Copy

Welcome to 2020

Hello and welcome to our first newsletter of the new decade.


 
Inside our newsletter we have news about our upcoming committee member election. If you are interested in becoming a Committee Member, please get in touch before February 3rd.
All Healthwatch members are encouraged to vote at our Healthwatch Assembly on March 5th at St. Mary’s church in Putney, we would love to see you there.


In this newsletter we’ll also be talking about our #SpeakUp2020 Campaign, and we would love to hear from you about your health or social care priorities for the year.
 
Let’s continue to make our voices heard in 2020.

What is Healthwatch and what do we do?
  • We encourage those who design and run health and social care services to find out what you think and to involve you in improvements and changes.
  • We find out about major changes to services to make sure that the people who use them understand what's being changed and are involved.
  • We find out what you think about services by:
    • Visiting local community groups and events.
    • Visiting services and speaking to patients.
    • Hosting events, our newsletter,  website and social media pages.
  • We present your views in reports and make sure those who have the power to change things hear what you have to say.
  • Health and social care services have a legal duty to respond to our recommendations and requests for information.

HEALTHWATCH WANDSWORTH TO ELECT
FOR NEW HEALTHWATCH COMMITTEE MEMBERS IN 2020


Do you want to make a difference to health and social care services in Wandsworth? Then get involved with Healthwatch!
 
We have exciting roles opening for several committee members for Healthwatch Wandsworth.
We are looking for committee members that have a background experience in health and/or social care.
By becoming a Healthwatch Wandsworth Committee Member you will help determine the overall direction and development of the organisation through good governance and clear strategic planning.
Our committee contributes to our strategic direction within the framework of WCA’s corporate responsibility including:
  • Creating policy
  • Strategic objectives and evaluating performance
  • Risk assessment and proposing mitigation
  • Monitoring performance against targets and local HWW specification.

As a committee member you will support Healthwatch Wandsworth staff and volunteers. You’ll participate in Healthwatch Wandsworth work with them and act as ambassadors for Healthwatch Wandsworth.You will also help Healthwatch Wandsworth make sure that members of the public are given the opportunity to express their views and make a difference to local healthcare services.
The duration of the term as an elected member of the Healthwatch Committee is three years. During this time board members are expected to attend a committee meeting five times a year and you will be required to participate in email conversations in between meetings.

Healthwatch Wandsworth will be electing members of its Healthwatch Committee at a public meeting on the 5th March 2020 (venue and time to be announced).

If interested, please download the nomination form on our website and return it to us by 3rd February 2020

www.healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk
 

 

Have your say!

Vote in the membership elections for the Healthwatch Wandsworth Committee.


Man looking into camera


Committee members will play a part in in determining the overall direction and development of the organisation.

Every Healthwatch member is encouraged to vote in this election and have your say. The voting will take place at our event on 5th March, if you can't attend you can request a postal vote.

All members of Healthwatch Wandsworth are also eligible for nomination so if you or anyone you know wants to be a committee member, find out more here and get in touch.

What else might you need to know about the elections?

  • Voting will take place at our first public meeting next year, on the 5th of March 2020.

  • Completed postal votes should be requested by no later than 12 noon on the 3rd February 2020 and returned to our office by Monday 2nd March 2020. You can email enquiries@healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk to make the request or write to us.
     
  • Nominations should be returned to us by email or post by the 3rd February 2020.
     
  • Candidates will be announced in mid February 2020 via email and the Healthwatch Wandsworth website.

If you are interested in becoming a Committee Member of Healthwatch Wandsworth there is further information on our nomination form and supporting information here.

Please get in touch by email - (sarahcook@wandcareall.org.uk) in January to apply.

 

#SpeakUp2020 - What's your health or
social care priority this year?

 

Here's what people have already told us about their experiences of hospital care, mental health support and social care. Speak up now to inform our priorities for the coming year.

We want to know:
How easy do you find it to access the services and support you need?
What was your experience of care like? Could it be improved?
How was the follow up treatment you received? Did you feel fully informed and satisfied?
 

What do we know already?

Last year, three quarters of a million people engaged with Healthwatches across the country. Top concerns across the country and locally include: mental health support, hospital care and social care.
 

 

What are people’s ideas for making mental health support better?

People would like to see more opportunities for peer support so that they can hear and learn from the experiences of others with similar mental health challenges.
This could help ease the pressure on mental health services and give people the opportunity to feel supported while they experience long waits for follow-up appointments. 
Have you an experience of mental health support that NHS services could learn from?
 
What are people telling us about hospital care, including urgent and emergency care?
Transport services are just one of the areas that people would like to see improved when it comes to hospital care. Travel is a key issue, with nine out of ten people telling us that
convenient ways of getting to and from health services is important to them.
When it comes to A&E services, it’s the quality of care that matters most, not waiting times.
What do you think? Tell us about your experiences of hospital appointments or visiting A&E so that we can help services know how to improve care in your area.
 

What are people saying about social care?

Social care support for autistic children and adults covers a wide range of services, such as community care or funding support, but people have told us their experiences of accessing care can be poor. For example, it can be hard to get an assessment for support and people are left waiting for a long time for their assessment appointment, without any interim care. 
Looking more broadly at the support for an ageing population, our research shows that most adults haven’t given much thought to their future care needs and believe it will be free when they need it. More advice and information is needed so that people understand the importance of forward planning.
 
Do you have another experience that you'd like to share?
If you have an experience of a health and social care service, we want to hear about it. Don't leave your views in 2019, share them in our survey #SpeakUp2020.
Get in touch if you want to take the survey:
 
Healthwatch Wandsworth
3rd Floor Trident Business Centre, 89 Bickersteth Road
Tooting, SW17 9SH
 
 
Call: 020 8516 7767 between the hours of 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday.
Email (for general enquiries): enquiries@healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk 
Email (for information about local services) information@healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk
 
 
 
Share your views on intermediate care services

Wandsworth Council are developing an integrated model for care that promotes recovery, rehabilitation and re-ablement, to encompass physical, mental health and social care needs.

Intermediate care services are currently provided in different settings including hospitals, care homes, or at a person’s home, and may involve coordinated support from doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and more.
Intermediate care:
  • Helps people rehabilitate to recover and increase independence as far as possible after being unwell, or
  • Helps people keep well so that a problem doesn’t get worse and lead to the need for more serious help and care.
Complete our survey online
We want to hear what people who may be receiving or have previously received rehabilitation from this type of service.

Responses to this survey will be anonymised and shared with Wandsworth Council to help them and other decision-makers understand how Intermediate Care services can be improved for patients and better meet their needs.

 
Click here to take part

Healthwatch Wandsworth Assembly
March 5th


 
Our public events give local people an opportunity to hear about - and feedback on - health and social care topics that are of concern to them. We also promote local NHS and community services that people might not know much about.
This time you can help elect your local Healthwatch committee members and our agenda of the day will focus on mental health. Speakers will be confirmed closer to the day, so please check back for more details.

Everyone is welcome and it is free to attend, a light lunch will be provided.

St. Mary's Church, Putney High Street Putney, London SW15 1SN
Thursday 5th of March 2020
13:00 to 15:30

Provisional dates for the Healthwatch Assemblies in 2020 will be as follows,
subject to confirmation:
Thursday 5th of March, Thursday 21st of May,
Tuesday 29th of September & Wednesday 9th of December

Wandsworth Diabetes Patients' Group


Date and time: Tuesday 4th February 2020, 6pm - 8pm.
Location: The Church Hall of St Mary Magdalene.

The patient group are meeting for the first time in their new home.

They've changed the meeting time so that more working people can attend this meeting place for diabetes patients. 
Carers are also welcome because living with Diabetes can affect the whole family.

After this particular meeting they will meet on the first Tuesday of each month except January.  

Find out more information here.

Fast-Track Cities HIV-related stigma work




Despite all the advances in clinical care, we know that for people living with HIV life can be difficult because of stigma and discrimination. Find out how organisations are working together as a city to get London to zero HIV stigma.


London Fast-Track Cities Initiative say that HIV stigma is often based on an outdated idea about HIV and compounded by discrimination of other characteristics such as gender, sexuality, race, sex work, drug use, immigration status and more.

In order to get us to zero new infections, zero preventable deaths and 100 per cent of people living well, they say that HIV-related stigma needs to be eliminated. Clinical care and the improvements in life expectancy alone are not enough.

The London Fast-Track Cities Initiative has secured funding for the next three years to address stigma as part of its work, with an ambition to make London an HIV-friendly city by 2030.The London Fast-Track Cities Initiative propose to work in three areas:

Tackle self-stigma by empowering people living with, affected by and at higher risk of contracting HIV: They will tackle self-stigma by empowering members of the HIV community, those affected by HIV and those who are at risk of HIV to talk openly about HIV, challenge stigma where they see it and normalise HIV for what it is in the 2020s – a long-term condition where people living with the condition can live a full life, with a near normal life expectancy. This will be done through visible HIV ambassador role models and by guiding cohorts of people living with, affected by and at risk of HIV through a programme of resilience building, and other self-development topics.

Support the NHS in London to become an HIV friendly zone:including hospitals, GP practices and dentists. They will do this by creating an HIV friendly charter which specifies the training, policies and visibility required to be accredited as HIV friendly. This will include a zero-tolerance policy to discrimination and an annual review of continued commitment and adherence.
Shift the general public’s perception of what HIV is in the 2020s for people living with HIV and those around them: 

This will be done through a social movement – a strong ‘come join us’ call to action would be put out. The stigma working group are proposing creating an umbrella brand, which can act as the platform for this call to action. The stigma group sees this work being largely driven by storytelling through social media, promoting the voices of Londoners living with and affected by HIV. The aim of this work would be to normalise not sympathise and sow a strong and positive narrative about living well and stigma free.

Go-ahead for ground breaking new £150m
mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital



South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLSTG) has announced that it has secured government approval to start work on its two new state-of-the-art facilities for South West Londoners.
 
The facilities will include eight new inpatient wards which will be further boosted by the modernisation of the Trust’s community services. SWLSTG has already started construction work on this programme, which will include new housing and a 32-acre public park (the first of its kind since the 2012 London Olympics).

This huge milestone in the Trust’s Estate Modernisation Programme marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the way the SWLSTG delivers mental health services for 1.1m south west Londoners.

Over the last ten years the Trust has been working with the support of patients, carers and the local community, towards this achievement. It has successfully built the case for change to support the development of mental health facilities fit for the 21st century, and also to become a part of the community, therefore working to reduce the stigma of mental health conditions.
The plans, now formally approved, will bring forward a range of benefits to the people who use our services, their carers and the local community, including:
  • World class mental health inpatient facilities: delivering the best care for our patients 839 brand new homes:
  • providing houses for local families in Tooting
  • A 32-acre public park: providing excellent outdoor space including a gym and play areas for our local community
  • Community shops and a café: for local residents to meet and relax
  • Extensive community healthcare: treating people closer to their families and their home
  • Land to be made available for a new school: investing in our children’s future
  • More than £5million for new transport facilities: boosting transport links for local residents.
     
The Trust received government approval for its Full Business Case for the development following extensive engagement with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS Improvement, NHS England and Her Majesty’s Treasury.

Ann Beasley CBE, Chair of South West London and St. George’s Mental Health NHS Trust said:
 
This is the biggest landmark yet in our Estate Modernisation Programme and we are extremely proud of getting permission to go ahead and being able to start work on these brand-new, first class inpatient facilities. This new environment will make a huge difference to our patients and the way we provide the best quality care towards their recovery. It is incredibly important to us that we provide patients with the best environment and services possible and we are pleased to have done this primarily through raising our own funds. Furthermore, this work will ensure that the Springfield University Hospital site is regenerated in a way which reduces the stigma of mental health conditions by integrating our organisation with our community.


Hold the date 
On Monday 10 February 2020 there will be a ground-breaking ceremony event at Springfield University Hospital, 61 Glenburnie Road, London, SW17 7DJ.

To attend email estatemodernisation@swlstg.nhs.uk by 3 February 2020.

        Anything you'd like to tell us


We're keen to hear about all your experiences with health, social or mental health care services in Wandsworth, so please get in touch and tell us what you think.

We're interested in all kinds of experiences, good and bad. What you tell us really does make a difference.
 
 
Phone - 020 8516 7767
 
Follow us on facebook
Tweet us your views
Check out our website
Copyright © 2018, Healthwatch Wandsworth, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address:
Healthwatch Wandsworth, Trident Business Centre, 89 Bickersteth Road, SW17 9SH

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

For more information on how we use your data, please read our Privacy Policy.






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Healthwatch Wandsworth · Trident Business Centre – 3rd Floor · 89 Bickersteth Road · London, London SW17 9SH · United Kingdom

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp