A Community Healthy Forum (CHF for short) is a network of community/voluntary groups and individuals that comes together on a regular basis to bring together the collective health issues, knowledge and concerns of the communities of the area it covers and to present them to the local Primary Care Team, or take action on them in other ways.
The Community Health Forum aims to be a network that is inclusive and that promotes a healthy community, using all the considerable resources in a particular locality. It is a voluntary group, working alongside the Primary Care Team and the HSE, but independent of them.
Community Health Forums adopt a very wide view of what issues have an impact on individual health and may work on issues such as rural transport provision, information on local services, support to parents of teenage children, community facilities, security concerns of older people, mental health education, meals on wheels, men’s health, etc.
The CHF also sends representatives to Primary Care Team business meetings where a range of primary health care topics are discussed. The Forum aims to act as a link between the Primary Care Team and the wider community.
For information on the Community Health Forum in your area check the ‘Forums’ section of the main menu