Mablethorpe: a centre for health innovation
Artist's impression of Campus for Future Living, Mablethorpe © East Lindsey District Council
“I don't like injustice and I'm passionate about addressing inequalities, but I also see them as opportunities for change,” says Kim Barr, Neighbourhood Lead for Skegness and Coastal.
Mablethorpe is a seaside town with high levels of poor health and 58% of its working population describe themselves as inactive, compared to 20% in England. Kim’s engagement with Mablethorpe began almost two decades ago. As a specialist nurse she brought a wealth of experience working across primary and community care in England, and then set up and supported respiratory services and Hospital at Home, serving patients and residents in the area. In doing so, she has built strong connections with local communities and GPs. Kim was then nominated to work with King’s College London to support Lincolnshire's frailty agenda. Her service development project utilised the new e-frailty index tool, alongside GP and community nurse intelligence in Mablethorpe, to develop a way of identifying a common language to describe dependency and need of patients. The outcome was to create a platform for early interventions and deliver more proactive care for people living with mild, moderate and severe frailty.
“When the job of Neighbourhood Lead came up in 2018 as part of the Better Care Fund, I thought, wow, this is a fantastic opportunity for me to give back and help people work together and integrate in the Skegness and Mablethorpe area,” says Kim.
Kim returned to Mablethorpe for the role and even with her prior knowledge of the local health patterns, was shocked by the frailty indicators she found. “People came with their illnesses. They didn't develop them here. People come for a better quality of life, but actually they come with huge health burdens and suddenly they’re miles away from any support mechanisms.”
Drawing on this local knowledge Kim has been able to support Lydia Rusling, Assistant Director for Economic Growth and lead officer for the Town Deals for East Lindsey District Council, in shaping plans to regenerate Mablethorpe. Together with the wider Town Deal team they are working together to overcome one of Mablethorpe’s greatest challenges by creating an asset for the wider community with the Campus for Future Living project. Kim continues, “the Towns Fund created the perfect opportunity to uplift the health outlook for the Town, and improve people’s lives.”
The Campus for Future Living is a health focal point for local partners
With a desire to improve the health and wellbeing of their local residents, the Campus for Future Living sits at the heart of Mablethorpe’s Town Investment Plan.
“The idea for the Campus for Future Living is responding directly and proactively to all the reasons why we couldn't grow Mablethorpe economically, in terms of skills and health, education and opportunity in general,” explains Lydia.
“It will include a centre that will provide a base for the development and testing of Medi-tech applications. The wider campus will support continued professional development of clinicians, with both clinical and non-clinical medical placements, strongly aligned to the new medical school at the University of Lincoln. There will be the opportunity for training and development of care entrepreneurs. The Campus for Future Living will also facilitate a self-employed ‘Care Network’ of carers, and an adjacent building will provide accommodation to support and attract trainees during their stay.”
The ambition for the Campus for Future Living is to promote job creation, self-employment opportunities and help fill vacancies for clinicians locally; while becoming a destination for health and social care training. The initiative will also engage local partners including Ageing-Better and others.
“We've been able to leverage discussions with Health Education England, the University of Lincoln, University of Nottingham and the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. It's such a range of partners that are all focused on improving lives, not just in Mablethorpe, but acting as a catalyst for change for the whole of the UK,” explains Lydia.
Connecting with communities
“The combination of the Towns Fund itself, the work to engage with the local community and our partners, and the idea for the Campus for Future Living have all combined to be an immensely strong magnet,” says Lydia. It is already leading to opportunities for academic research, funding bids and wider opportunities to pilot new ways of working based in Mablethorpe. Meanwhile, the connection to the local community is key.
Yet there are challenges to engaging communities in Mablethorpe, including low levels of digital literacy, further highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic. And a sentiment within some communities of being over-consulted, with little action ever taking place. Drawing on existing relationships built by Kim and others, the local authority and Town Deal Board have listened to the needs of local people. “At the start of 2020 we kick-started a programme of community engagement to hear from the people of Mablethorpe; some of the comments were from people who have health problems and need care. But that’s not where it ends, there are loads of young families that need a better service.” explains Lydia Rusling. The Campus for Future Living has created an opportunity to work collectively to respond to the needs of the local community.
“It's not just going to be a specialist academic learning centre. It's going to be something that can be used by the locals, with meeting rooms for local groups and where people can benefit from social activities,” concludes Kim.
Working together for healthier futures
Led by a coalition of local, regional and national partners, the development of the Campus for Future Living will position Mablethorpe as the centre of a new cluster of health and care-related jobs and businesses, drawing in the support of Nottingham Trent and Lincoln Universities. Health Education England and the National Centre for Rural Health and Care have also both committed to work with the site as a national test bed for innovation in health. The Campus for Future Living has the potential to significantly improve the lives of the citizens of Mablethorpe yet have a national influence and impact.
This story was written from conversations with Kim Barr, Neighbourhood Lead for Skegness and Coastal; and Lydia Rusling, Assistant Director for Economic Growth for East Lindsey District Council.
Mablethorpe is one of 101 places invited by the Government to develop Town Deal proposals to deliver long-term economic recovery, clean growth, jobs and prosperity as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. Mablethorpe has submitted a successful Town Investment Plan and secured a Town Deal of up to £23.9 million. Mablethopre is currently developing business cases to take forward their Town Deal proposals.