Year one
Newsletter
HEALTHWATCH NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE, ONE YEAR ON. Year One Newsletter It is now one year on since Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire was set up. It is therefore a good time to take stock of what we have achieved so far and to set out some of our plans for the year ahead.
CONTENT
Page 1
A comment from our Chair
Page 2
Healthwatch NEL One Year on
Our role and purpose.
Page 3
Our work—gathering and representing your views at national level.
Page 4
Our office base Our volunteers
Page 5
Looking Ahead Complaints
Page 6
Our partnerships Our work—keeping you informed
Page 7
Contact the team Meet the board
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
A comment from our Chair Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire (HWNEL) is now one year old. As a relatively new organisation it is probably worth reminding ourselves of what we are here for: `Healthwatch is the new independent consumer champion created to gather and represent the views of the public. Healthwatch will play a role at both national and local level and will make sure that the views of the public and people who use services are taken into account.’ One of the main priorities this year has been to make sure that people know about us and that they understand our 'independence'. I hope that message is becoming more clear so that anyone can be confident in coming to us with their views and concerns about local services. It has been a busy year establishing our team, our services and our efforts to represent the views of the people across the borough on a multitude of issues. We have started to record what people think about services in NEL - what people tell us is good about local health and social care services, and what is not so good. Healthwatch NEL has completed its first survey on peoples' views of local services, and soon our programme of 'Enter and View' will start to tell us more about your experiences as our team of volunteers begin to visit the places people tell us about, but we need to keep up the conversation. Your information could be that vital 'early warning' for services which are not as good as they should be, and together we can do something about it, earlier rather than later. There is much that we can do to help the voice of people in North East Lincolnshire to get improvement and the best from local health and social care services. I want to thank those patients, carers, service users and members of the public who have already come forward to work with us, either as volunteers or to give us their concerns and views about their experience of local services. You are the ones helping to make a difference for us all - thank you. We look forward to working with you all in the coming year to make sure your voice is heard by those who need to hear it.
1
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire – One Year on Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire – HWNEL – is now one year old! We hope that everyone in North East Lincolnshire now knows more about us, and as it’s our first birthday, it’s time to take stock of what we have achieved in our first year and let you know about some of our plans for the year ahead.
Our role and purpose As a fairly new organisation it is probably worth reminding ourselves of what we are here for: Healthwatch is the new independent consumer champion created to gather and represent the views of the public. Healthwatch will play a role at both national and local level and will make sure that the views of the public and people who use services are taken into account. Heathwatch is essentially here to listens to and act on behalf of local patients, care service users and their families. Since our launch in June 2013 we have held regular ‘stands’ at Grimsby Central Library, Cleethorpes Library and Diana Princess of Wales Hospital. These regular stands allow any member of the public to easily get in touch with us to discuss any experiences or concerns about local services. Our public stands will continue as part of our work to listen to the patients and public across North East Lincolnshire, and will be added to in 2014/15 when we get out to places which make it easier for those of you who need to speak with us.
Come along and talk to us about your experience of local health care services.
Tell us if there are other places you would like to meet with us.
2
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Our work - gathering and representing your views at national level We record all issues and concerns so that we can make sure we represent whatever you tell us, in confidence if necessary, to those who need to hear it and who can make a difference to the standard of local services. If the information we receive looks to be serious or reported by more people, we also pass on your information and concerns to Healthwatch England, the Care Quality Commission, NHS England, or the main local commissioners (North East Lincolnshire Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group) for their information or advice. Already we have referred concerns about the future of the local Walk-in GP, problems about care at one residential care home and about waiting times at a particular medical centre. It is really important that we can use your information as an ‘early warning’ if things aren’t right with your services so do get in touch and tell us about it so that we can take action sooner, rather than later
Our work - gathering and representing your views at local level HWNEL is taking every opportunity to find out and listen to the views of local people and since January 2014, the Executive Board meetings are held in public and include time for members of the public to raise issues and speak with the board. Make sure you come along to a board meeting to speak with us and tell us your views and we will tell you what we have done about your concern From November last year HWNEL carried out a survey to find out more about people’s experiences of local health and social care services. This told us what the key concerns were and how best HWNEL could help with those concerns. The survey report is now available as a publication and HWNEL will be following up on the issues highlighted from that report in the coming year.
3
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Our office base Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire moved into offices in the Foresight building in Newmarket Street in early April 2013, and we thank Foresight for continuing to support us by making office space available to us. The new Foresight building on the opposite side of Newmarket Street is almost ready and we look forward to moving into new and larger offices, with a front on Freeman Street in the very near future. This will help us to open our doors to even more people who want to speak to us as we plan to have more volunteers manning the desk and phones, waiting to hear from you all about your experiences with local health and care services. Look out for our new address and contact details.
Our volunteers The chair and board were appointed towards the end of 2013 and you can meet and speak with them at our regular board meetings. Our next series of board meetings are 18 June 2014 (Annual General Meeting at Tukes, Brighowgate, Grimsby) and then in September, November, January and March. Come along to hear about what we are doing and tell us about your experiences Tell us if you would like us to have our board meeting near you. One of the areas the board needs help with is making sure the actual voice of children and young people is able to be heard and so we are recruiting to make sure their voice is heard effectively in our work. As Robin Barr unfortunately had to tender his resignation we are also recruiting to the board. As our main function is to listen to your views and use that evidence to make a difference to local services, local volunteers are essential to help us to see, hear and experience what local services are like and Healthwatch has been recruiting volunteers to take up roles with us. So far we have recruited a team of ‘Enter and View’ volunteers and ….. but there is always rooms for more. Anonymous Find out about volunteering on our website: Healthwatch Volunteer www.healthwatchnortheastlincolnshire.co.uk Get in touch with us – we will help you with your application too Valid until: 31st December 2014 Signature: ………………………………………………………………………… Address: Foresight, 60 Newmarket Street, Grimsby, N.E. Lincolnshire, DN32 7SF Telephone: 01472 269 666 Email: healthwatchnel@nbforum.org.uk
4
If you can offer even just a little time, do get in touch and volunteer with us – your time is valuable and will help us to improve local services for us all.
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Looking Ahead The year ahead is exciting for a number of reasons: We will be moving into our new shop front premises in the former Rayners building on Freeman Street very shortly. The Independent Complaints Advocate (ICA) will be sharing that office to help make us more joined up. This will make us more visible and accessible and we will have more office space. Why not drop in and see us there? We will be starting our programme of Enter and View visits into local health and social care premises. We will be undertaking our first formal review which will be about GP appointment waiting times. We will grow our number of active volunteers through events like our welcome and information event at The Grimsby Institute held on 24 April 2014. We will continue to promote Healthwatch at both regular and special events. We have now purchased a sided gazebo for outdoor events and it will be `baptised’ at the Fun Day at People’s Park on 3 May (come and join us between 11 a.m. and 3.00 p.m.). We will be launching a new Partner Programme to encourage local voluntary and community sector organisations to work together with us on your concerns.
service you should make sure that the service knows so that it can get it right next time. The complaints system is not an easy one to use and this is now being taken up at national level – it needs to be simpler and people need to feel confident about making a complaint in the interests of helping service improve and saving others from poor quality services. As we move into our new premises The Independent Complaints Advocate (ICA) will be sharing that office to help make us more joined up in the services we offer, and provide increased access for anyone who needs support in taking up a complaint with local services. ICA will provide support for anyone who needs it in making a complaint about an NHS or Adults Social Care service. Don’t be shy about complaining about poor quality services – it is the best way that you can help to get poor quality services to improve. We can help or you can be referred to ICA to support you in making your complaint So whilst there have been lots of highlights for HWNEL in the past year we want to keep making a difference by making sure that local people have a clear say in what happens with local health and social care provision. We can only do this with your help so looking ahead to our next year:
We look forward to hearing from you and working on We want to grow our numbers of volunteers so that your behalf in the year ahead. we have lots of eyes and ears across NEL, telling us Complaints about your local services – how good they are, or Few people actually go on to make a formal how much they need to improve. complaint because they don’t think it will make any difference, or they are afraid that they will be treated We also want to work as ‘complainers’ by services, yet making a complaint more closely with other voluntary groups and is one of the best ways to get an organisation to organisations so that we take notice of your concern and have to do make the most of our something about it. It is one of the best ways for organisations to learn of what went wrong and how collective resources to get the strongest to put it right. evidence we can to get the improvements you If we don’t complain, then we leave the service need in your local thinking that there is no problem and the quality of service remains poor. If things are not right with your services.
5
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Our partnerships Although the Board for HWNEL was not completed until December 2013, the team began to build on the successes of the previous LINK partnership, as well as making sure that local council and those responsible for health and care services got to know about us so that we could all play our part in improving local services. We have been able to promote our work, as well as listen to the views and experiences at several events across the area, and once our board were in place towards the end of December last year, HWNEL held a public launch, as part of an ‘Open Day’ which was kindly opened by the Mayor of North East Lincolnshire, Coun. Peggy Elliott, and attended by over 50 people. HWNEL is also involved in various working groups so that we can pick up on issues of concern on your behalf, as well as helping to improve services through feeding back information you give us. This next year HWNEL plans to take forward work which makes sure that we listen and hear from those of you who may not already be giving your views and experiences of local services, so that we can take up and champion your concerns too. Let us have your feedback on local services – we need to know from you if you are happy with local services or whether you have any complaints: we can help
Our work - keeping you informed To keep you informed, we produce and circulate information and newsletters, distributed mostly by email, but paper copies of the newsletter are available if requested. We want to make sure that you know about important issues and because providing information and signposting is one of our key functions, during the next year HWNEL will be looking promote our work through regular stands at local venues and events. We particularly want to make sure that we seek out the views of people whose voice is seldom heard and who are therefore at a disadvantage. Don’t forget our website. More people are going to our website for information, and also our ‘twitter’ account (@healthwatchNEL) to keep you up to date on what is happening in health and social care in NEL and beyond.
6
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Contact The Team
Paul Glazebrook
Karry Stones
Tayo Davenport
Partnership Co-ordinator
Research & Information
Project Support Officer
paul@nbforum.org.uk
karry@nbforum.org.uk
tayo@nbforum.org.uk
Malcolm Morland
Esther Smith
Meet The Board
Kathleen Young Chair
Sam O’Brien
7
Yvonne Clarke
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire Year One Newsletter.
Healthwatch North East Lincolnshire 2014 Foresight, 60 Newmarket Street, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN32 7SF