Call for 'Enter and View' volunteers
Training places available on February 19th or March 27th
Healthwatch Dudley has the power to visit public places and communal areas in any publicly funded health or social care setting, including residential care homes, doctors, dentists and hospital waiting rooms, pharmacists and opticians.  
We are looking for a team of people with a friendly approach who are passionate about health or social care, to join our volunteer team. Your role will involve listening to the views of the public, patients, carers and relatives about their experiences and feeding them back.  
Call Melissa, Rob or Ali on 01384 267427 to find out more about attending a training day for Enter and View volunteers or email volunteer@healthwatchdudley.co.uk

Dudley Information Point Network
Has your organisation signed up?
Healthwatch Dudley has teamed up with Dudley Citizens Advice Bureaux and Dudley Council to train an army of Information Champions, to create a new network of Dudley Information Points.  The innovative network will provide signposting to health, preventative wellbeing and social care services and will point people in the right direction to find benefits or debt advice, preventing crisis situations.   
Training for Information Champions is taking place over the next few months and more than 50 people from local orgaisations and groups have already signed up.  
Find out more about the network here or contact us to get involved.

Healthwatch Dudley urgent care survey praised
Findings from research report to be included as service plans develop
In December we surveyed around 1000 people at Russells Hall Hospital Accident and Emergency and at Dudley Walk in Centre, to find out how and why people are accessing local health care services.
Our research was presented to Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) last month and we have been advised that our findings will be taken into consideration, as the new specification for urgent care services in Dudley borough develop.
Our research report (which can be downloaded here) has been praised by Dudley CCG, Dudley Council Health Scrutiny Committee and Dudley Health and Wellbeing Board and as such, our chair Pam Bradbury would like to say a personal thank you, on behalf of the Healthwatch Dudley board and staff team to our volunteers who gave up their time to take part.

Hospitals disability focus group
Share your experience of Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ahead of CQC inspection
Disability Rights UK has teamed up with local group Dudley Centre for Inclusive Living to host a focus group for people with disabilities, to share their experiences of Dudley Group of Hospitals ahead of an upcoming inspection.
The focus group will take place on Friday February 28th between 2pm & 4pm and those attending will receive a £15 thank you voucher for taking part.  Find out how to book your place here.
People with disabilities can also share their views until Sunday March 9th via this online survey. 
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be inspecting Dudley Group of Hospitals on March 25th. We are also keen to hear your views and experiences about Dudley Group of Hospitals.

Have your say about mental health services
CQC inspection of Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 
The Care Quality Commission will begin to inspect Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership Trust on Monday 24th February.  The inspection will involve a team of clinical experts and people with experience of accessing mental health services, listening to staff, patients carers and their families about their experiences.  If you would like your views to be included in the inspection and you haven't already been involved with a local listening event, we would urge you to contact the CQC or get in touch with us.

Carer involvement on acute mental health wards
Feedback wanted by Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership Trust
If you are a carer of someone who is currently an inpatient of Bushey Fields Hospital or if you are caring for someone who has previously been a patient, the Trust would like to hear from you.  They are looking to ensure that their services meet the needs of carers and would like you to complete their questionnaire, or meet staff for a one to one.  
The questionnaire can be downloaded here and emailed back to Engagement and Membership Coordinator tracy.cross@dwmh.nhs.uk Tracy can be called on 01384 324531 or for postal copies of the questionnaire.

Help assess your local hospital
PLACE volunteers needed to represent Healthwatch Dudley
Local hospitals will shortly be asked to conduct the next round of Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE).  We have been asked to nominate a new group of volunteers to join teams assessing how the hospital environment supports patients' privacy, dignity, food, cleanliness and general building maintenance.
Assessments focus entirely on the care environment and do not cover clinical care provision or how well staff are doing their jobs.  If you would like to get involved call Melissa or Ali on 01383 267427 or email volunteer@healthwatchdudley.co.uk

Relaunched local information directory
An updated version of Dudley Community Information Directory has gone live
A one stop shop for everything that's going on in Dudley borough.  Now easier to navigate and with an embedded link to the NHS Choices 'find services' widget.  We are encouraging local organisations and groups to list their services, upcoming events and activities, as this will be one of the main information tools for our new network of Dudley Information Points.  
We have been asked by Dudley Building Health Partnerships for feedback on the new look directory and would be grateful if you could complete this short online survey If you would like to print the survey and share it with others it can also be downloaded here.  Completed questionnaires should be returned to Dale Pickin, Dudley CVS, 7 Albion Street, Brierley Hill, DY5 3EE.

Improving care through community pharmacy 
Get involved with a call to action
Community pharmacies are already recognised as a key front line health service and provide an alternative to over-subscribed primary care services, particularly local GP practices.  NHS Englaind has launched an initiative to enable pharmacies to play an even stronger roll.  The Community Pharmacy Call to Action is hoping to stimulate debate in local communities to find out the best way of developing local services.  In the coming months we will contact you with how you can have your say locally but in the mean time you can find out more and download an information pack here.   We would like to feed back what people think about how community pharmacies can help to take the pressure of other health care services.  Please tell us your views.

New NHS England giant patient database
Have you received information through your letterbox?
From April, a giant database Care.data will be rolled out in England with non-identifiable records, to help aid medical research and the monitoring of performance.  Our national umbrella body Healthwatch England has called for plans to be delayed until better public consultation has taken place.  The Royal College of General Practitioners has also accused NHS England of failing to inform local people over the project but NHS England has said that the concerns about privacy are misplaced.  
The central database will enable experts to assess diseases, examine new drugs and identify infection outbreaks as well as monitoring patients care.  A proposal which is to be discussed next month could also give access to non-nhs bodies including private firms.  
We will keep you informed with progress but in the mean time look out for this leaflet from NHS England which provides more information and also gives an option to opt out of the database.  If you would like to share your views with us about this please do so here and we will ensure that they are fed back.

Age Alliance - Pledge an action!
Help to keep older people in Dudley safe in 2014
There is still time to 'pledge an action' to Age Alliance of how you can help to keep older people safe in 2014.  There are nearly 59,000 people over the age of 65 in Dudley which is 18% of the total population of the borough and Age Alliance is calling on local organisations, to think about how their work impacts on older people.  They are asking us to pledge ways in which we will make a difference in the next 12 months.  Contact jill.cloves@ageukdudley.org.uk or call 01384 354508 for more information.

Art project for carers
Dudley carers wanted for art project to mark Carers Week in June
Carers Coordinator Sharon McGlynn is looking for 12 carers to take part in an art project.  Sessions lasting for 2 hours will take place over a 4-6 week period starting on Thursday March 6th.  Contact Sharon at Dudley Council for Voluntary Services on 01384 573381, 07435 754386 or email carers@dudleycvs.org.uk for more information.

Share your experience
We want to hear about your experiences of local health or social care services
Good or bad we want to hear it all as the information you share will help to improve local services for everyone.  Complete our online experience form or give us a call on 03000 111 001 for an informal chat. 
If you know someone who you think would like to receive our news, please ask them to sign up to our mailing list here

Get in touch

Call our dedicated helpline:  03000 111 001*