Better connected local services could mean people across Shropshire receive more timely and joined-up support, following a new initiative designed to strengthen collaboration between organisations supporting people to live well at home.
Hosted by Radfield Home Care, in Shrewsbury, the first Living Well Network brought together around 50 professionals and leaders from across health, care, legal and community organisations.
Guest Bernie Bentick, the Mayor-elect of Shrewsbury, said: “The event showed how powerful collaboration can be when different sectors come together around a shared purpose. Events like this strengthen connections across health, care and community sectors, helping us work better together to support people to live well and stay connected at home.
"The calm, inclusive approach created meaningful connections, and it was encouraging to see a model that has the potential to be replicated more widely to support people living well at home. Partnerships in business, the care and health sectors and the voluntary sector bring maximum benefit and value for money for the people they serve and their organisation."
Designed to move away from traditional, transactional networking, the event focused on creating a more thoughtful, experience-led environment where meaningful relationships could form between organisations that often support the same individuals and families.
Attendees included organisations such as Severn Hospice, Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Shropshire Council, National Trust and local legal firms, alongside NHS representatives and senior leaders from across the wider community sector.
Four local organisations were invited to host dedicated spaces within the event - Wace Morgan, Lingen Davies, Community Resource and Severn Hospice - helping to spark conversations and raise awareness of the support available across Shropshire.
Dr Hannah MacKechnie, managing director and co-founder of Radfield Home Care, said:
“At Radfield, we see our role as more than just delivering care. It’s about bringing people together, strengthening local relationships, and helping create a more connected system of support around individuals and families.”
A core part of the event design was recognising the wellbeing of professionals themselves. Many attendees spend their working lives supporting others, often without the opportunity to pause and reflect.
To support this, the event included a creative session led by local artist Jessica Rose, alongside a dedicated wellbeing space offering mindfulness, massage and hypnotherapy. The design allowed attendees to move between calm, reflective spaces and more conversational areas, creating a natural flow between focused, individual moments and shared connection.
Hollie Bradbury, head of Live in Care at Radfield Home Care, who designed and led the event, said:
“This was designed to feel different from the moment people arrived. It was about slowing things down and creating the right environment for meaningful conversations, while also recognising the importance of wellbeing for the people delivering support every day.
"When you give people the space to connect properly, awareness grows naturally. You start to realise just how much support exists locally, and how important it is that professionals feel confident signposting to one another. That’s where more joined-up, effective support really begins.”
Radfield Home Care continues to play an active role in bringing together local organisations, supporting stronger relationships across the sector and helping people across Shropshire access more connected, confident and timely support to live well at home.
