Highland Healthvoices Network News

Highland HealthVOICES May 2008 Issue 27

Highland G U T H S là i n t e n a G a i d h e a l t a c h d HealthVOICES Network News

Inside this issue:

1. Forthcoming meeting dates...... 1 2. Members’ reports...... 2 3. Newsletters...... 2 4. Contact a Family – event Thursday 29 May...... 3 5. Why are Inverness patients reluctant to travel?...... 3 6. NHS Highland staff awards...... 3 7. Men’s Health Highland...... 4 8. Macmillan Citizens’ Advice Bureau response to national discussion on cancer care...... 4 9. Palliative and end of life care action plan – update from Scottish Government...... 4 10. New website for Brora...... 5

Produced by Patient Focus Public Engagement Team, NHS Highland, Assynt House, Inverness IV2 3BW: Gill Keel, Head of Public Engagement 01463 704775 [email protected] Nicola Morrison (Mon/Tue/Wed), Project Officer 01463 704862 [email protected] Karen Burnett, HHVN Coordinator 01463 704702 [email protected] Lachie Robertson, Patient Focus Manager 01463 705400 [email protected] Isabel Rogers (Thur/Fri), HealthVOICES Administrator 01463 704862 [email protected] Fax: 01463 235189 General email: [email protected] Website: http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/GetInvolved/Pages/GetInvolved.aspx

1 Working with you to make Highland the healthy place to be 1. Forthcoming meeting dates

Listed below are the next dates for each listed group. Feel free to contact your local HHVN member if you want an issue raised or need more information. The Community Health Partnership meetings are held in public, so you are welcome to attend (the logistics contact would appreciate a call in advance so they can prepare anything if required).

If you would like to put anything on the agenda for our next Steering Group meeting on 30th May, please contact Isabel or Gavin Pope.

Date Committee Venue/Time Contact for Logistics HHVN member contact Tue 3 NHS Highland Inverness Lorraine Power, Board [Not applicable] June Board Services Administrator, Agenda and papers (Strategy) Assynt House, available on NHS Highland Beechwood Park, website a week prior to Inverness meeting Thursday Argyll & Bute Corran Halls, Christine Gosman Robin Creelman, Chair A&B 29 May CHP Oban Argyll & Bute Community PPF and CHP Committee Health Partnership, Member Victoria Infirmary, 93 01369 820222 East King Street, [email protected] Helensburgh, Argyll G84 7BU Evelyn Hide, Vice Chair Tel: 01436 655032 A&B PPF and CHP Committee Member [email protected] Friday 30 HHVN Inverness Isabel Rogers Gavin Pope, Joint Chair May Steering Assynt House 01847 851236 Group Beechwood Park Inverness or your local area Steering 01463 704862 Group representative (if you [email protected]. need a list, contact Isabel) nhs.uk Tuesday North CHP 2.00pm Kay Oswald, Liz Smith, Primary 17 June Brora Management Assistant, Committee Member North Highland CHP, tel: 01847 893423 Caithness General email: Hospital, Bankhead [email protected] Road, Wick KW1 5NS Tel:01955 880246 Malcolm Smart, Deputy [email protected] Committee Member hs.uk Tel: 01955 621666 Friday 4 Mid CHP Board Room Jackie Jefferson, Mid Penny McIntyre July Larachan CHP Committee/ House Management 01397 713952 Dingwall Administrator, Larachan [email protected] House, Dochcarty Road, .uk Dingwall 01349 869208

2 Working with you to make Highland the healthy place to be Date Committee Venue/Time Contact for Logistics HHVN member contact Thursday SE CHP Assynt Colin Yau or Lynda Hamish Wood, Primary 10 July House, Mackay South East Committee Member Inverness Highland Community email: Health Partnership, Alder [email protected] House, Cradlehall Tel: 0845 095 6158 Business Park, Dr Kate Adamson, Deputy Inverness IV2 5GH Tel: Committee Member 01463 706946 [email protected]

2. Members’ reports

Attached with this issue is our first report from HHVN members who have gone to various meetings across Highland. As it’s the first time we have published this, it goes back to the first information we received. Going forward, I aim to publish on a rolling basis so there will be no repetition.

You’ll see we have information from the last North and South East Community Health Partnership meetings, and also from the Raigmore committee. Unfortunately, our Mid CHP member was unable to attend the last meeting, but she could forward any queries you might have (contact details above).

If you have anything you want to say about this report, please tell Isabel. I have tried to make the print large enough to read easily without making the report use half a forest. I’d like to say a big thank you to our members who took time to write these reports and send them in. This is really starting to get our loop going, where information is coming in from some members and going out to others. Our Network should be about you talking to each other as well as what can sometimes feel like a one-way stream from us.

The next stage of this is to get others of you who go to all sorts of meetings as a HealthVOICES member to write some brief notes, which we can then share with other members. I’ll shortly be sending out our report form to “active” members whom we know are on various groups: if you don’t get one and want to share what you’re doing, please tell Isabel.

3. Newsletters The following newsletters are available (links given where appropriate; please contact the office if you need a hard copy):

 Team update http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Publications/Documents/Team%20Update%20Issue %2045,%20April%202008.pdf  In touch (hard copy enclosed where appropriate) http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/Publications/Documents/Newsletters/In%20Touch/In %20Touch%20Mag%20CS3(low).pdf  ACUMEN newsletter

3 Working with you to make Highland the healthy place to be 4. Contact a Family – event Thursday 29 May

Contact a Family is a UK-wide organisation providing information, advice and support to parents of children with additional needs. They are holding an information event about direct payments on Thursday 29 May from 10am until 1pm in Inverness. This will be an opportunity for parents to come together and share experiences. It is free, including lunch and refreshments. They can also help you with childcare and transport if you need it.

If you are interested in going, the closing date is 19 May. We have booking forms in the office, or contact them directly:

Contact a Family Scotland Cragimillar Scotial Enterprise & Arts Centre 11/9 Harewood Road Edinburgh EH16 4NT Tel: 0131 659 2930 Email: [email protected]

5. Why are Inverness patients reluctant to travel?

We have been asked by Elaine Mead, Chief Operating Officer of NHS Highland, to try to find out why some Inverness patients seem reluctant to travel when patients in other parts of Highland have no option but to come to Inverness. To try to achieve shorter waiting times, making maximum use of theatre capacity across NHS Highland would seem an obvious boon. However, the big problem is persuading Inverness patients to travel to other locations such as Belford, Golspie and Wick. Surgery staff tell us that if transport is a problem, a similar system to Tayside could be set up (Dundee apparently provide a bus service for patients where required).

You might live in Inverness, or have experience of doing the reverse journey by travelling in from other areas. Can you identify reasons? Can you suggest any solutions? If so, please contact Isabel Rogers on [email protected] or 01463 704862 by 22nd May 2008. I can then pass on our collated response to the surgery staff. Thank you.

6. NHS Highland staff awards

Nominations are now open for this year’s staff award. There are ten categories: Community; Support Worker; Hospital Worker; Improving Patient Service; Volunteer; Best Leaflet or Publication; Team; Mental Health/Learning Disability; Health Improvement; and ‘Behind the Scenes’.

Nomincations may be from patients, carers, the public, and from colleagues.

4 Working with you to make Highland the healthy place to be You can download an entry form from the link below (or call the office if you need a hard copy). Closing date for entries is 25 June 2008. http://www.nhshighland.scot.nhs.uk/News/Events/Pages/NHSHighlandStaffAwards2008.aspx

Completed forms should be returned to: Communications Dept, NHS Highland, Assynt House, Beechwood Park, IV2 3BW. The independent judging panel will include three members of the public. Finalists will be notified in August and invited to an Award Ceremony in September.

7. Men’s Health Highland

The next meeting of Men’s Health Highland is in the Board Room of Assynt House in Inverness on Friday 23rd May: tea/coffee at 9.15am, meeting starts at 9.30am until roughly 11.30am. There will be three short talks: Brian Clingan from Headway Highland on "Traumatic Brain Injury in Men"; Margaret Somerville from Chest Heart and Stroke on "Men and Strokes"; and Ian McNeil who has just left Partnerships for Wellbeing on "Men and Self Help Groups". If you would like to go, please contact Trevor Escott, Convenor of Men's Health Highland (details below).

Their (free) conference on "The Health of Men on the Margins" is on 5th June in the Centre for Health Sciences, Inverness.

They will have a stand in the Eastgate Centre, Inverness, on Saturday 7th June and one at the Highland Games in the Bught Park, Inverness, on Saturday 19th July. Any offers of help with either of these should go to Trevor Escott, Convenor of Men's Health Highland, [email protected]

8. Macmillan Citizens’ Advice Bureau response to national discussion on cancer care

David Brownlee, Head of Field Services with Macmillan, has sent us their response to the national discussion on cancer care. It’s quite a big document, so if you would like to see a copy, please ask Isabel.

9. Palliative and end of life care action plan – update from Scottish Government

We have received a letter from Derek Feeley, Director of Healthcare Policy and Strategy at the Scottish Government, giving an update on how they are working towards the goals set out in Better Health Better Care with regard to palliative care. He gives progress to date and future plans. If you would like a copy, please let Isabel know. 5 Working with you to make Highland the healthy place to be 10. New website for Brora

Keith Forbes, a HealthVOICES member from Brora, has just completed a website as a layman covering Brora's Medical and Healthcare facilties and services. The site is at http://www.TreasuresofBritain.org/Brora3.htm.

He wrote it in the absence of similar information locally, in the hope it will help present and future locals to know more about the very good services available locally from NHS Scotland's groups. He would very much appreciate any further suggestions or improvements. If you have any, please contact him by email only as he’s currently using a keyboard with only one hand and finding writing tricky. Any non-emailers can send comments to Isabel, and I’ll pass them on to Keith.

6 Working with you to make Highland the healthy place to be