Healthwatch in the East Midlands

1

• Healthwatch in the East Midlands
• The role for the authority and frontline
  councillor
• Ged Taylor
• East Midlands Programme Director
• Health Transitions

2
Topics covered

• Role of Healthwatch
• Fit with health reforms
• Transition from LINk
• Role of councils
• Role of councillors

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What is Healthwatch?

• Healthwatch will be new consumer champion for
  health and social care
• Exist in 2 forms
• Local Healthwatch ( x 152)
• Healthwatch England
• Local Healthwatch established April 2013
• Healthwatch England established October 12-
  statutory committee of Care Quality Commission
  funded by Dept Health

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What is Healthwatch?

• Local Healthwatch will
• Have a seat on Health Wellbeing Boards
• Enable local people to share views concerns
  about local health and social care services
• Provide signpost people to information about
  health and social care services how to access
• Provide evidenced feedback to commissioners of
  health and social care services
• Advise and support individuals when something
  goes wrong support complaints

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What is Healthwatch?

• Local Healthwatch will
• Carry forward existing functions of LINk
• Have additional powers including advice
  information about access to choices advocacy
• Be independent, commissioned by the local
  authority with statutory functions
• Be a social enterprise
• Be inclusive and reflect the diversity of the
  local community it serves

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What is Healthwatch?

• Healthwatch England
• Provide leadership, guidance support to local
  Healthwatch organisations
• Receive alerts concerns about services from
  local Healthwatch organisations
• Provide advice to Secretary of State, NHS
  Commissioning Board, Monitor local authorities

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Local Authority Responsibilities

• Local Healthwatch will be funded by local
  authorities LAs receive non ring-fenced funds
• LAs will commission a local Healthwatch in their
  area - flexibility as to how they commission
• Will need to work with existing LINks to manage
  transition to new organisations
• Will evaluate and monitor local Healthwatch
  performance
• Provide an advocacy service for people making
  complaints about NHS services (ICAS)

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Role of councillors

• Health Overview Scrutiny to remain as is
• OS can scrutinise commissioning of HW
• HW can ask for information from councils
• HW can inspect LA social care services
• OS provides bridge between LINk HW
• Can open doors for Healthwatch
• Joint OSs for wider service reviews

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Role of councillors

• Scrutiny at County and District level
• a layered approach
• County Executive (Clinical Commissioning Groups
  Health and Wellbeing Boards) Scrutiny (OS)
• District Health Wellbeing Board members,
  scrutiny, local issues, wider determinants of
  health, prevention, services contributing to
  health wellbeing