Strengthening Health through Community Action

Evidence from the MBPCC Fund

Earlier this year, the Morecambe Bay Primary Care Collaborative invested £15,000 into voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations across North Lancashire and South Cumbria. A newly published report demonstrates how investing in trusted community organisations can deliver tangible health and wellbeing benefits for local people.

Administered through a partnership between Lancaster District CVS, Cumbria CVS and the South Cumbria VCFSE Gateway, with support from the Lancashire and South Cumbria VCFSE Alliance, the fund invested in community-led activity that complements primary care and demonstrates the important contribution of the VCFSE sector to neighbourhood health. The programme also aligned with the NHS ambition of shifting support from sickness to prevention, from hospital to community, and from analogue to digital.

Nine projects were awarded funding, supporting activities including bereavement support, menopause support, falls prevention, chronic pain management, healthy lifestyles, peer support and initiatives tackling loneliness and isolation. As reported to date, funded projects directly supported 544 people, representing an investment of around £28 per person.

The report highlights a consistent theme recognised across the VCFSE sector: communities often benefit most when support is available early, locally and in non-clinical settings. Funded organisations reported improvements in wellbeing, confidence, social connection, self-management and resilience, while also strengthening relationships with primary care and other partners.

Importantly, the programme demonstrates that the VCFSE sector is not simply an additional resource to health services. It is a key partner in delivering preventative, community-based approaches that help people stay well, manage their health and remain connected within their communities.

The report concludes that small, flexible investments in trusted community organisations can generate meaningful outcomes, strengthen collaboration between health and community partners, and support the wider transformation of health and care services across Morecambe Bay.