Healthwatch – an overview

19 August 2013 DH – Leading the nation’s health and care

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What is Healthwatch?

• Healthwatch - the new consumer champion for health and social care

• Established through the Health and Social Care Act 2012

• Local Healthwatch organisations are local consumer champions

• Healthwatch England is the national consumer champion

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The national policy framework

• Healthwatch England

• Independent committee of the CQC.

• Provide leadership and support to local Healthwatch organisations including on what good looks like.

• Gather and use information and intelligence from local Healthwatch organisations and the network – using local voice and trends to make a national influence.

• Provide information to the CQC to investigate poorly performing services - acting when there has been a poor outcome.

• Statutory advice to the Secretary of State for Health, NHS England, local authorities and regulators, including CQC itself – as statutory advice, a response must be made.

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The local Healthwatch policy framework

• Commissioned by every upper-tier local authority in England:• Independence• Balancing contractual responsibilities with influence – especially for services

provided by local authorities• Building relationships with providers and commissioners

• Covers the local authority area• All health and social care services• All ages across the life-course

• Inclusive and diverse - representing its communities• Working with other groups to ensure that all voices are heard – especially

seldom heard people and children and young people.

• Organisational model• Social enterprises – allowing freedom in structure to meet local needs – function

before form.

• Must include volunteers and lay people at all levels in the organisation, including contractors.• Tapping into all parts of the community.• Making use of people’s insights and experiences.

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Local Healthwatch organisations

Collectively:

• Help to shape the planning and delivery of all local health and social care services.

• Have membership of the health and wellbeing board to influence local commissioning.

• Monitor and scrutinise local services to bring about improvements.

For Individuals:

• Information about local health and care services.

• Help people to access and make choices about care.

• Signpost advocacy for individuals making complaints about healthcare.

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Volunteers and the voluntary and community sector

Raising the profile of Healthwatch

- need for the public to understand its role

Getting involved in Healthwatch

- realising the vision of a network of networks: understand what the voluntary and community sector in a local area already offers and making use of it as well as statutory partners

Taking part in Healthwatch

- local Healthwatch needs to champion the voice of patients and service users; the role of volunteers will be key to this (how to successfully get this connection)

Connecting with seldom heard groups

- local Healthwatch must seek to be representative of its local area; collaboration with existing VCS organisations

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Some examples

Cambridgeshire – Hunts Forum of Voluntary Organisations

Bromley – Community Links Bromley

Oldham – Voluntary Action Oldham

Wirrall – VCA Wirrall

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Funding Themes and Priorities

Theme 1: Personalisation and Choice of Care and Support

Priority 1 – no decision about me without me

Priority 2 – information for choice and control

Priority 6 – reaching out and listening

Theme 2: Delivering Better Health and Care Outcomes

Priority 6 – integration, working with and through health and wellbeing boards

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Themes and Priorities cont’d

Theme 4: Improving Long-Term Care and Support

Priority 2 – dementia

Priority 3 – community capacity and resilience

Priority 4 – coordination of services around individual needs

Theme 5: Delivering Safe and Compassionate Care

Priority 2 – innovative approaches to involving service users and communities

DH – Leading the nation’s health and care