Our Annual Plan
Powys Community Health Council
Annual Plan 2021-2022
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 1
Community Health Councils (CHCs) are the independent voice of people in Wales who use NHS services.
We are made up of local volunteers who act as the eyes and ears of patients and the public.
There are 7 CHCs covering different parts of Wales.
PowysPowys CHC CHC Annu Annualal Plan Plan 2021 2021-2022-2022 2 2 This document is available in Welsh.
An electronic copy of this document can be found on our website: www.powyschc.wales
If you would like this publication in an alternative format and/or language, please contact us:
Powys Community Health Council Neuadd Brycheiniog Cambrian Way Brecon Powys LD3 7HR
Tel: 01874 624206
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @powys_chc
Website: www.powyschc.wales
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 3
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 4
Contents
Chair’s introduction ...... 6 About your Community Health Council ...... 9 Making a difference through our activities ...... 14 Deciding what we do and how to do it ...... 16 Key themes and priorities across Powys ...... 17 All Wales key priorities (undertaken by all CHCs in Wales) ...... 25 Responding to issues as they arise ...... 26 How can you get your voice heard or become involved ...... 27 How to contact us ...... 27 Appendix 1 – Full Council Membership ...... 30 Appendix 2 – CHC support staff ...... 31 Appendix 3 – Finance ...... 32
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 5
[insert content]
Chair’s introduction
I am very pleased to introduce the Powys Community Health Council Operational Plan which sets out our organisational priorities for 2021/22.
Reflecting on my Introduction to the 2020/21 Plan, who could have known that a short while later the world would have been thrown into the biggest pandemic in over one hundred years?
It would be tempting to not make reference to Covid-19 but sadly the impact it has had on so many lives - and on the work of Powys CHC - requires me to do so.
The pressure on Health and Social Care services across Wales has increased tremendously in the past twelve months as they battle in response to the pandemic. Difficult challenges lie ahead.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 6
The work of Powys CHC - which has been maintained, albeit in different ways – continues to be of great importance. In spite of Covid-19 we have managed to continue to obtain the views of patients and the public about the health services they receive.
This has been achieved by working nimbly - using local contacts, social media, the
Internet, and employing digital platforms to hold our Executive, Local Committee and
Full Council meetings in public. Perhaps the most important way we have kept in contact is via our own Members and staff listening to and garnering peoples opinions and concerns. These views, together information we have learnt from other partners, have shaped this Plan for 2021/22.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 7
Our strategy is ambitious and is targeted at responding to a number of priority areas as set out in Pages 21/22 of this document. Our hope and desire is that through this work we will be able to play our part during the coming twelve challenging months, in strengthening the voice of people in Powys in the continuing development and delivery
of a quality NHS service across our county.
We will work, as last year, with Powys Teaching Health Board and other organisations as they involve and engage with communities across Powys in discussions about how NHS services should be designed and delivered to meet peoples needs.
Frances Hunt
Chair, Powys CHC
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 8
About your Community Health Council
Our vision
People in Powys know that they can share their views and experiences of the NHS easily and recognise that doing so can have a real influence on the shape of healthcare services.
People increasingly understanding of and value the role played by Powys Community Health Council in supporting them to be heard and in representing the collective interests of patients and the public.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 9
Our approach to equality
We have identified these 5 equality aims:
1. We will work with others to find better ways to hear from everyone, including those who are in the most vulnerable situations and those whose voice might not otherwise be heard.
2. We will adapt our approaches to reach those whose care is delivered in and out of hospital and develop our resources and advocacy services to ensure that they are widely accessible, available and relevant.
3. We will develop our plans with the public and with our partners so that they focus on the things that matter most and have the best chance of making a difference.
4. We will build on our existing partnerships and forge new ones where working together increased our chances of making a difference.
5. We will develop targeted and more inclusive ways to attract new members so that we better reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
You can find out more about our equality objectives and actions in 2021-2022 in our Equality Plan. PowysPowys CHC CHC Annual Annual Plan Plan 2021 2021--20222022 10 10
Powys1. CHC Annual Plan 2021 -2022 11
Our resources Our members
We currently have 20 lay members who choose to volunteer their time to help the CHC to
achieve its aims and objectives. Our current membership is made up of 6 public appointments, 6 Local Authority appointments, 4 Third Sector appointments and 4 co-opted members.
Our staff
Within Powys CHC we have a small team of paid staff whose role is to provide advice and support to the members in carrying out the statutory functions of the organisation.
Our staff include senior officers, administrators and a team of complaints advocates. A full list of our members and staff is provided at appendix 1 and 2.
Our money We are funded by the Welsh Government. You can find out more about our budget in 2021-2022 at Appendix 3.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 12
Our governance
Our Executive Committee is responsible for deciding our plans and priorities and making sure we carry out our activities in a way that responds to the things that matter most to people locally, and meets our legal and other responsibilities.
We are one of 7 Community Health Councils which exist across Wales and are overseen by the Board of Community Health Councils. This Board provides us with advice and support, sets standards for the way CHCs carry out their work and manages our performance in line with these standards.
PowysPowys CHC CHC Annual Annual Plan Plan 2021 2021-2022-2022 13 13
Making a difference through our activities
Community Health Councils have 4 main functions:
continuously engaging systematically visiting and with the communities we scrutinising local health represent and the health services service providers serving
those communities
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 14
Making a difference through our activities
enabling users of the NHS to
raise concerns about the representing the interests of services they receive through patients and the public in the an Independent planning and agreement of Complaints Advocacy NHS service changes Service
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 15
Deciding what we do and how to do it
We want to make sure we focus our activities on the things that matter most to people in our local communities, in a way that makes the best use of our resources so that we can make the biggest difference. To inform our plans for 2021-22, we thought about information from a range of different sources. This included:
▪ Published information including Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) and Wales Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) Performance Reports, IMTP, Referral to Treatment Times, Patient Experience Reports and planning documents. ▪ Issues raised and considered by CHC members and committees ▪ Issues identified from CHC visits ▪ Issues raised by cases supported through our complaints advocacy service ▪ Wider patient feedback and concerns information from PTHB (and other Health Boards – Wales and England) ▪ Information we receive from partner organisations or the outcomes from other review work. ▪ Attendance as an observer at PTHB meetings and sub-committees ▪ Attendance as an observer at other meetings across England and Wales eg. SaTH Implementation Oversight Group ▪ Annual “What matters” questionnaire
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 16
Our key themes and priorities
In planning and prioritising our activity across our functions we used the following principles:
▪ Focus our activity where we are best placed to make a difference for patients and the public ▪ Recognise where others are better placed to act and refer or coordinate as appropriate ▪ Work collaboratively wherever there is added value in doing so, but without compromising our independence.
▪ Invest our resources wisely, acting in proportion to the issue and balancing activity across our statutory functions.
▪ Seek to widen our engagement to build the evidence base on which to deliver robust representation and scrutiny of the NHS
• Leave capacity to respond effectively to developments, issues and challenges as they arise in year and to fulfil our statutory responsibility to engage with the NHS and the public where change is proposed.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 17
How we work with others and why
▪ CHCs have a responsibility to systemically scrutinize the NHS. We do this in a variety of ways including looking at information about NHS services and asking questions of NHS leaders.
▪ CHC scrutiny activity includes undertaking a programme of visits to NHS services to see how health care is being delivered and to ask patients, family and carers about their experience.
▪ We recognise that others have a role to play in scrutinising the NHS and that the interests of patients and the public can best be served when we work in partnership to avoid duplication and add value.
▪ In delivering our activities we will seek to work with others who share our priorities, ensuring that in doing so we do not compromise our independence or ability to act solely in the interests of patients and the public.
▪ In order to properly represent your views, we need to routinely and regularly engage with you directly, through community groups and third sector organisations and jointly with the NHS to find out what you think about NHS services.
▪ We recognise the importance of working with the Third sector and community partners to extend our reach within the communities we represent. We will continue to build partnerships that extend our reach. We will ensure that all sections of our community have a voice in the design and delivery of health services and access to support to raise concerns if they have them.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 18
Key Strategic documents:
▪ Powys CHC is keen to align its priorities for 2021-2022 to this strategic plan and a number of key strategic documents including: ▪ Powys Health and Care Strategy ▪ Powys Joint Area Plan ▪ Mid Wales Joint Committee ▪ Powys County Council – Vision for 2025 ▪ PTHB – Intermediate and Medium Term Plan (IMTP)
During 2021-2022 we will focus specifically on working with partners to hear about:
▪ Accessibility and sustainability of Primary Care services across Powys - General Practice - Dental services - Pharmaceutical services - Opthamology ▪ Young people’s and children’s experience of NHS services in Powys ▪ Health services for people with dementia ▪ Services for individuals in vulnerable situations eg. refugees/ homelessness and those from less-heard groups eg. Gypsy traveler communities ▪ Gender Identity Services ▪ Sexual Health Services ▪ Mental Health Services (with a specific focus on farming communities)
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 19
[These were our priorities for 2020-2021 and remain our priorities for 2021-2022]
Scrutiny and Engagement
During 2021- 2022 we will deliver a programme of engagement and scrutiny activity in support of the following local priorities:
▪ Performance of Emergency Medical Services – handovers, red calls ▪ Primary Care Accessibility and Sustainability ▪ Delayed Transfers of Care (DTOC) ▪ Virtual Wards ▪ Referral to Treatment Times (RTT) ▪ Reinstatement of routine services
We will continue to routinely scrutinise the performance of PTHB by attending and representing the interests of patients and the public.
Seeking regular reports and representation from PTHB and other NHS organisations at our Local Committees and Executive Committee meetings on issues, challenges and developments impacting on NHS services in Powys.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 20
Complaints advocacy
We have a statutory duty to provide an independent complaints advocacy service to support anyone living in their area to raise a concern about NHS services.
Advocacy is about helping people to be heard. Our independent complaints advocacy service is there to help and support people to ensure that their experiences and concerns are not only listened to but are acted upon.
Our independent complaints advocacy service offers confidential support, advice and guidance for people who want to raise a concern about any NHS provider. Our advocates aim to:
Enable patients, carers and relatives to access information about their concerns and to offer advice on the options available;
Support patients to put forward their concerns and complaints to the NHS for investigation.
Our independent complaints advocacy service is provided in a friendly, confidential and supportive manner, encouraging the NHS to learn from individual patient experience to improve the service overall.
In developing our work programme we are committed to maintain a programme of continuous improvement within the service which consistently delivers excellent feedback from those who use it.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 21
During 2021 -2022 we will develop our service further by:
▪ Continuing to increase our outreach activities ▪ Capture Patient Experiences ▪ Considering mechanisms to receive increased evaluation/ feedback
Responding to change proposals
In order that local health services meet the existing and future needs of their population and communities, it is essential that they are planned, designed and developed together with local people, from the start. CHC’s have a specific responsibility to engage with the NHS whenever service change is proposed.
Our role is to represent interests of public and patients and ensuring that NHS organisations engage or consult as appropriate with those affected.
Given the complexities and extent of cross boundary and cross border services commissioned by PTHB; Powys CHC will continue to work closely with key partners, stakeholders and communities to represent the interests of the public and patients of Powys.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 22
During 2021-2022 we will:
▪ Meet every two months with the Health Board through the Service Planning Committee to consider proposed changes and scrutinise plans for engagement.
▪ Meet every six weeks with the Chair and Chief Executive of Powys Teaching Health Board.
▪ Work with the Health Board where appropriate to engage with the public and patients in relation to proposed changes.
▪ Respond as appropriate to consultations regarding proposed changes.
▪ Scrutinise change proposals and processes generated by or on behalf of the NHS locally to ensure that patients and the public are engaged and consulted as appropriate. ▪ Monitor and review urgent service changes implemented as a result of COVID-19
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 23
Developing ourselves to deliver effectively
We have identified a range of measures which will help us to improve our performance against the National Standards for CHCs, across our four statutory functions.
We will participate in the annual Peer Review against a sample of these National Standards.
During 2021-2022 we will:
▪ Continue to build links with Third and community sectors ▪ Develop a more robust approach to evaluating activities ▪ Increase member training and development opportunities ▪ Continue to engage with, and support our staff and members as we go through a period of change
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 24
All Wales priorities (undertaken by all CHCs in Wales)
Our movement exists to ensure that people’s views and interests are represented at the heart of new developments and that patients and the public have the opportunity to have a direct influence on policy makers and those responsible for designing and delivering NHS services.
In the year ahead we will use our local knowledge to help shape the national agenda. We will do this by:
▪ Sharing regularly what people in our local communities are telling us. This will help our movement to identify the issues that impact on people living in all parts of Wales, so that collectively we challenge the policy makers and those who deliver our national services to do better where this is needed. This year we will pay particular attention to the impact of the pandemic on healthcare services and people’s experiences during this time.
▪ Working with the Board of CHCs to develop and publish regular reports on what people are saying about the NHS across Wales - and how policy makers and those responsible for delivering NHS services nationally are responding
▪ Working with the Board of CHCs to identify and carry out any ‘themed’ activity in response to key national issues affecting the NHS.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 25 Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 25
Responding to issues as they arise
Because our volunteer members live within the communities they represent, we are often able to listen to local concerns and issues as they arise so that we can respond quickly and appropriately.
Some people who contact us need the on-going support of our complaints advocacy service. Others may have a specific matter that can be addressed immediately. We have developed good relationships with the NHS so that we can help resolve problems where possible at an early stage.
Sometimes a matter raised with us will need further action, perhaps by finding out more from our health board, through scrutiny at our CHC committee meetings, or by carrying out a visit or survey to see if a concern raised with us is shared by others.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 26 Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022
26
XXX CHC Operational Plan 2021-2022
How you can get your voice heard or become involved
We are always keen to hear from anyone who wants to share their views and experiences of NHS services. You can contact us using any of the details included at the end of this plan. You can also tell us if you would like us to include you on our distribution list for surveys and regular updates. HowIf you are can part of you a group get or organisation your voice and would heard like to work or with become us on any ofinvolved our activities we would love to hear from you.
We are also happy to hear from any groups who have a story to share about any aspect of NHS services. We publish a calendar of meetings on our website so that you can see when and where we will be discussing key issues affecting NHS services.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 27
How you can get your voice heard or become involved
Some of our committee meetings are held in public so you are welcome to attend (virtual attendance is available). Please let us know if you would like to receive a set of committee papers in advance.
How can you get your voiceWe publishheard an annualor become report which givesinvolved a full
account of the work we have done and how it made a difference.
And…we are always looking for new members!
The vast majority of our work is undertaken by local volunteers who have an interest in helping their communities to have a say in how their NHS is designed and delivered.
If you could spare some time over 3-5 days a month please get in touch.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 28
How to contact us
Powys Community Health Council Neuadd Brycheiniog, Cambrian Way, Brecon, Powys, LD3 7HR
If you write to us in Welsh, we will answer in Welsh. This will not lead to a
delay in responding to your correspondence.
01874 624206
We welcome telephone calls in Welsh.
How to contactwww.powyschc.wales us
@powys_chc
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 29
Appendix 1 – Full Council Membership
Powys CHC Montgomeryshire Local Radnorshire and Brecknock Committee Local Committee Frances Hunt (Chair) Dr. Anthea Wilson (Chair) Jacqui Wilding (Chair) Dr Dave Collington (Vice-Chair) Cllr. David Jones (Vice Chair) Geoff Davies (Vice-Chair) Dr Dave Collington Cllr. Beverley Baynham Frances Hunt Cllr. Jackie Charlton Kathryn Leach Joanne Coleman Appendix 1 – Full CouncilJane Randall Membership-Smith Karen Collins Cllr. Lucy Roberts Dr. Patricia Dryden Nicola Ruck Dr. Rhobert Lewis Gareth Roberts Cllr. Pete Roberts Cllr. Edwin Roderick
Roger Smart
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 30
Appendix 2 – CHC staff
AppendixTeam 2 – CHC support staff Whole time posts (Whole Time Equivalent) Chief Officer 1 Deputy Chief Officer 1 Complaints Advocates 1 Business Manager 1 Advocacy Support Officers 0.8 Administrative team 1.8 Patient and Public Engagement Officer 0.85 Total 7.45
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 31
Appendix 3 – Finance
Appendix 3 – Finance Budget heading Budget 2021/22
£342,385 Fixed £26,217 Variable £368,602 Overall allocation
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 32
This plan is a working document. Our statutory functions require us to respond during the year to issues and change proposals as they arise. This may require us to revise our priorities or amend our planned activities.
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 33
www.powyschc.wales
Powys CHC Annual Plan 2021-2022 34