North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership would like to know “what matters to you when it comes to keeping well in your community?”.

They are asking the question as part of a national ‘What Matters to You’ day on Thursday, June 6.

Throughout the week, staff are being asked to engage with the people they support or care for to find out what matters to them and what their needs are.

The results will actively change how things are done within North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership.

Brian Johnston, 47, has been a service user at Kilwinning’s Dirrans Centre rehabilitation unit since suffering a stroke in 2017.

Brian said: “What matters to me most is getting back to the best I can be with my health and building the confidence to get out there and see what I can achieve. “I feel very supported by staff at the centre, who have taken an interest in my life and encourage me to take part in activities which they know I will enjoy.

“Without that personal support I might not be as active as I am now and my recovery might have been slower. “You can either move forward or stay the same, and I’d rather move forward.”

Brian’s journey back to health has seen him take on KA Leisure Walk Leader training. He also supports individuals in the staff-led rehabilitation walking group in the afternoon.

Dirrans Centre assistant, Susan Finnigan, said: “Brian’s walk leader training was a good opportunity where we were able to take something that he was already doing and enjoying and progress it into something further.”

If you’d like to tell the Partnership What Matters to You?, you can speak to the Community Link Worker in your local GP surgery.

Libraries and GP surgeries will have feedback boxes, or you can email whatmatterstoyou@ north-ayrshire.gov.uk