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Sefton Local Involvement Network (LINk) are pleased to publish it's Annual Report 2010-2011. For more info on Sefton LINk, please visit www.seftonlink.org.uk
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Sefton Local Involvement Network (Sefton LINk)
Annual Report 2010-2011 Sefton LINk Chair’s Welcome Introduction from Ann Bisbrown-Lee for the Sefton LINk Annual Report 2010/2011
Sefton LINk Support is managed by Sefton Council for Voluntary Service 3rd Floor, Merseyside 3tc Centre, 16 Crosby Road North,
Waterloo, Liverpool, L22 0NY. Tel: (0151) 920 0726 Fax: (0151) 920 1036
email: [email protected] Registered Charity No. 1024546
Company Limited by Guarantee No. 2832920
Contact Details: Sefton Local Involvement Network. Postal Address: Sefton LINk. 3rd Floor, 3TC House. 16 Crosby Road North. Waterloo, Liverpool, L22 0NY Telephone: (0151) 920 0726 (extension 203) Email: [email protected] Website: www.seftonlink.org.uk Host Contact Details: The Sefton LINk Support Team, managed by Sefton CVS, supports the activities of Sefton LINk. Postal Address: Sefton LINk Support. 3rd Floor. 3TC House. 16 Crosby Rd North. Waterloo. Liverpool. L22 0NY General Email: [email protected] Ian Ross. Project Manager Telephone: (0151) 920 0726 (extension 122) Email: [email protected] Diane Blair. Outreach Officer Telephone: (0151) 920 0726 (extension 331) Mobile/Text: 07854 134118 Email: [email protected] Steven Penn. Administration and Information Officer Telephone: (0151) 920 0726 (extension 203) Mobile/Text: 07764 689297. Email: [email protected]
Contents Page Welcome by Sefton LINk Chair 1 What is Sefton LINk? 3 Structure of Sefton LINk 3 Steering Group Membership 4 Task Groups 5
- Hospital Discharge 6 - Service Quality Monitoring 11
Working with the Care Quality Commission 12 Engaging Young People 13 Communications 15
- Sefton LINk Website 15 - Sefton LINk Social Networking 17 - Sefton LINk News Blog 19
Enter and View Team 21 - Visit to Eagles Rest Care Home 23 - Visit to Elm House Care Home 25 - Visit to Southport & Formby District General
Hospital 27
Getting to know local services 28 Local work ‘Equity and Excellence’. Liberating the NHS.
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LINk Partnership Working 30 Other areas of Work 31
- Practice Based Commissioning 31 - Transforming Community Services 32
Consultations 34 Sefton LINk Support 35 Sefton LINk at a glance 36 Work with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 37 Finances 38 Information provided by Sefton LINk 39
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Welcome by Sefton LINk Chair, Ann M.K Bisbrown – Lee I am pleased to introduce this Sefton LINk Annual report 2010-2011. This past year has seen many changes and developments; nationally, regionally and locally both with the proposed evolution from LINk to HealthWatch and with our local stakeholder organisations. I would like to thank all those hard working LINk participants and our key stakeholders who have helped make a difference to Health and Adult Social Care on behalf of our local community. Early in this introduction I would like to sincerely thank Ian Ross our host project manager for all his hard work and vision in both establishing Sefton LINk and ensuring that Sefton residents had continuous input into the development of services and that working partnerships were maintained. Sefton LINk has had significant results from our work in reviewing services using our ‘Enter and View’ statutory powers and from our input into the production and review of Quality Accounts for our local NHS Trusts. Comments made are taken seriously and changes to services have resulted from suggestions and observations made. The Vice Chair, two members of Steering Group along with myself were invited to the NHS Sefton Quality awards ceremony where we presented awards and were able to learn more of the development and provision of services. As Chair of Sefton LINk, I was awarded the ‘Chief Executives Award’ on behalf of the work undertaken by LINk members. Sefton LINk has been pleased that active engagement between themselves, NHS Sefton, Liverpool Community Health Services and Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust in the Transforming Community Health Services agenda and the development of the Integrated Care Organisation has taken place and that all involved ensured that the patient voice was listened to. Networking locally, regionally and nationally has helped inform and influence our work plan which has included attending consultations on Cardio Vascular Service provision in the region and work with ‘Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on how Gynaecology services are provided.
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It has been pleasing that new members have joined Sefton LINk as both general members and those who have asked to be co-opted onto the Steering group thus enabling us to widen our community involvement and interests’ base. We are keen to continue our work to include more people into the network and make the LINk more representative. Our two Foundation Trust Governors have continued to liaise with LINks on behalf of ‘Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’ and ‘The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust’ and we thank them both for their continued work. During this period Tom Hughes our Governor at the ‘Walton Centre’ had to resign from his post and we would like to thank him for his dedication to this role. We look forward to working with Kate Taylor his successor. As we look forward to the year ahead future work with Practice Based Consortia, engagement with the Health and Wellbeing Board for Sefton and the Merseyside PCT Cluster Board all are areas were we see many opportunities for active LINk participation and key areas for working together with the NHS Trusts and Sefton Adult Social Care Directorate. As Sefton LINk evolves into Local HealthWatch we the members commit to building on the established firm foundations of Sefton LINk to establish a proactive and forward looking participatory Health Watch ensuring the Patient/Carer voice is heard and considered. Finally a huge ‘Thank You’ to Diane and Steven, without whom, the activity of Sefton LINk could not have been maintained and developed. Please continue!!
Ann M K Bisbrown-Lee Chair Sefton LINk
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What is Sefton LINk? Sefton Local Involvement Network (Sefton LINk) is a voluntary network of local people, groups and organisations who want to help improve local Health and Adult Social Care services. The LINk asks local people their views and experiences and uses its statutory powers to hold services to account. Members of Sefton LINk have the opportunity to;
Shape and influence the quality and delivery of services; Influence Health and Adult Social Care decision makers Express concerns or neglected issues; Join a range of Task Groups to look at specific areas of
concern; Attend meetings, events and presentations on behalf of the
membership; Meet like minded individuals and organisations who want to
make a real difference. Structure of Sefton LINk. Sefton LINk has a Steering Group who represent the views of the wider membership and the general public who raise issues with the LINk, make decisions and act on behalf of the wider membership. The group is responsible for ensuring the LINk works within its governance arrangements and that the LINk is responding to the needs of local people. The Steering Group is accountable to all LINk members and residents of Sefton. The Steering Group meets every 6 weeks and holds its meetings across Sefton rotating them at different venues across the borough. Meetings are also held at different times of the day to ensure that local people and general members are able to attend. The Steering Group members uphold the values of the Nolan Principles and comply fully with the Sefton Council for Voluntary Service (Sefton CVS) ‘Equality and Diversity’ policy. 8 meetings of the Steering Group were held during 2010/2011.
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The Steering group has 20 places. There are 2 categories for membership. Members can be co-opted onto the group;
10 Group/Organisation Members. 10 Individual Members.
Steering Group Membership - 2010 – 2011
Individual Members Membership
Ann Bisbrown-Lee (Chair) Individual - Elected. Arthur Roberts (Vice Chair) Individual - Elected Dr. Mike Homfray Individual - Elected Libby Kitt Individual - Elected Ken Lowe Individual - Elected Robert McCracken Individual - Co-opted Derek Thomas Individual - Co-opted Jenny Southern Individual - Co-opted
Groups/Organisations Membership George Cureton Sefton Carers Saturday Club – Elected
George Loughlin Making Space – Elected
Barrie Morgan Diabetes UK – South Sefton Diabetes
Support Group - Co-opted
Colin Smith Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust – Co-opted
Laura Wills Patient Involvement in Practice (Formby) – Co-opted
Kate Coyne The Stroke Association – Co-opted
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Sefton LINk would like to thank the following members who stepped down from their work with the Steering Group during this year;
Lynne Godfrey (Individual) Barry Higgenbottom (Individual) Kiran Sharma (Save the Children).
Sefton LINk would also like to thank the following 2 members who left their organisations at the end of March 2011 who had contributed greatly to the work of the Steering Group;
Colin Smith (Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust) George Loughlin (Making Space).
Task Groups. The following issues were identified as priorities for Sefton LINk to consider during this period. Task Groups were established to review these issues. The Task Groups consist of interested members and have a “Champion” or “Spokesperson”, usually a Steering Group member. The Task Groups meet on a regular basis and report back to the Steering Group;
Hospital Discharge for patients with Social Care Needs.
Service Quality Monitoring
Working with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Adult Social Care
Mental Health Working Group
Ambulance Service Special Interest Group.
Equality and Diversity
Engaging Young People.
Communications
Below are a number of examples from some of the groups to share with you the work of the LINk during this period.
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Hospital Discharge Task Group 2010 - 2011 The Group Sefton LINk set up a Hospital Discharge Task Group during 2009 to look at the issues raised by patients and carers across Sefton. This group represented an approach to working in a supportive way with all professionals involved in the discharge of patients. This work has been ongoing from local engagement work with patients through to work with service providers and this year has seen yet more work in this area. Aims
To ensure that all Sefton patients discharged from hospital, experience continuity of care so that they can retain independence, manage their condition and recover successfully and that adequate information and services are in place to make sure that this happens.
To ensure that all those involved in the patient and carer pathway are included in the discharge process, through participation, consultation and collaboration.
A priority to provide feedback that will allow the improvement and standardisation of discharge policies and procedures where appropriate, for example, notification to General Practitioners (GPs) of medication details.
Positive experiences are provided for the patient and Carer. National Recognition
The work of the Hospital Discharge Task group was used by the Department of Health in their Annual Report of LINks activity 2009-2010 (published 2010). It was evidenced that the work of the LINk and local NHS Trusts in reviewing the patient experience of discharge from hospital had reduced the number of delayed discharges, with an estimated
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The work of the group in improving local services was also featured in the Appendix of the HealthWatch Transition Plan.
Patient and Carer Views: Next Steps During 2010/2011 a member of the task group has been working with a number of stakeholders to draft a survey which will target local people living in Sefton who have recently been discharged with a Care Package.
Adult Social Care Management Teams from Sefton Council are helping with this work and Sefton LINk is planning to hold independent focus groups to find out what the patient and carer experience is and share these perceptions with service providers.
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Reviewing Hospital Discharge Summaries.
A major part of the Hospital Discharge Task Group’s work plan was to gather information from all General Practitioners across Sefton (commissioned by NHS Sefton) on their views and opinions of the discharge letters and information that they receive from all local hospitals. A sub group of members from the task group decided to focus on this work and drafted a letter to send to GPs and agreed the content for a survey.
Findings A report was published in July 2010. The general conclusion and consensus from General Practices across Sefton was that the quality of discharge paperwork is very poor, can be misleading and may put patients at risk. This is in part due to some NHS Trusts using photocopy paper which becomes illegible and difficult to copy. A large number of concerns were expressed about the content of the discharge letters either being incomplete, inaccurate or difficult to read. Reports are frequently too late to be of any use as the GP’s have to follow-up on medication and further investigations after being asked by the patient. Often key information is missing and it can be many weeks, sometimes never, before any paperwork is received from some consultants. When asked about best practice the majority responded that no one Trust currently has best practice that can be shared as all Trusts need to improve either; content, timing or quality. The electronic discharge summary system was introduced to Integrated Care Sefton in December 2009 and they viewed this as a success worth noting.
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The report presented the findings from the survey and was presented to the commissioners at NHS Sefton and other local NHS Trusts commissioned to provide services to Sefton residents. Further work with NHS Trusts is planned over the next 12 months. Further information on this work can be found on the Sefton LINk website www.seftonlink.org.uk Hospital Discharge Leaflets – Communication and Information Review.
Members from the Sefton LINk Hospital Discharge and Communications Task Groups attended a one-off joint event at the SING Plus Resource Centre in Seaforth, on Monday 20th September 2010 (10am-3.30pm) to review hospital discharge information provided by local NHS trusts.
Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, Mersey Care NHS Trust, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust all provided patient information leaflets and hospital discharge documents for review. Throughout the day, Sefton LINk Support also took the opportunity to demonstrate social networking tools by providing live updates and photographs from the event using Facebook and Twitter.
Recommendations were made to each individual NHS Trust. Members were able to identify some clear and useful information available to patients and carers as well as areas for improvement. Sefton LINk is working with those NHS Trusts involved in this work on the recommendations made and aim to showcase best practice and help to provide patient input and feedback in the development of information and leaflets.
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Quality, Improvement, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP).
Since November 2010, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton LINk have expressed concerns regarding QIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) Hospital Discharge Letters designed to help with delayed patient discharges at local hospitals. The concerns of the three communities were taken to the Transfer of Care Lead at the Royal Liverpool Teaching Hospital. However, on 16th February 2010, ‘The Daily Mail’ published an article entitled “Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds”.
In response to this, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton LINk produced a press release which was posted on the home page of each LINk website;
Press Release
Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds
In response to the article entitled ‘Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds’ printed by the Daily Mail, 16th February 2011 and subsequent articles relating to ‘bed-blocking’ at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In November 2010, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton Local Involvement Networks (LINks) expressed concerns in relation to the proposals to introduce both a Patient Information booklet and accompanying Discharge Letters. All three LINks outlined that whilst understanding the demand for acute beds and the aims of the Trusts in seeking to improve information available to patients on discharge, they could not endorse the Discharge Letters due to a number of concerns raised by members. These concerns included reference to legal processes which may cause distress to patients. It is worrying that despite the points highlighted through LINks to the Transfer of Care Lead at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, work seems to have continued with the introduction of the discharge letters in both Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Working together on this matter, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton LINk hope to challenge the introduction of these letters. LINks members are keen to see other means of supporting appropriate discharge from hospital pursued. This would include working closely with LINks and Patient groups to develop more patient centered approaches to this issue.
Sefton LINk is working with Knowsley LINk to monitor delayed discharges at Aintree University Hospitals NHS Trust and is working with Lancashire LINk to review this process at Southport and Ormskirk Hospitals NHS Trust. This piece of work is ongoing and will be monitored over 2011 – 2012.
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Service Quality Monitoring Task Group.
Members who work within this group read and review reports from the Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) service/ complaints from local NHS Trusts to keep an eye on problems which local patients may be facing which the LINk may want to look at further. The Task group holds a meeting every 3 months to share information. As a member of this group, members work in their own time every month to review
reports and then speak to members who are also looking at the same report to decide on the issues they think need to be considered for more attention. The steering group then authorise issues which may need to be reviewed in more depth. Over the last year Sefton LINk has been working with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to look at how both organisations can work together and share information. * The work of this task group was picked by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to be included within a ‘Learning Set’, a piece of work in which eight LINks worked locally with them to develop relationships.
*The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of healthcare and adult social care services in England. They check whether care service meet essential standards of quality and safety and also protect the interests of vulnerable people, including those whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.
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The Health and Social Care Act 2008 requires providers of all regulated services to meet government standards of quality and safety – the standards the government says anyone should expect whenever or wherever they receive care. These standards cover things like cleanliness, dignity, safety and staffing. In line with the work of the Service Quality Monitoring Group, Sefton LINk produced a template for monitoring PALS reports in relation to the CQC essential standards for quality and safety. The template lists the regulations and the outcomes and areas of care that CQC monitors, the PALS item it relates to and the results/findings.
“We have focused on our role in monitoring local services and ensuring that concerns raised by local people are recorded and share them locally to commissioners and nationally to the CQC. By aligning our findings to the ‘Essential Standards of Quality and Safety’ we can send information/intelligence to the CQC, which helps them to use it more efficiently and effectively.” (Sefton LINk)
Working with the Care
Quality Commission. (CQC)
As part of the work with the learning set this year the LINk has found meetings with the local CQC manager very beneficial and now has a regular local contact. LINk concerns and queries are addressed by the manager by email and telephone in between meetings. The LINk CQC task group will have a regular attendee from the CQC at future meetings. The compliance manager and members work together to review and evaluate information which the LINk has shared with them. This relationship has been beneficial in the work of the LINk ‘Enter and View’ visits.
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Engaging Young People.
Following the publication of the report in 2009 ‘How do young people want to be involved and engaged in having a say about Sefton Health and Adult Social Care Services’, the main outcome was the commissioning of Sefton Young Advisors to establish an effective way of engaging with young people across Sefton. Sefton Young Advisors helped the LINk to ensure that its Annual General Meeting held in 2010 had a focus on young people.
Kim Cooper, a Young Advisor from Sefton presented information to guests at the event and got them involved in an engagement exercise to get them to appreciate the challenges which face young people in different scenarios. Sefton Young Advisor’s also worked alongside Sefton LINk to create and develop a young person led advisory group, to give a young person’s perspective on Health and Adult Social Care issues in Sefton. A group of eight young people from various backgrounds came forward. The young people involved had an interest or passion in Health and Adult Social care and were interested in pursuing this area as a profession. The group met and began to look into the structure and format of the group, as well as agreeing ground rules and becoming familiar with their peers.
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It was agreed that the best way to contact members of the group would be through Facebook, and so a ‘Sefton LINks Advisory Group for Young People’ page was set up. The promotion of the group did result in a fair amount of participation and this as a positive part of this piece of work. Schools and Colleges are also going to be targeted to increase membership to this group.
The Sefton LINk Advisory Group for Young People was monitored and maintained by Sefton Young Advisers with the support and guidance of Sefton LINk Support staff.
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Communications Task Group.
The Sefton LINk Communications Task Group work to ensure a high level of communication and delivery of information between the service provider and patients. As already noted the group’s first piece of work was a joint event alongside the Sefton LINk Hospital Discharge Task Group to review patient information on hospital discharge provided by local NHS trusts.
Members of the Communications Task Group also provide a public and patient perspective on websites, posters and campaigns. Sefton LINk Support work alongside online members of the Communications Task Group to update and utilise the Sefton LINk website and social networking tools such as Facebook.
Sefton LINk Website.
The new and improved Sefton LINk website www.seftonlink.org.uk was launched in May 2010 to provide a more user-friendly and accessible online resource for Sefton LINk members. The website includes documents and information for current Sefton LINk members as well as introductory pages explaining what a Local Involvement Network (LINk) is and online membership forms for new members. Since launching, 1200 visitors have looked at the new and improved Sefton LINk website, with the most popular website page ‘What is the LINK?’ receiving over 500 ‘hits’ alone!
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The website provides visitors with links to other websites including; service providers, local organisations and contact information for Sefton LINk Support. The website also provides a range of accessibility tools such as a website translator (making the Sefton LINk website available in over 50 languages!), font size adjustments buttons and a ‘search’ option used to find specific items on the website. The Sefton LINk website is also used to host online surveys and or consultations. As well as providing a ‘Consultations’ page for members to get involved in, the website also includes online forms which can be completed before being sent directly to Sefton LINk Support.
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The website also provides web links to the Sefton LINk News Blog and various social networking pages and other online resources which are used to engage with members and partners on a larger and more accessible scale. Sefton LINk Social Networking. In addition to the website and News Blog, Sefton LINk Support also maintains a Sefton LINk profile on the online social networking website Facebook. The Sefton LINk Facebook page was set up in 2009 and is currently connected to over 1000 users. The profile is used to share information to ‘friends’ – some are Sefton LINk members and some are organisations from around the UK. The Sefton LINk Facebook is also a useful tool for communication with other Local Involvement Networks. Most information and news articles that are posted on the Sefton LINk News Blog are also posted on Facebook using the Sefton LINk profile. Event photos and live updates are also posted on Facebook and Sefton LINk Support are responsible for updating and monitoring the profile. Sefton LINk Support has also worked closely with LINk members and social networking tools. Working alongside Sefton LINk Support, members have expressed an interest in volunteering to update and monitor the Sefton LINk Facebook page (for example, posting new articles).
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The Sefton LINk Facebook profile can be found using the following link or by searching for ‘Sefton LINk’. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1662281880 Sefton LINk Support also updates and maintains a Sefton LINk Twitter account which is used to share information with members and ‘followers’. Similar to Facebook, the Sefton LINk Twitter account is used to share articles, event information and other news items. Throughout 2010-2011 Twitter was used for live updates and photos from events such as the ‘LINks to the Future’ event.
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Social Networking Policy Sefton LINk Support produced a ‘Social Networking Policy and Guidelines’ document highlighting issues of confidentiality and security when using websites such as Facebook and Twitter. The document is available to download from www.seftonlink.org.uk under ‘Policies and Procedures’.
Sefton LINk News Blog
Launched in June 2010, Sefton LINk News Blog is dedicated to providing the latest local and national news relating to Health and Adult Social Care.
The Sefton LINk News Blog (web-log) is an online tool used to display and share articles, photos, videos, surveys and much more. Separate from the Sefton LINk website, the blog offers a quick and easy way to post the latest Health and Adult Social Care news to members, partners and the general public. All news articles posted by Sefton LINk Support are sourced and referenced when made available.
All articles and media posted on the Sefton LINk News Blog are archived by date and the blog also provides statistics.
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The blog also features live, up-to-date news feeds from local and national service providers which are automatically made available on the Sefton LINk News Blog.
Using RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication), the blog is automatically updated once an article or document is posted on websites by organisations such as the care Quality Commission (CQC) or the Department of Health.
This automatic information sharing also applies to local NHS trusts such as Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS trust. This advanced feature ensures that the Sefton LINk News Blog presents information as soon as it’s published.
Sefton LINk members are invited to submit any information such as events, news, campaigns and updates to the News Blog. This invitation is also extended to local authorities and NHS Trusts.
The Sefton LINk news Blog can be found at www.seftonlink.blogspot.com
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Sefton LINk Enter and View Team
Under LINk Regulations, members have the authority to enter and view premises which provide Health or Adult Social Care services commissioned by their Local Authority or their local NHS Primary Care Trust. For Sefton LINk this is Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and NHS Sefton. All Enter and View activity is related to the LINk work plan and is conducted in accordance with LINk regulations. To comply with the regulations Sefton LINk has;
Recruited Sefton LINk members to form an ‘Enter and View’ visits team from which members will conduct visits on behalf of the Sefton LINk visits team.
Agreed a Code of Conduct, which closely follows the Code of Conduct recommended by the Department of Health.
Arranged for members who want to be part of the team to be Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked for the purpose of undertaking visits.
Arranged for members to undertake training on how to conduct visits and how to comply with vulnerable adults alerter responsibilities.
Instructed Sefton LINk Support to act as ‘Authorising Authority’ on behalf of Sefton LINk.
Once authorised, members are issued with a Sefton LINk photo ID badge for conducting visits and are invited to attend Sefton LINk Visits Team planning meetings in preparation for a visit. Members adhere to Sefton LINk ‘Visits Team Policy and Procedures’ and follow the team’s work plan in notifying the premises, conducting the visit, drafting a report and providing a copy of the report detailing findings to the premises before publishing the final report. Visits Reports are then made available to; Commissioners, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and wider. The following Sefton LINk members have been formally authorised to conduct visits on behalf of Sefton LINk in accordance with LINk regulations and in compliance with the process above;
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Sefton LINk Visits Team authorised representatives:
Ann Bisbrown-Lee Janine Clayton Sandra Halford Lionel Johnson
Libby Kitt Ken Lowe
Robert McCracken Barrie Morgan
Kate Taylor Derek Thomas
Laura Wills Gillian Taylor
Sefton LINk would like to thank the following members for their involvement with the Sefton LINk Visits Team between April 2010 and March 2011.
Sue Kearney Kiran Sharma Lynne Godfrey
From April 2010 to March 2011, Sefton LINk Visits Team successfully conducted 3 enter and view visits.
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Enter and View Visit – Eagles Rest Care Home 6th September 2010
During September 2010, members of the Sefton LINk Visits Team conducted an ‘enter and view’ visit to Eagles Rest Care Home in Southport. The visit was conducted by authorised representatives Ken Lowe and Robert McCracken. The Sefton LINk Visits Team had previously conducted a familiarisation visit to Eagles Rest Care Home when members were invited to the premises following a successful service provider’s event in 2009 organised by Sefton LINk Support. Working closely with Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and the Care Quality Commission, the Visits Team identified a number of residential and nursing homes in Sefton that the CQC had rated 1* (adequate) or 2* (good). Following the familiarisation visit and with a CQC rating of 1* (adequate), Sefton LINk Steering Group agreed that authorised representatives would conduct an ‘enter and view’ visit to Eagles Rest Care Home in Southport. On 6th September 2010, Ken Lowe and Robert McCracken successfully conducted the planned enter and view visit to Eagles Rest Care Home in Southport.
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The team reported their findings using the Sefton LINk Visits Team toolkit and made additional notes during their time at the premises. Summary of Findings. The overall impression was that it was a caring home and many residents had lived there for a number of years. The residents at Eagles Rest appeared to be clean and well cared for by the staff. It was clear to the team that both staff and residents get on very well together in a very relaxed atmosphere. The main issues that the team would raise as areas of concern from the observational visit were:
the fabric and poor upkeep of the building and toilets; poor lighting; some issues with the cleanliness of toilets and dining area; dirty and old carpets; dog hair on floor and furnishings; fire equipment tags out of date; third party and liability insurance certificate on display was
out of date; general impression of cost cutting in staff levels and
maintenance. Outcomes. Immediately following the visit, members contacted Sefton LINk Support with urgent concerns that the team had found. The team’s issues were raised with the Care Quality Commission, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. Following the visit, the Sefton LINk Visits Team adhered to the team’s work plan and provided the care home management with a draft copy of their report. With no acknowledgment of the visit or draft document, Sefton LINk Support published the final Eagles Rest Care Home Visits report. Citing the Sefton LINk Visits Team work as evidence, the Care Quality Commission conducted a follow-up visit to the premises and published their subsequent report on Eagles Rest Care Home.
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Sefton LINk have since been praised for their Enter and View work by the CQC and have been advised that further action has been taken against the care home. The Eagles Rest Care Home Visit Report is now available to download from www.seftonlink.org.uk or by contacting Sefton LINk Support.
Enter and View Visit – Elm House Care Home
9th September 2010
On 9th September 2010, Sefton LINk Visits Team authorised members; Lionel Johnson, Kiran Sharma, Sandra Halford and Laura Wills to conduct a ‘Enter and View’ visit to Elm House Care Home in Southport. Elm House Care Home had a 1* rating (adequate) by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report. Due to the size of the premises, the team agreed that 4 authorised members should conduct the visit. The team found the care home and its on-duty staff to be very co-operative and supportive of the visit and members felt the care home was delivering a good quality service to residents.
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The team submitted their comments and notes from the visit to Sefton LINk Support who produced a draft report. Despite the positive feedback and adhering to the team’s work plan, Elm house Care Home management did not respond to the draft report within the statutory 20 working day response period. The final report was published and distributed to partners and made available on the Sefton LINk website. Above: Sefton LINk members Sandra Halford and Laura Wills before the ‘Enter and View’ visit to Elm house. The Elm House Care Home Visit report is now available to download by contacting Sefton LINk Support or via www.seftonlink.org.uk
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Enter and View Visit Southport and Formby District General Hospital
1st November 2010
On Monday 1st November 2010, the Sefton LINk Visits Team conducted an Enter and View visit to Southport and Formby District General Hospital (Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust). The visit was conducted by 6 authorised representatives – Ken Lowe, Janine Clayton, Libby Kitt, Barrie Morgan, Sandra Halford and Robert McCracken. Information from Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) reports and evidence provided at 2009-2010 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust Board meetings prompted Sefton LINk to work in partnership with the Trust to visit the Southport and Formby District General Hospital site to arrange an independent Enter and View visit. Sarah Groves, Patient and Quality Experience Coordinator at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust was appointed as a contact within the Trust and Ken Lowe was selected as Sefton LINk lead. Sarah worked closely with Ken and the Sefton LINk Visits Team in organising a suitable date and time and ensuring the team were fully prepared to conduct the visit.
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The visit was conducted in two parts. Four members of the team visited wards 9a and 15b and two members were assigned to perform a snapshot review of hand gel use of people entering and leaving a further five wards. The team submitted notes and comments from the visit to Sefton LINk Support who issued a draft report to the trust. Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS trust commended Sefton LINk on the successful enter and view visit and provided an action plan in addressing issues raised in the report. The Sefton LINk ‘Enter and View’ team is in the process of monitoring the trust’s action plan and look forward to working with Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust in the future. The Visit Report is now available to download from www.seftonlink.org.uk or by contacting Sefton LINk Support. ‘Getting to know local services’. In partnership with local services two other visits were planned which were not part of the statutory ‘enter and view’ schedule.
During June 2010 members working as part of the Adult Social Care Task Group met with Mark Waterhouse and members of the Care Management Teams at Sefton Health and Social Care Directorate to help them understand how services are provided.
During November 2010, members had a tour of the facilities at Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and had the opportunity to ask questions and hear plans for services.
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Local Work: Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS.
Across England, many people volunteer and give up their time via Local Involvement Networks (LINks) to help shape local Health and Adult Social Care services. On Monday 12th July 2010, the Health Secretary published a White Paper called ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’. This paper set out the future of healthcare in England. Establishing HealthWatch. The Government announced its plans to set up an independent champion for Health and Social Care consumers called HealthWatch England. To build on the current role of LINks, LINks will evolve into Local HealthWatch. Legislation to establish HealthWatch will be introduced within the forthcoming Health and Social Care Bill. Sefton LINk felt that it was important for local people, groups and organisations to have their say about the proposals. Throughout September 2010 Sefton LINk held 3 workshops across Sefton to gather the views and opinions of the LINk membership and wider. Following the successful events held in; Bootle, Hightown and Southport, Sefton LINk published their collective response and submitted the document to the Department of Health.
Left: Members at the Sefton LINk HealthWatch workshop in Southport on 24th September 2010.
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Local Involvement Network (LINk) partnership working Local Involvement Networks and their Host Organisations across Merseyside and Cheshire have been working together as a network within a regional subgroup since 2008. This innovative network was initially developed from a need to share information and best practice as LINks emerged. Over the last year this has developed into regular networking to look at cross boundary working and other issues important to the work and development of LINks. Following the work of each LINk in engaging local people in their view on the white paper ‘ Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’, an event was organised by the network for local LINks. This event brought together both LINk members and Host support staff from Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Warrington and Wirral Local Involvement Networks (LINks). The aim of the day was to look at:- The successes of LINk
What has worked well and why?
What has not worked so well and
how we can change it?
What the future holds. The ‘LINk to the Future’ event was held on Friday 21st January 2011 at Aintree Racecourse and was funded by the North West Improvement Partnership. A total of 151 participants attended and Richard Caulfield (Chief Executive from Voluntary Sector North West) set the scene for the day as well as acting as compare for the programme.
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Workshop activity was instrumental in encouraging LINk members and other participants to network and share views and opinions. Each LINk displayed their work and gave a presentation on an area of work that was significant to them. Sefton LINk member Jenny Southern presented information on the work of the LINk in engaging young people. Roger Phillips (Radio Merseyside) presented the key achievements from each LINk.
Other Areas of work
Practice Based Commissioning The White Paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS signalled that General Practitioners (GPs) would have greater control of budgets. Practice Based Commissioning is a way of working that will give GP practices in England more control over which health services are delivered locally and how money is spent. In Sefton all GPs will be part of a consortium which will have the responsibility for commissioning local healthcare services. Over the past year Sefton LINk has continued in its work with the ‘South Sefton PBC Commissioning Confederation Board’ and in November 2010 it was agreed that Sefton LINk should have a seat on the board. Attendance at meetings by a member of Sefton LINk is defined by the role of the “Critical Friend”, which seeks:
To act as an independent LINk representative - expressing the views of patients/ local community.
To ensure patient experience is captured in the development of Health and services across primary and secondary care and Adult Social Care Services.
To ensure there is transparency and patient engagement in the commissioning process (“no decision about me without me”)
To promote the role of the LINk as a valuable asset in engaging with the local communities to gather data/evidence about patient experiences/ views about health services.
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To remain impartial at all times and promptly report to the LINk steering group/ membership and LINk Support any issues or decisions that require a response about health or social care developments.
To ensure the principles underpinning an open and transparent relationship with the Board/Committee are developed and maintained.
Sefton LINk have fed comments to the Board on their Commissioning Plan and have been working closely with members on the production of a leaflet which summarises the main points from the boards Annual Report to help the general public understand their work. “During the development of South Sefton Clinical Commissioning Group we have relied upon Sefton LINk to provide us with patient and public input to our efforts to improve the care for local residents. It is imperative for us that when we are reviewing services and making efforts to provide care that is of the best quality and as convenient as possible for patients that local clinicians work in tandem with local people. Sefton LINk has helped us to achieve this and we look forward to continuing to work with them in the future” Stephen Astles, NHS Sefton Practice Based Commissioning Programme Manager Sefton LINk has also had meeting with representatives from the Southport and Formby PBC Commissioning Consortium and looks to work with the board from September 2011.
Transforming Community Services.
From the 1st April 201, ‘Community Health Services’ in Sefton will be managed differently. Although patients won’t experience any changes to their services, in the future they can expect even higher standards of care and treatment. Community health services offer a broad range of care and are those that people often turn to first – such as emergency dental treatment, school nurses, health visitors, podiatrists, physiotherapy, diabetes clinics, stop smoking and sexual health services.
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They are transferring from the management of NHS Sefton to Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust and Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust at the end of March. In the lead up to the transfer of community services, Sefton LINk had representation of both NHS Sefton Community Health Services Contract Board and the Integrated Care Organisation (ICO) Programme Board to ensure that local people were aware of the plans and what services were involved. Following a meeting with Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust, at which the LINk highlighted concerns about the transfer of services, both the Trust and the LINk worked together to draft a poster and press release to help share information with local people. Sefton LINk was also involved in the engagement events which Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust held in March 2010 and helped to advertise them across the network and wider. “NHS Sefton congratulates Sefton LINk in its work and level of commitment to improving the experience of patients through challenge and support to providers and commissioners in our strive for quality care for the people in Sefton. In the year Sefton LINK members have played an active and positive role in NHS Sefton’s process for commissioning from attendance at key committees particularly those relating to Governance and Quality. LINK members have provided to local provider organisations including primary care with support through visits and advice aimed at improving quality of care and patient experience. Jan Snoddon, Deputy Director of Corporate Performance & Standards, NHS Sefton.
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Consultations. Sefton LINk has had an active role in ensuring that local people are aware of consultation and engagement opportunities which are held both nationally and locally. This year saw a new page being created on the website dedicated to consultations and also linking in to the local work ‘Your Sefton, Your Say’.
Knowsley, Sefton and Liverpool LINk worked together to ensure that Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust listened to local people’s concerns about changes they made to gynaecological services at the Aintree Centre for Women’s Health without consultation. Concerns were raised locally with NHS Sefton and 2 requests for information were sent to the Trust.
Sefton LINk promoted the engagement event held in Sefton on the 9th March 2010 at which Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust were held to account and were asked to look into issues raised around public transport and access to services. LINks have been undertaking patient experience work to gather information from local people about their experiences. Further work will be undertaken on this issue during the coming year.
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Sefton LINk Support. The role of Sefton LINk Support is to support the LINk in its development, promotion, recruitment and in carrying out its work plan activity. The Sefton LINk support team is
Ian Ross – Project Manager Diane Blair - Outreach Officer
Steven Penn – Administration & Information Officer
The team also welcomed Liam Blackwood (Future Jobs Fund) who provided valuable administrative support to the LINk between October and March 2011. Liam provided 2 and ½ days support and settled into the team and the work with enthusiasm. Membership. Every year Sefton LINk Support send members a copy of the Sefton CVS ‘Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form, and ask that they send this back anonymously. This year not enough forms were sent back to form any conclusions. Sefton LINk has set up an ‘Equality and Diversity’ task group to look at the issues which face Sefton LINk and look to map the membership and identify any gaps in representation.
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‘Sefton LINk at a glance’. Signed Members
433
Members engaged through Facebook /Twitter
1095
Number of formal requests for information
27
Number of formal requests for information received within 20 working days
27
Number of Enter and View Visits
3
Number of Enter and View authorised members
15
Number of Enter and View visits related to Health care
1
Number of Enter and View visits related to social care
2
Number of announced Enter and View Visits
3
Number of unannounced Enter and View Visits
0
Number of formal reports submitted
4
Number of formal reports acknowledged within the required timescale
4
Of the formal reports acknowledged how many led to service changes
1
Number of referrals made to the OSC
0
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Work with Sefton Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Health and Social Care). Sefton LINk has the power to refer issues to local Council Overview & Scrutiny Committees (OSCs). The relationship between LINks and OSCs is important within the accountability framework for Health and Adult Social Care within Sefton. The key relationship for Sefton LINk is with Sefton Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Health and Social Care) and the LINk sends a representative to the meetings held by the committee. The final report of the committees working group on Dementia was published in April 2010 during which Sefton LINk took part as a key witness in sharing information with the group. The main issues raised by the LINk included; Current figures on dementia only capture those diagnosed; Specific issues for north Sefton; Aging population of the Borough; Older people tending to retire to north of the Borough with little/no family support; Need to increase awareness & understanding; Need for early diagnosis & long-term support, particularly in early aged onset; Concerns regarding the implementation of the National Strategy; Need for training of all care staff; Need for GPs early referrals to Memory Services Homeopathy Services. On 26th January 2010, the committee received representation about the decision taken by NHS Sefton to withdraw its support for this treatment on the NHS in 2007. NHS Sefton was asked to provide an explanation including why a consultation had not been undertaken.
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Sefton LINk was contacted by the committee and provided evidence that 5 members of the public had contacted Sefton LINk who had made representations about the withdrawal of the service. Sefton LINk had already made representations to NHS Sefton about the lack of consultation. On the 25th May the committee resolved that the issue be referred to the Secretary of State for consideration. The response stated that the process for accessing homeopathy services should be kept under review and that NHS Sefton and the committee should look to a formal protocol for determining matters that are substantial services changes or variations. Finances Sefton LINk is funded by Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council (Sefton Council). Sefton Council has contracted with Sefton Council for Voluntary Service (Sefton CVS) to act as a host for Sefton LINk for a 3 year contract which commenced on 1st April 2008. April 2010 to March 2011. Year3 Total Total Staffing 91443 91489 Rent 5400 5400 Volunteer Expenses 2000 4570 Printing and Postage 2500 5375 Hire Meeting Rooms 1500 2025 Training 2500 556 Travel/Conferences 1500 1282 Management Fee 7250 7252 Contingency (carried forward) 7907 4209 122000 122158
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Information provided by Sefton LINk. This annual report refers to a number of various documents and reports. These reports, along with others that may be of interest are available from the Sefton LINk website (www.seftonlink.org.uk) or by contacting the Sefton LINk Support team who will be happy to assist in any way. Notes taken from meetings held by Sefton LINk are published in easy read and are also available from the website or by contacting Sefton LINk Support. Derek Thomas, Steering Group member wanted to make the following comment; “Sefton LINk Support plays a valuable role in involving disabled people in the work of the LINk. Without the help of Diane and Steven, I would not be able to get involved in Sefton LINk and have my say in local health and adult social care services. Due to my visual impairment, I require documents to be in a suitable format and Sefton LINk Support is always happy to help. I’m pleased that Sefton LINk recognises the importance of accessibility and involving disabled people in the organisation”. This report is available in different formats and languages. If you wish to have this report in a different format, or if you have any queries or comments on its content, then please contact the Sefton LINk Support Team who will be happy to assist.
