Healthcare Management Solutions

Beloved community activist, Nancy Flanagan MBE, who transformed the healthcare and prospects of people living in Vauxhall, as well as tirelessly campaigning on social issues, celebrated her 95^th birthday surrounded by friends, former colleagues, and generations of her family at Walton Grange care home.

For more than five decades, the great-great-grandmother advocated for greater access to healthcare and supported social improvement schemes. Her advocacy began at a grassroots level, addressing issues including poor housing conditions and lack of community resources.

Nancy's first foray into community activism was inspired by her children’s inability to play outside safely. She told the Guardian newspaper in 2003: “"We lived in a tenement, and my youngest child used to go out to play. Five minutes later, he'd be back, soaked, because the tarmac was full of holes and muck. But there was nowhere else to go.”

After challenging the council’s housing manager, to no avail, she sought advice from a local school headmaster who pointed her towards the correct committee to approach. After meeting with “20 men in smart suits” she made her case, and the road was repaired just days later.

This sparked a passion for social advocacy and campaigning, always with the intent of speaking up for those who couldn’t and improving the lives of the people living in Vauxhall, one of the most deprived areas of Liverpool.

Creating a safe place for children led to her next initiative, a playgroup in her backyard, providing childcare for working families and opportunities for underprivileged children. This later evolved into a number of mother and child related initiatives, including the Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council's day nursery, the Merseyside Accredited Childcare Training and Assessment Centre (MACTAC), VNC Lifeline and Vauxhall Sure Start – all of which trace their roots back to Nancy’s commitment to improving the world around her.

However, she considers her greatest achievement to be the Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council (VNC) Millennium Resource Centre, which exists to "to relieve hardship, improve education, preserve good health, promote employment opportunities . . . in the interest of social welfare".

Her work with the VNC resulted in her becoming chairperson of Vauxhall Health Forum, where she continued the fight to improve the lives and prospects of people in the area.

One of Nancy’s frustrations was with the local doctor’s practice, where receptionists restricted access to medical care and a thick glass partition forced patients to shout their issues for the whole waiting room to hear: "They used to call me Nancy the bully, because girls would call through that they needed a doctor because they'd had an abortion," she says. "I used to get up and tell the receptionists to speak to them in private.”

Her passion led to her being heavily involved in the creation of a new style of medical practice, which was embedded within and part of the community. She led the community panel that interviewed doctors, and approved plans which made the practice a safe and confidential environment where people could receive the treatment they needed without fear of judgement. During the year-long construction phase, Nancy ensured that the doctors visited members of the community in other venues and were familiar with common issues and local resources so that they could provide a holistic offering to people, signposting them to support.

Even at the ripe age of 90, she was still involved in the VNC, though in a more informal way – making tea and toast for visitors and service users, many of whom stopped by just to chat with her about their lives and issues impacting them, seeking advice from a community figure who knew how to make things happen.

Nancy’s work has inspired others, as well as being recognised nationally and internationally. She was invited to the World Health Organisation, where she spoke passionately about the lessons she learned about the importance of patient participation in healthcare planning. In 2000, The Home Office presented her with a Millennium Active Community Award. Four years later, she received an MBE for her services to the community in the Liverpool.

During all of her efforts, the thousands of lives she transformed, all of the hours and days spent helping others, Nancy did not take a salary and contributed her time voluntarily.

Reflecting on her mother's extraordinary journey and the lessons she has imparted, Pauline Connolly, Nancy’s daughter and a continuing force in the Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council VNC, emphasised the transformative power of community activism. "My mother has shown me that you don't need to be intimidated by someone in a suit; if there is something that needs changing and doing, just get on with it – go out and make it happen.

“She has been the biggest inspiration in my life and I know she has inspired many others. There is no doubt that she has had an immeasurably positive impact on the area, and there are thousands of people who owe their quality of life to her fearless and tireless campaigning.

“My mother has dedicated her life to others. Throughout everything she has done, the problems she has dealt with and the obstacles she’s overcome, she has persisted and never taken no for an answer. We could do with more people like her, now more than ever.

“I am proud to be with her, surrounded by family, friends and former colleagues to celebrate her 95^th birthday. Her dedication to community service has been a lifelong pursuit and her legacy continues in various institutions, organisations and through all of the people she has inspired. It says a lot that even after 50 years, people still come the VNC to grab a cuppa and a slice of toast and chat away with her.”

Marina Moore, Activity Coordinator at Walton Grange care home, expressed admiration for Nancy’s indomitable spirit and the impact she has had on those around her: "Nancy's presence is a source of inspiration for everyone here, many of whom know her, or knew of her, from her activism. Her kindness, resilience, and unwavering dedication to serve others continues to this day, and we love hearing anecdotes about the various people she has taken to task over the years.”

ENDS

NEWS RELEASE: ISSUED ON BEHALF OF HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

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Notes to editors:

Healthcare Management Solutions provides care home operators, owners, banks, financiers and insolvency practitioners with management, support, monitoring, business review and quality audit for the assets they are involved with in the care home sector.

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