1. Healthwatch Derbyshire
Tanya Nolan Engagement Officer
Parent Forum AGM

2. What is Healthwatch? Came into operation on the 1st April 2013.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 makes provision for Healthwatch.
Independent Consumer Champion.
Represent Children, Young People and Adults.
Operates locally through 148 Healthwatch across the County.
Also operates nationally through Healthwatch England.
Use this slide to do general intro to Healthwatch. Main points:
HWD came into being on the 1st April 2013, as a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
It is an INDEPENDENT consumer champion – the term Independent is important, as we hope it will inspire trust in our voice.
We represent children, young people and adults.
It has both a local and national element, with 148 Healthwatch working locally across the Country and Healthwatch England working at the national level.
Healthwatch England provides leadership, support and advice to the local Healthwatch network, but also builds a national picture of the issues that matter most to the consumers of health and social care, and ensure that this evidence is used to influence those who plan and run services at a NATIONAL Level.
Note: mention there is a Healthwatch Derby as well as Healthwatch Derbyshire.

3. Drivers for improvement …
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Winterbourne Private Hospital
Morecambe Bay NHS Trust
In the past the health and social care system had not been good at listening. That is the lesson learnt from Mid Staffs, Winterbourne View and Morecambe Bay. It is why the consumer is now being put centre stage and why Healthwatch has been created.
Systems, behaviours and cultures that have allowed these tragedies to happen, need to be challenged and reformed, and Healthwatch is an important part of that reform!!

4. What do we do?
We hear what people have to say about health and social care services: praise, criticism or ideas for improvement.
We collect individual comments and record them on our database.
We look for emerging Issues, Trends and Themes.
We make these views known to those involved in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of health and social care services.
We hold the system to account for how it processes and uses the information we provide.
Our POWER comes from the COLLECTIVE voice of the people of Derbyshire, the more people who ‘speak out’; the more we are able to ‘speak up’.
Its very simple really …. ‘We hear what people have to say about Health and Social Care services’
This can be in the form of Praise, Criticism or ideas for improvement.
We collect individual comments, which are logged on our database, allowing those single voices to link together to show emerging ISSUES, TRENDS, and THEMES.
Healthwatch is about strengthening the collective voice of patients and the public, so that service providers and commissioners listen to what they have to say and use their voice to shape, inform and influence service delivery and design.
We don’t just champion the needs of health and social care service users, we also hold the system to account for how successfully it processes and uses the information we provide.
It’s important to remember that our POWER comes from the COLLECTIVE voice of the people of Derbyshire – The more people speak out, the more we can speak up!!
The next slides take them through the journey of a comment in more detail…

5. Make sure everyone has a copy of the journey of a comment and go through it step by step.
Use this slide to talk about:
- all the different ways in which people can make a comment. – make sure everyone is aware of our speak out form, and that they have a copy.
- the fact we will signpost to appropriate agencies, such as complaints dept. or advocacy support when appropriate – you can give a brief overview here of our signposting responsibilities.
- say we also make safeguarding referrals, referrals to the CQC, or escalate concerns to HWE if we think it has national significance.
ENSURE YOU HIGHLIGHT HERE THAT COMMENTS DON’T HAVE TO COME FROM PATIENTS, OR SERVICE USERS, THEY CAN COME FROM PROFESSIONALS TOO:
- Talk about the work we are doing to examine the discharge process from hospitals to care homes, as during our work with Care Homes over the past 18 months, this has been identified as an issue that causes Care Home staff concern.
- Say that we have already highlighted these concerns with the Acute Trusts and their Commissioners, but they are asking for more information so that they can make service improvements. Hence, any information they can provide to strengthen the evidence that systems need to change would be really helpful.
- Urge them to fill in the slip that is in their packs (show slip too) if they are willing to provide this information to HWD and we will be in touch.

6. This slide re-iterates that all the comments are put onto a database, which enables HWD to look for themes, trends and issues. This in turn influences our future priorities for engagement work.
One of our engagement priorities that would be of relevance to this forum would be our Homecare Questionnaire. We have been doing an extensive piece of work around this, and have circulated in excess of 8,000 questionnaires through homecare providers, including DCC. We would welcome their support with further distribution of the questionnaires, and have copies available at this meeting. The closing date has been extended to the 1st November 2014.
On this slide it also talks about how all comments are then sent to service providers on a monthly basis, so they can use them to inform their service delivery.
Re-iterate here that this means that every comment that comes into Healthwatch does count, as they are all passed on and listened too.
You can also mention here that we don’t just send to the major service providers like Chesterfield Royal, or Derbyshire Healthcare, but also to every Care Home, GP, Dentist, etc., that we get comments for, so it is quite possible that they may get something from us in the future, or may have already done so. Remind them this can be Praise as well as Criticism.

7. This is where you need to state that service providers such as themselves and commissioners tell us how they have used this information, and this can lead to, and has led to changes to the design and delivery of services.
Sometimes we are asked for more information and if we have the contact details of the person who has made the comment we will act as a conduit between the service provider and commentator, or if consent is given we will pass on their contact details. We do try to get contact details whenever possible, but some comments are sent in anonymously.
You might want to say here that service providers are always given the chance to respond to a comment before it is circulated elsewhere.

8. Self explanatory

9. Self explanatory
You can refer to the Speak Out Report in their packs.

10. Our Statutory Powers …
We can make the views and experiences of people known to Healthwatch England to influence National policy, regulation and delivery of health and social care services.
We can make recommendations to Healthwatch England to advise the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out special reviews or investigations into areas of concern.
We can make reports and recommendations about how services could be, or should be, improved.
We can report issues to the Health Improvement and Scrutiny Committee and the Quality Surveillance Group.
We can conduct Enter and View visits to see and hear for
ourselves how services are being provided.
This slide is to state that Healthwatch does have statutory powers which means that we can ensure that the voices of patients, service users and professionals like themselves are listened too:
Remind them that ….Healthwatch Derbyshire is part of a strong network, which means that local issues can be raised at a regional and national level.
We can escalate concerns to HWE, who can advise the CQC to investigate, or they can take up the issue at a national level.
We have the power not only to report on the key issues that affect people who use services but to expect that those in control respond to us. They don’t need to agree, but they have to tell us what they are going to do to respond to our advice, and this must be done within 20 days.
I think its important to make the distinction to this forum that ……Sometimes we will give advice formally, using our powers to raise issues of concern, especially where we feel we are not getting an adequate response. This may also involve reporting concerns to the Quality Surveillance Group, or the Improvement and Scrutiny Committees of the Local Council. We also have a seat on the Health and Wellbeing Board.
But we prefer to work with service providers and commissioners on a more informal basis if possible, reaching agreement through the sharing of information and discussion around what is best for patients and the public.
Our main aim is that patients and the public are listened too and their experiences and views are taken seriously.
Of interest to the forum will also be our power to conduct an Enter and View visit… in the packs they will find a leaflet explaining our Enter and View function. Some of them may already have had an Enter and View visit.

11. Enter and View …
Seeing and hearing for ourselves how services are provided.
Views of users are collected at the point of service delivery - real time information.
It is not an inspection.
Visits are conducted by authorised representatives of Healthwatch Derbyshire, who are trained volunteers.
Lay perspective.
Visits can take place in any publicly funded health or social care service. Not possible for children’s social care services.
I think this is what they will have the most questions about, so have the leaflet available and be prepared to answer questions about this.
Ensure you get across that it isn’t an inspection, its just another way that Healthwatch can engage with service users, but in the environment that they are being cared for.
In their packs in the ‘What Good Looks Like’ Executive Summary which summarises the programme of Enter and View visits we did to 10 Care Homes in Derbyshire, looking at what good practice looks like. This summary also highlights the issue with discharge from hospital that was talked about earlier.
You could flip through the leaflet and highlight the different sections for them.

12. Our work CAMHS report Carers Discussion Paper
Children and Young People Report
Autism pathway report
Young Carers Partnership events

13. Any Questions?
When you get to this slide, just remind them again about:
The discharge issue slip that you would like them to fill in – it would be good to collect these in before you leave!
The Homecare survey that you would like their help distributing.