Wandsworth Care Alliance

WCA joins Mindful Employer to champion Mental Health at work

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We’re proud to announce that Wandsworth Care Alliance has joined the Mindful Employer program, committing to support better mental health at work.

The Mindful Employer Charter, developed by Devon Partnership NHS Trust, is a national initiative supporting organisations to take a positive and practical approach to mental wellbeing in the workplace. By signing the Charter, WCA has made a public commitment to:

  • Provide non-judgemental, proactive support
  • Create an inclusive, stigma-free environment
  • Equip managers to support staff wellbeing
  • Uphold fair recruitment practices in line with the Equality Act (2010)

As a signatory, we gain access to exclusive resources, support, and the option to introduce a cost-effective Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that benefits both employees and volunteers.

This step reinforces our ongoing commitment to creating a healthy, supportive workplace culture for our team, our partners, and the wider community we serve.

Learn more about the programme here: mindfulemployer.dpt.nhs.uk

Supporting community growth: Our Roehampton and Wandsworth Care Alliance, fundraising workshop for partner organisations

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On Friday 4th April 2025, Our Roehampton, in collaboration with Wandsworth Care Alliance (WCA), held a successful fundraising workshop for local community groups. Designed to build confidence and skills in fundraising, the in-person event welcomed seven groups, including two new to the network for an engaging afternoon of practical learning, information-sharing, and networking.

Meeting the funders

The workshop began with presentations from two key funders:

  • Sarayu Shah, Community Project Officer at Groundwork London, introduced the Tesco Community Grants scheme and shared how local groups can access this funding to support community initiatives.
  • Harriet Steele, Voluntary Sector Partnership Manager at Wandsworth Council, provided an overview of the Council’s grant funding process. She acknowledged the challenges some groups have faced and encouraged early conversations with Council officers to better understand the application requirements and avoid technical rejections.

Practical skills in Grant Writing

The core of the event was a hands-on training session led by Alison Ewart, a fundraising consultant with WCA. Alison guided participants through the essentials of writing strong funding applications, including how to build realistic budgets. Her practical, interactive approach sparked insightful questions from attendees.

To support their ongoing learning, Alison later shared helpful resources, including:

  • A budget template
  • A list of small funders from the Greater London Authority
  • Ideas for community fundraising
  • A guide to financial controls for small voluntary organisations

Exploring support and building connections

Ravi Vyas, Development Manager at WCA, spoke with attendees about the tailored support WCA can offer. Many groups were not yet familiar with WCA’s services, and the conversation was a valuable opportunity to connect, share ideas, and build new relationships. Participants also enjoyed networking time with each other, helping to strengthen the wider Roehampton community network.

This workshop is a great example of how practical training, meaningful connections, and shared support can empower local groups to build capacity and create lasting impact.

Interested in more events like this? Email Ravi@wandcareall.org.uk to book onto future development workshops.

Introducing the new Wandsworth Provider Alliance

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The Wandsworth Provider Alliance is a really new initiative designed to enhance health and care services across Wandsworth through the collaboration of organisations that provide health and social care service.

What is the Wandsworth Provider Alliance and its purpose?

The Alliance is a partnership between primary care providers, NHS trusts, the local council, and community organisations. Rather than creating a new organisation, it will bring together existing providers to work more effectively across primary care, community health, mental health, and social care and it hopes to include voluntary sector providers.

How it will work?

The Alliance will operate within the South West London Integrated Care System (ICS), aligning its strategies with regional healthcare plans. It will focus on five key themes, selecting and prioritising projects that enhance collaboration and integration. It will deliver most of this work through programmes and services, supported by member organisations.

To learn more about the Wandsworth Provider Alliance please see presentation slides below which were shared at our Voluntary Sector Forum on Wednesday 2nd April 2025.

Key goals:

  • Improving health outcomes: Ensuring high-quality, patient focused care.
  • Reducing inequalities: Addressing disparities in healthcare access and service provision.
  • Enhancing efficiency: Streamlining resources and collaboration among service providers.
  • Supporting economic and social development: Ensuring that healthcare improvements contribute to broader community well-being.

What has happened so far:

  • Alignment with NHS national and local priorities for integrating care services and to improve outcomes for residents. Between October and December 2024, community-based NHS health and social care organisations came together to start to define its purpose, governance, and scope.
  • The Wandsworth Provider Alliance came into existence on 1st April 2025.
  • Wandsworth Care Alliance have so far been to the earlier meetings. On 2nd April we invited James Walker as Programme Lead to introduce the Alliance and what it hopes to achieve at the Voluntary Sector Forum so that the voluntary sector can become aware of the Alliance.

What will happen next:

Wandsworth Care Alliance will continue to contribute to the Alliance meetings to support the evolution of the Alliance and the future involvement of the voluntary sector organisations relevant to its work. Whilst we cannot represent the individual interests of other voluntary sector organisations or commit organisations to anything, we will support the evolution of the Alliance and greater involvement of the sector.

When the work plan evolves there will be a clearer picture of what is needed and which organisations this is relevant to.

Healthwatch Wandsworth Assembly recap: Accessing healthcare, changes and how to manage your health.

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We are so thankful to those who were able to attend our Healthwatch Wandsworth Assembly on the 27th of March at STORM Family Centre. We want to also say thank you again to Marie from STORM for letting us use their venue and to all the organisations who came to speak to attendees about great work they do.

The Assembly allowed for conversations around the subject of Accessing Care – changes and how to manage your health which has been a frequent and important topic of discussion we have had with residents over the last year. 

You can find the full set of presentation slides at the bottom of this page and below are some links to more information about topics covered at the Assembly.

We are also attaching some slides on potential priorities we at Healthwatch Wandsworth may focus on in 2025/2026. These are a result of conversations we have had with our members, residents, and voluntary and statutory organisations over the last 6 months.

We would love to hear from you on these emerging priorities so please feel free to give your feedback by emailing us at information@healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk

HWW 27th March 2025 Assembly Presentation SlidesDownload
HWW Emerging priorities for 2025Download

NHS RM Partners Technology and Healthcare Survey

On the subject of changes around accessing your care we’d like to share a survey being run by NHS RM Partners which is looking to understand how technology can support patients throughout their cancer journey.

Click here 

Thank you again to all those who attended and we hope to see you at our next event in the near future! You can stay up to date with our work and be informed of future events by signing up to become a Healthwatch Wandsworth member below! We’ll also publish a webpage soon with copies of presentations from the day and other bits of information you can use and share with people you know.

Click here to become a Healthwatch Wandsworth member for free

Winter Engagement Fund 2024/5

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Between September 2024 and March 2025, Wandsworth Care Alliance (WCA) have managed the Winter Engagement Fund on behalf of NHS South-West London Integrated Care Board (SWL ICB). Grants of up to £550 were awarded to community or voluntary organisations in Wandsworth to support people to stay well during the Winter. This grant was intended to fund activities and events to engage local people with information about winter topics such as: vaccinations, places to find support, using local pharmacies and the NHS App. Wandsworth organisations held a total of 60 events for the Winter Engagement Fund 2024/25. Information was shared to 703 people in 11 languages.

South West London ICS partnered with local organisations to engage 10,000 residents through 115 grants, funding 350 community activities from Oct 2024–Feb 2025. Learn more here.

Read our full report on the Winter Engagement fund here.

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