.

A great morning and Aaron even had time for some networking with a EuroHealthNet representative who left his business card with him - some of our group have expressed a desire for a career change almost daily now due to the programme content and this trip may produce some of the next generation of european representatives.

The session ran over a little so we just had time to hop on the tram for the 20min journey back to the city centre and grab some quick lunch.

The afternoon session was back at the Norra Hamnagatan building and we were meeting Ase Myberg the Stockholm Office manager for the External Relations team.

I think we all didn't really know what to expect as this arrangement of having a representative working from the capital city of the country isn't something we are familiar with and I don't think this happens in our council. On meeting Ase she informed us she had only just travelled back from the USA a day earlier and may be a little jetlagged but has been looking forward to meeting with us.

We quickly realised it was not going to be a dull afternoon and Ase was an amazing women so personable and instantly bonded with the group - we felt so comfortable in her company and for the first 10 minutes Ase just sat and asked us (well the apprentices) how they have found the trip so far and what their highlights have been.

Ase told us about her background and her many years in marketing which has lead to her current role providing a contact between the Vastra Gotaland region, the capital and all the other regions across the country - it was clear Ase enjoys her role but she did indicate its difficult to switch off and her days can be non stop.

I don't think we have a similar role in our Council as Ase describes it as Marketing but it is much more far reaching than that and seemed to be a combination of marketing and promotion, with the aim of ensuring the region maintains and improves its productivity and is always looking to attract people to the area and in particular to work for Vastra Gotaland.

There were similarities between both our councils as Ase explained they have an ageing workforce with only 1,700 staff from a total of 51,000 employees being under 30 so this is an area they are looking to improve. Ase also stressed how important it is to ensure the communication channels are current and all formats used in this modern age are included.

One of the most interesting parts of the whole trip was detailed by Ase when she explained she was instrumental in establishing a Junior Advisory Board made up of staff under 30 years old who report directly to the Board of Directors. This sounds like a fantastic idea and has been a massive success within this authority enabling the young people to have a voice and provide suggestions on how to attract and keep a younger workforce - something we will certainly bring home with us and pass onto the corporate senior management team.

That's what we all love about this journey we have been on, something like this afternoons session where we were unsure of the content and the possible relevance to us has turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip and the whole group were interested in finding out more about not just Ase's work but her life as she was fascinating character who I am sure would have a few tales to tell about her life experiences.

It was one of those times during our trip that we sat passed the end of the formal presentation and effortlessly chatted away to Ase for quite some time discussing all types of things and the apprentices certainly enjoyed the experience gaining some invaluable career advice.

We all appreciated Ase time and it was a joy to meet her - again another change in career direction for some of the group who now are wanting to follow in Ase footsteps.

We are nearly there and I think this day was great fun and we learned so much it has given us that shot of energy to really get stuck into our last day.

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Comments

[Greg Farn]

Youth Employment
The idea of a Young Persons Advisorary Board, made of young people within the workplace is really interesting - never heard of antyhing like this in the UK