Engaging local communities in resilience building using a mobile skills unit

Introduction: Building resilience in remote and rural communities requires input from local individuals and groups and can benefit from an external catalyst. The evaluation of the Mobile Skills Unit (MSU) has demonstrated its potential role in enhancing communities' resilience. There are six characteristics of a safe and resilient community. A safe and resilient community:
is knowledgeable and healthy
is organised
is connected
has infrastructure and services
has economic opportunities
can manage its natural assets
The MSU Short Life Working Group (SLWG) for NHS Education for Scotland identified a series of recommendations for future design and innovation particularly in relation to staffing and faculty development through engaging local communities in solution finding. This may help address the current healthcare workforce shortage in remote and rural Scotland.
Learning outcomes: At the end of the workshop participants will have:
Reviewed the MSU SLWG recommendations in relation to the six characteristics of resilience
Shared own personal and professional examples of engaging local communities
Explored potential solutions for building resilience in local communities in relation to health and social care skills
Output: This interactive workshop will recommend steps to engage local communities in designing a resilience model for health and social care using the MSU.

This abstract was presented at the Innovative Solutions in Remote Healthcare - 'Rethinking Remote' conference, 23-24 May 2016, Inverness, Scotland.