1. HealthWatch North Somerset
A strong voice for local people to shape and challenge how health and social care services are provided in North Somerset

2. Health & Social Care Act 2012
Abolish Local Involvement Networks (LINks)
Replaced by local HealthWatch April 2013
New body - HealthWatch England in existence from 1st October 2012

3. HealthWatch England
HealthWatch England will provide leadership, support and advice to local HealthWatch organisations.
Will gather and analyse information provided by local HealthWatch organisations and others to identify key issues and trends.

4. HealthWatch England
Through the network, HealthWatch England will make sure the voices of people who use health and social care services are heard by the Secretary of State for Health, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the NHS Commissioning Board, Monitor and every local authority in England

5. Strengthening the collective voice of patients and the public
‘National Champion Voice’
DoH- Secretary of State
NHS Commissioning Board
HealthWatch England
Care Quality Commission
Monitor
Ombudsman
‘Local Champion Voice’
Local authority
Health and wellbeing board
Local HealthWatch
Overview and Scrutiny
Local public health
Community groups, Voluntary organisations
GP Consortia
Mental health
Older people
Working age individuals
Disability groups
BME groups
Carers
…..Others
Providers

6. Local HealthWatch Represent the collective voice
Scrutinise the quality of service provision
Inform the commission decision making process
Have a seat on the Health and Well Being Board
Influence the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
Provide local evidence based information
Help people access and make choices about care

7. What will we do?
Provide information and advice to the public about accessing health and social care services and choice in relation to aspects of those services
Make the views and experiences of people known to HealthWatch England helping it to carry out its role as national champion

8. What will we do?
Make recommendations to HealthWatch England to advise the Care Quality Commission to carry out special reviews or investigations into areas of concern (or, if the circumstances justify it, go direct to the CQC with their recommendations, for example if urgent action were required by the CQC)
Promote and support the involvement of people in the monitoring, commissioning and provision of local care services

9. What will we do?
Obtain the views of people about their needs for and experience of local care services and make those views known to those involved in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of care services
Make reports and make recommendations about how those services could or should be improved

10. What will we do?
Investigate specific issues of concern to the community
Ask for information and get an answer in a specified amount of time
Be able to carry out spot-checks to see if services are working well (Enter and View)
Refer issues to the local ‘Overview and Scrutiny Committee’

11. How will it be different from North Somerset LINk?
Community Interest Company – fully independent – 12 individual Directors
We will seek to engage members through a sub structure looking at key issues
HealthWatch North Somerset will contain a User Led Organisation (ULO)

12. North Somerset HealthWatch Mission
To reach out to all sections of the community including disadvantaged and hard to reach people
To promote self awareness and responsibility in managing personal health and wellbeing
To provide opportunities to influence, question and challenge
To build on and make use of existing expertise, support and networks

13. Preparation prior to April 2013 launch
HealthWatch North Somerset will be a membership organisation
Publicity drive using new HealthWatch branding
Invite current LINk members to join new HealthWatch North Somerset
Recruit new HealthWatch North Somerset members
Establish HealthWatch North Somerset work plan priorities

14. Patient and public involvement
Earlier patient and public involvement
‘co-production’
Helping identify what services needed
Contributing to the design of services
Feeding back on how services work
Provide local evidence based information

15. Contact
HealthWatch North Somerset The Badger Centre, 3-6 Wadham Street Weston-super-Mare BS23 1JY Tel: Georgie Bigg (Chair) – Telephone: