How people and organisations influence our work

How people and organisations influence our work Cathy Turland

Healthwatch Health and Social Care Act 2012 The ‘Consumer Voice’ for HSC Healthwatch must: • Gather the views and experiences of people • Make people’s views known to statutory sector (Local Authority, Hospitals, Social Care etc) • Promote and support the involvement of people in the commissioning (buying in), provision and monitoring of local services

Healthwatch • Recommend investigation or special review of services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) • Provide information about, and sign-post to, services, what used to be Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) • Making the views and experiences of people known to Healthwatch England to help it carry out its role as national champion

RedbridgeLINk • Large membership (1,700 individuals & 198 Organisations) • Diverse and actively involved communities • RedbridgeLINk to evolve into Healthwatch Redbridge • Specific projects to engage with hard to reach older and disabled people

Consultation in Redbridge • Ageing Well in Redbridge • Two recent consultations to involve people with sensory impairments

Project – Dec to May 2012 Ageing Well in Redbridge • Part of the National Ageing Well Project • Partnership between RedbridgeLINk and Redbridge’s Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board • Older people living in sheltered accommodation identified as a community with whom organisations have had little contact • Consultation has never been a strong feature of sheltered support and “…the voices of older people with high support needs are so quiet as to be practically silent or indistinguishable from the other people who speak on their behalf” Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2010

Why Sheltered Housing? • Older people living in sheltered housing are the next generation of intensive users of health and social care services • Few people living in sheltered accommodation were members of RedbridgeLINk (or other voluntary sector organisations) • We considered them to be one of the most under-represented and hard to reach groups in Redbridge

Ageing Well Project • 36 schemes • Stakeholder event • 3 pilot schemes • Health and wellbeing survey • 10 further schemes added (third of schemes visited in total) • Responses contributed to the initial Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and used in the emerging Health and Wellbeing Strategy

Some key findings 1) Local Health Care GP appointments, hospital care, discharging patients 2) Eating well Barriers included costs, access, eating alone 3) Equality Language barriers 4) Engagement 97 year old told us this was the first time anyone had spoken to her about her feelings in 10 years 5) Exercise Strong interest in doing more

6) Getting out and about Barriers: poor mobility, fear of safety, transport cost and availability 7) Information Issues about quality, relevance and accessibility. Value of face-to-face contact 8) Safety and security Concerns raised 9) Support services Anxiety at prospect of future ill-health 10) Sheltered Housing Able to enjoy high level of independence, importance of staff

Feedback “I liked the information and was happy I had an interpreter” “The event was therapeutic to me as I could explain how I feel” “The most useful thing about the event was knowing about the services available” “The session was very interesting and brought specific concerns to the fore” “This event has made me know more about life here”

Future challenges: • Keeping the initiative moving forward • Funding availability and time constraints • Training opportunities for volunteers • Can we expand the essence of this project to cover ResidentialCare and NursingHomes? • Identifying routes for engagement and feedback to HWB and other stakeholders • Ensuring feedback is two way

Involving and reaching underrepresented and hard to reach people

Report - December 2012 Seeing it our way: What people living in Redbridge with a visual impairment told us

Partnership Working • Action for Blind People • Redbridge Sensory Services • Thomas Pocklington Trust • LINk and the Community and Voluntary Sector (Redbridge Pensioners Forum, Age UK Redbridge)

Consultation • The effects of sight loss • Access to information and support • What improvements would you like to see? • How to influence decision makers

Issues highlighted: • The impact of sight loss led to withdrawal from everyday life • Barriers to independent living such as access to information (letters in small print, refusal to engage by phone, inaccessible premises) • Poor access to employment support and Access to Work funding

Positive Outcomes • Redbridge Vision – a new user led organisation • Vision Strategy for Redbridge

Report - January 2013 But can you hear us? What people living in Redbridge with a hearing impairment told us

Partnership Working Action on Hearing Loss Redbridge Sensory Services Remark! LINk and the Community and Voluntary Sector (Redbridge Pensioners Forum, Age UK Redbridge)

Consultation The effects of hearing loss Access to information and support What improvements would you like to see? How to influence decision makers

Issues highlighted: Hearing loss affects people in different ways; services need to acknowledge this: ‘One size does not fit all’ More access to technical support for hearing aid users Professionals need support too Support should not be limited to specialist services

Accessibility: lessons learned • People need to take responsibility for their access requirements • Hearing loops can be helpful but bring their own issues • Inclusion costs; budget appropriately • Make reports available in various formats • Download, plain text, LargePrint, Braille, audio

Thank You Any Questions?

How people and organisations influence our work