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Shaping Local HealthWatch in Warwickshire

National Context

Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, new consumer champions for users of health and social care services will be established in April 2013, these will be known as Local HealthWatch. Local HealthWatch will replace the Local Involvement Networks (LINks) and will have some additional functions. More information about the new organisation is available in the Questions and Answers document (22Kb, pdf).

Vision as set out in the HealthWatch Transition Plan published on 29th March 2011 by the Department of Health

Statement of Intent

HealthWatch will be the independent consumer champion for the public - locally and nationally - to promote better outcomes in health for all and in social care for adults.

HealthWatch will be representative of diverse communities. It will provide intelligence - including evidence from people's views and experiences - to influence the policy, planning, commissioning and delivery of health and social care. Locally, it will also provide information and advice to help people access and make choices about services as well as access independent complaints advocacy to support people if they need help to complain about NHS services.

HealthWatch will have credibility and public trust through being responsive and acting on concerns when things go wrong, and operating effectively and efficiently.

Local context

Warwickshire currently has a Local Involvement Network (LINk) which is hosted jointly by Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA) and Age UK. Warwickshire LINk was established to:

  • give everyone a chance to say what they think about their local health and social care services - what is working well and what could be improved
  • give the people the chance to check how health and social care services are planned and run
  • feedback what people have said about services, so that things can change for the better

Warwickshire County Council has the responsibility to ensure that our area has an effective and representative Local HealthWatch and is working hard with the LINk and other key stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition. The Council has made such significant progress towards developing the new organisation that the Department of Health has given it a pathfinder status. Through the pathfinder scheme Warwickshire residents will be able to benefit from the service earlier than in other areas. Currently, Warwickshire’s arrangements are being shaped up by a Transition Team which, the DH noted, is considerably ahead of most other counties in how far it has set up processes for HealthWatch to become functional in 2012.

How can I get involved in shaping Local HealthWatch?

Over the period of 6 months in 2011 the Council has worked very closely with representatives of various stakeholders in what has been known as the HealthWatch Transition Team, but it has also been engaging at a much wider scale with various local groups, organisations, patients and the public.

We have already successfully engaged with many groups and the public through our surveys, focus groups and meetings which were organised between June and November 2011. Feedback from these activities has been summarised in the interim report (1.2Mb, pdf) and has been used to establish core principles (9Kb, pdf) of the new service.

Further update reports can be found on the web page of the Council's Adult Social Care and Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Information on current consultation activities and the project progress is also available on Warwickshire Health & Wellbeing Blog.

How at present can I get involved in shaping local care services?

Warwickshire LINk welcomes your views and experiences of health and social care services in Warwickshire. Although the network will cease to exist in April 2013, the outcomes and learning from its activities will be incorporated into Local HealthWatch. To find out more about how to get involved, or how to become a LINk member, go to Warwickshire LINk website.