A new project seeking to create a citizen-led picture of Sheffield’s neighbourhoods is looking for people to help map the city.
Sheffield based organisation Citizen Network Research and NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board have teamed up to create an interactive map which allows people to chart their communities and produce a defined picture of the city’s boundaries.
Local mapping expert Tom French – one of the founders of the project – believes the benefits will be wide-reaching.
He said: “Council wards have been one way of mapping areas and collecting data to inform service delivery, but when people don’t identify with that area they may not engage with the services they need. In theory if you create more definitive boundaries they can get better services.”
In particular there is a focus on improving healthcare services in the city’s neighbourhoods, as better defined boundaries will enable more meaningful healthcare to be delivered to communities.
Mr French said: “We need to ask how people can deliver healthcare with neighbourhoods to improve their lives, so by creating this map everyone can have goals to contribute to neighbourhood models of healthcare.”
As the NHS looks for better ways to deliver healthcare to people in Sheffield, focus has shifted to social prescribing, a form of healthcare that places greater emphasis on community based remedies.
Social prescribing is a means of enabling health professionals to refer people to a range of local, non-clinical services, which often include volunteering, sports, or arts activities. This form of holistic treatment can take pressure off the NHS and encourage community-driven solutions to improve the health of its residents.
An NHS study of social prescribing in Rotherham over a two year period between 2012-2014 found that 83% of patients experienced a positive change in their lives, while also providing a significant benefit to the NHS as inpatient admissions reduced by 21%.
By creating a fully accurate map of Sheffield’s neighbourhoods and their boundaries, it is hoped that greater citizen-led action can flourish, enabling better healthcare, community spirit, and connectivity.
Going forward, Citizen Network will be hosting in-person mapping events for those who may not have internet access or be fully computer literate, but if you would like to help build the map now you can visit https://citizen-network.org/news/mapping-sheffields-neighbourhoods.
