Improving health and wellbeing across the region – a new strategic partnership

Help & Care is delighted to announce a new strategic partnership with Wessex Health Partners, the region’s academic health science alliance dedicated to accelerating improvements in health and care through research, innovation, and training. This collaboration reflects a shared vision of improving lives through meaningful research, policy influence, and person-centred health and care.

As a well-established charity with 40 years of experience supporting people across Dorset and Southern England, Help & Care is committed to working alongside communities, organisations, and policymakers to create real, lasting change.

By joining forces with Wessex Health Partners, we aim to collectively strengthen our ability to bring people’s voices into the heart of health and care research and innovation, ensuring that services reflect real needs and aspirations.

Help & Care is the only voluntary and community sector partner of this kind within the Wessex region, reinforcing our pivotal role in shaping health and care research partnerships. This unique position elevates Help & Care as the go-to organisation for voluntary sector-led research collaborations, ensuring that community insights and lived experiences are central to policy and service development.

Through this partnership, Help & Care and Wessex Health Partners will focus on key areas of cooperation, including:

•             Co-developing research and innovation initiatives that address pressing health and care challenges within local communities.

•             Enhancing collaboration across sectors by connecting healthcare providers, universities, and community organisations to work together on shared research and innovation and foster inclusive and effective solutions.

•             Engaging and empowering communities by ensuring their experiences and voices help shape future health and wellbeing policies through involvement in research and innovation.

•             Driving policy change and influence by advocating for evidence-based improvements in health and social care services.

Kathryn Loughnan, Director of Partnerships, Research & Influence at Help & Care, highlighted the significance of this partnership, stating, “This collaboration is a major milestone for the voluntary and community sector.  Working together, we have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between research, policy, and real-life experiences. Our deep-rooted connections with communities mean we can ensure research truly reflects people’s needs and leads to meaningful improvements in health and wellbeing.”

For more information about this partnership and upcoming initiatives, please contact Kathryn Loughnan, Director of Partnerships, Research & Influence at Help & Care at marketing@helpandcare.org.uk

About the partners

Help & Care:     

Help & Care is a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting individuals and communities across Dorset and Southern England. We are committed to working alongside communities, organisations, and policymakers to create real, lasting change. Through a range of services, we strive to improve well-being, promote independence, and enhance the quality of life for all.                                                                                    
For more info visit: Help & Care

Wessex Health Partners:

Wessex Health Partners accelerates improvements in health and care through research, innovation and training for the benefit of patients and wider society.

For more info visit: Wessex Health Partners