Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
tiered system is designed to create a more integrated and community-based delivery
system based on the problems of various areas, conforming to the goals of greater
choice, access, fairness and convenience in a national white paper (DS 2006). Also
some of the centres provided a new set of jobs within areas that previously had few
medical facilities. The second and third levels of Treatment Centres made access
to public transport a major location principle, showing the need to cater for people
without cars, while the addition of these new, more local units was designed reduce
the growing pressure on the emergency wards of major hospitals.
Liverpool also showed the way in which more effective public involvement in
hospital re-planning can occur, as seen in the case of Alder Hey Children's Hospital
in the West Darby suburb, which treats over 200,000 patients each year, many from
other Primary Trusts outside Liverpool (Freeman
2006
). Additional new hospital
buildings were built and the adjacent decaying and unsafe Springfield Park was
rejuvenated—with walking trails, sports pitches and greater surveillance to improve
safety—in addition to creating better connections for pedestrians and cyclists to sur-
rounding houses and retail facilities to the south. The design and location of the new
buildings, both their interior and exterior plans, were discussed in public meetings,
with local citizens providing ideas and modifications of initial ideas, which led to a
feeling of positive involvement with the site's redevelopment. Determined efforts
were also made to ensure the project would be more sustainable, such as in building
construction, energy use and creating links with local transport facilities. Moreover,
instead of the hospital being simply a place of 'care and cure', the hospital trained
its staff to help patients and their parents adopt a healthier diet and life-style, pro-
viding greater health promotion in an area where premature deaths and disability
due to poor life-style choices is far too high (Otgaar et al. 2009, pp. 49-51). These
examples show how public engagement moved from the top-down, information-
imparting style, to one of genuine attempts to find out the major problems that
concerned patients and the public, but also to involve the local residents, as well
as experts in various aspects of health care, design and accessibility, in a genuine
interactive process of consultation and engagement.
In a more social context there is also evidence of increasing interest in develop-
ing local community interactions. For example, in Helsinki the city developed a
series of 'neighbourhood houses' staffed by a core of city coordinators, but also by
many volunteers. They organize physical and social activities, primarily, but not ex-
clusively, for young people to provide them with new opportunities, such as sports,
and in doing so guide them away from anti-social activities (Lafond et al.
2003
). In
some ways these 'houses', managed by the Health and Safe City Advisory Com-
mittee in the city, provide a contemporary version of older community associations
found in many western Canadian cities that arose spontaneously (Davies and Town-
shend
1994
). However in these cases there was no anti-crime agenda as in Finland;
most started with sports activities for children but added additional social functions
for adults, or various youth clubs, and often generated funds to build their own com-
munity hall with help from city and provincial grants. Historically, of course, even
older community-based social centres and youth clubs were created by churches,
where parish halls provided places for local interaction and facilities. However, the
