HW Nottingham and HW Nottinghamshire EPS campaign Ruth Rigby, Managing Director, Healthwatch Nottingham

Our Role The local consumer champion for health and social care to: Represent the voice of Nottingham citizens Gather the experiences of people who use services Use this information to provide a fuller picture of people’s experiences for commissioners, providers and regulatory bodies Act as an information hub to help people access health/care services and make informed choices

Context Pressures on our local Health and Social Care system Set to rise - increased number of people with long term conditions (LTCs) locally, greater call on resources as people age High profile system ‘failures’ Nationally - Mid Staffs (Francis Enquiry), Winterbourne View, (Keogh Review), (Berwick Review) Locally - Autumn Grange, St Andrew’s Lodge, Sherwood Forest NHS FT, Southern Cross Funding – reducing funding for social care, pressure from NHS costs

Developing our priorities By identifying priority areas based on concerns or issues raised through engagement activities – particularly with seldom heard groups - and other information received from the public By looking at the work programmes of partner organisations and gathering the views to support these activities e.g. an NCC strategic review, CCG procurement, the work of Health Scrutiny By identifying communities, such as work with specific seldom heard groups, whose views may be under-represented

Why an EPS campaign? Feedback from a member of the public Concerns from Patient Participation Groups

People have told us.….. They didn’t understand what they were signing up for There isn’t enough information available about EPS They don’t think people know enough about the pros and cons They think pharmacies might push people to sign up when it’s not the best option for them They are worried about what would happen if their nominated pharmacist is out of stock of their medication They don’t know where to go if they have a problem with EPS

What we are going to do Working with the LPC and NHS England we will: Set up a dedicated page on the Healthwatch Nottinghamshire Website Provide information for pharmacies to display Have regular articles in the LPC newsletter Issue joint press releases Use one of our regular columns in the local press to talk about EPS Send information to GPs and to PPGs

healthwatchnottingham.co.uk