Local Healthwatch – an introduction

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy – ERN EventDr Tom Nutt, Chief Executive Officer 17th September 2013

A vision for Healthwatch Essex

an independent voice for the people of Essex, helping to shape and improve local health and

social care services

Or, in a nutshell….

Taking grass-roots views and lived experiences and translating them into

something meaningful for the commissioners and providers of health and

social care

Healthwatch Essex – the story so far • A requirement of the Health and Social Care Act,

2012

• A long line from Community Health Councils, Patient Forums and the LINk

• Statutory powers and responsibilities from 1st April 2013

• Healthwatch Essex Pathfinder – created in February 2012

• Essex County Council – Cabinet decision to create and grant fund Healthwatch Essex – a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity, October 2012

• Healthwatch Essex Ltd incorporated, January 2013

The legislation

• promote and support the involvement of people in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of local care services

• obtaining the views of people about their needs for, and their experiences of, local care services

• make reports and recommendations about how local care services could or ought to be improved, to persons responsible for commissioning, providing, managing or scrutinising local care services

Why Healthwatch?

‘People do not know how to share views, but they’ve certainly got views. There’s a whole group of people not being listened to’

Focus group attendee, cited in ‘User engagement research’ (ecdp), conducted on behalf of Healthwatch

Essex, 2012

A new landscape of health and social care

• Five CCGs• NHS England– an Essex-wide Local Area

Team• Essex Health and Wellbeing Board• Twelve district Health and Wellbeing Boards• Five acute hospital trusts• Two mental health partnership trusts• ECC Adult and Children’s Social Care• Health Education East of England• East of England Ambulance Trust• CQC/Monitor• 10,000 voluntary organisations• Community providers• and so on…

A new way of working

• Focus on voice and lived experience

• Promoting the benefits of engagement, involvement and co-production

• A network of trained volunteers

• Research and public engagement

 

A new way of working (cont)

• Collaboration and partnership

• Sharing of information across the system - intelligence, complaints etc.

• Strategic priorities: the ‘gaps’ in the system - cross-cutting issues and the seldom heard (the ‘peaks and troughs’ model)

• Impact: do less, but do it better

 

How can CSP members get involved?• Collaboration between CSP, CSP

members and local Healthwatch• Research and public engagement• Sharing of intelligence• Signposting and information

• Get involved…!• Voice Network• Share your stories...• Strategic Ambassadors• Community Ambassadors• Research Ambassadors

Five Public Involvement Projects• Identifying and reducing barriers to screening and

NHS health checks, and, in particular, an accessible abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme.

• Understanding young people’s experience of sexual health services and sex education, to improve appropriateness and accessibility.

• Understanding user experience of maternity

services, to improve county-wide commissioning and delivery.

• Understanding the experience and choices of those dealing with the impact of dementia.

• Mechanisms to bring user/citizen input into the JSNA, which would support the development of Healthwatch working structures.

Get in touch!

enquiries@healthwatchessex.org.uk

www.healthwatchessex.org.uk

@HWEssex

www.facebook.com/healthwatchessex

Determining priorities: peaks and troughs

CCG - eg patient ref-erence groups

Seldom heard or marginal groups - eg

travellers

ECC - eg Planning Groups

Self-help groups, community groups

Older people - eg Age UK Essex

Where do we all fit in? The 50-50-50-50-50 problemWho should be responsible for collecting your views and lived experiences?

Officers from Essex County Council

56%

Health system managers 59%

People who work for VCS organisations

52%

Other users/patients 59%

Healthwatch 56%

Independent consultants 19%

Survey data, cited in ‘User engagement research’ (ecdp), conducted on behalf of Healthwatch Essex, 2012

A future work programme for Healthwatch

• Pre-programmed strategic work •(i.e. where Healthwatch Essex or, say, Health & Wellbeing Board, have identified priorities in advance)

• ‘Bottom up’ work •(i.e. reactive work, led by grass-roots intelligence/information gathering and/or emerging issues)

• Commissioned work• (i.e. where others (statutory/VCS) approach us to conduct/assist with voice/engagement work)