As a response to the social restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Healthwatch Salford have worked together with staff and governors from the Northern Care Alliance to co-produce a good practice toolkit with the aim of helping health and wellbeing groups to move their support meetings from traditional face-to-face to online.
The ‘Virtual Support Group Toolkit’ is designed to help group organisers:
• Decide the best way for their members to meet online
• Set up the meetings and groups
• Promote the meetings with their group members
• To come up with some ‘ground rules’
• To be aware about safeguarding for their group members
• Trouble shoot when things don’t go right
The toolkit is available to download for free here.
Alex Leach, Chief Officer of Healthwatch Salford said “In partnership with the Northern Care Alliance we are pleased to published the Virtual Support Toolkit which provides guidance to groups across Salford to meet safely and effectively online. The toolkit takes into account the safeguards that are required to meet online and provides troubleshooting advice when things don’t happen as planned in this ever expanding virtual world. We hope this toolkit gives confidence to local group leaders who have unable to or been apprehensive to transfer their support groups online.”
