Cumbria County Council

Developing Local Healthwatch and Independent Advocacy Service How to ensure a strong voice for local people on in health and social care issues?

Public consultation Cumbria County Council

Consultation summary What are Local Healthwatch and the Independent Advocacy Service Cumbria County Council wants to hear your views and why do we want your views? about Cumbria’s new Local Healthwatch and Independent Advocacy Service. These are new Local Healthwatch organisations that are being set up to provide information, advice and support about health and In March 2012, the government introduced a new law social care services. (the Health & Social Care Act 2012) requiring each local authority area to set up a new organisation This document provides you with more information called Local Healthwatch. Cumbria County Council and highlights the issues where we are particularly is required to make sure it has a Local Healthwatch interested in your opinions. organisation in place by April 2013 and we will receive funding from the government to enable us to do that. You can respond to the consultation in the following ways: Healthwatch will:

• By completing the online questionnaire at • help provide information and advice to people cumbria. gov.uk across Cumbria about health and social care • Completing the paper questionnaire at the end of services; this document • direct people to services (so they understand the • By emailing your views to [email protected] choice of care available); • In writing to Healthwatch Consultation, FREEPOST • and involve people in improving and shaping the NWW6059A, Cumbria County Council, Carlisle, services on which they rely. CA3 8NA Local Healthwatch will continue many of the roles Your feedback will help to ensure that Local formerly carried out by the Local Involvement Network Healthwatch for Cumbria is a strong voice for local (LINk) which ceases to exist on 31 March next year. people on health and social care issues. Local Healthwatch will act as a ‘consumer champion’, If you have any questions about this consultation making the views and experiences of the local contact: community known to the people making decisions Sue Stevenson about these services. A new national organisation, Strategic Policy Adviser Healthwatch , will do the same for the whole Cumbria County Council country. Healthwatch England will be in place by T: 01228 226305 October 2012. E: [email protected] Some of the functions and roles that Healthwatch will The deadline for consultation responses is 24 need to perform, nationally and locally, have been August. set out in law but the government has also said that it wants local authorities to be able to make some of Cumbria County Council is indebted to the Council their own choices about how Local Healthwatch is set whose consultation document was adapted for use in Cumbria. up so the new organisation meets the need of local people.

The council will commission an outside organisation to set up Local Healthwatch through a tendering process.

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We want to get your views on how Cumbria County We think it’s important that Cumbria’s IAS is Council can make sure that Local Healthwatch is equipped to perform this role with good knowledge something that people both want to use and value. of local services and is able to develop and support This document explains what Local Healthwatch must the confidence and capacity of service users to do and invites your suggestions as to how this should challenge and improve services, whilst maintaining a be developed. professional, sensitive and impartial approach.

Cumbria Independent Advocacy Service What will Local Healthwatch do?

The Department of Health currently commissions a The government has set out some clear roles and service called ICAS (Independent Complaints Advisory functions that Local Healthwatch will legally need to Service) to provide a specialised advocacy service for provide. people throughout England. But now the government has asked local authorities to take responsibility for 1. Information, advice and signposting, helping you commissioning a new Independent Advocacy Service make choices (IAS) for people who want to make a complaint about NHS services. • Be a single point of contact to provide information and advice about accessing health and social care Advocacy: services; • Enable people to take more control over their own • Is taking action to help people say what they want, health, treatment and care by helping them to secure their rights, represent their interests and understand, and make use of, increased choices obtain services they need; available to them. • Is designed to help people who lack the means or capacity to make choices or make their views 2. Involve the whole community in helping to known; improve, influence and shape health and social • Can range from support in how to write formal care services for local people letters and emails to assistance and support during meetings and hearings (where a complaint • Gather evidence, views and experiences of local is heard and a decision made). people and make these known to Healthwatch England; The ICAS service for all local authorities in the North • Be able to enter and view premises where health West of England is currently provided by the Carers and social care services are provided and report Federation but this will come to an end at the end of on its findings; March 2013 and Cumbria County Council will need to • Promote and support the involvement of people decide how it commissions an advocacy service for in the monitoring, commissioning and provision of the local community. local health and care services; • Obtain the views of people about their needs for It is important that this organisation is able to act and experiences of local health and social care independently of the NHS and the council. In Cumbria services and make those views known to those we will be commissioning this service separately involved in commissioning; from Local Healthwatch but it may be that the same • Make reports and recommendations about how organisation could deliver both services. services could or should be improved and attend meetings of the Cumbria Health and Wellbeing Board to represent the voice of the community.

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How will Local Healthwatch carry Our vision for Local Healthwatch out these functions? and what it might achieve

Later this summer, Cumbria County Council will be Our vision is that Local Healthwatch will: seeking to contract with an organisation or group of organisations that can take on the responsibilities • Provide an opportunity for all local people to be and functions of local Healthwatch for Cumbria. The involved in local and national health and social government has already indicated, through the new care issues; law that Local HealthWatch must be set up as a social • Become the single point of contact for anyone enterprise; a not-for-profit organisation i.e. a business in our communities who needs information and that re-invests any money it makes into benefiting the advice about health and social care services, community. including children and young people; • Help individuals to help themselves and, where As a corporate body it will have its own independent they need additional help, to understand and make legal status and be able to employ staff as well as use of the increased choices of support available; enlist the support of volunteers. Local Healthwatch • Be strong, recognised, trusted and credible and must also not be any of the following organisations: that anyone in the community can feel confident to a Local Authority; a National Health Service Trust; share their views, concerns and both positive and an NHS Foundation Trust; a Primary Care Trust or negative experiences; a Strategic Health Authority. This is so that it can • Actively help to those who make decisions about independently represent the community. health and social care services aware of their views; The government has also indicated that Local • Demonstrate to people that, by speaking up, they Healthwatch must: can make a difference; • carry out its functions in an independent and • Build strong relationships with other organisations inclusive way, so that the whole community, and networks in the county to avoid duplicating particularly those whose voice might not otherwise services; be heard, can be involved in shaping and • Make the most of expertise already available in our improving health and social care services; voluntary, public and private sectors; • promote and ensure that people are treated • Maximise the input form our valued but limited equally and without discrimination with particular time of volunteers in our communities. regard to peoples’ age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, Local Healthwatch must make a valued contribution, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, based on local knowledge to helping those making sex and sexual orientation; decisions about health and social care services better • respond to formal requests for information in understand the needs of the community. accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and apply certain standards in the way that it operates; The ultimate test for Local Healthwatch, over time, will • produce a publicly available annual report for each be: financial year setting out what it has achieved and how it has spent its public funding ensuring value • whether people know it exists; for money. • understand what it does; • know how to use it and have confidence it The government is currently consulting a variety of will make sure that their voices are heard and groups to determine any other regulations that Local represented. Healthwatch must follow and will let Local Authorities know about these in due course.

4 Serving the people of Cumbria Local Healthwatch - Public consultation

What we would like to know from In December this year, following a tender process, you Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet will award the contract. Local Healthwatch will then start its work from 1 April 2013. We have set up a questionnaire on the following pages to capture your views. But if you would like to You can find out more about Healthwatch by visiting simply provide more general comments via email or in the Department of Health website at www.dh.gov.uk/ writing these are the sorts of issues we are particularly health/tag/healthwatch/ interested in:

1. Have we got our vision for Local Healthwatch How you can respond right? Is there anything missing from the vision? You can respond to the consultation in the following ways: 2. How can we ensure that Local Healthwatch is • By completing the online questionnaire at something people really value in Cumbria? cumbria. gov.uk • Completing the paper questionnaire at the end of 3. What works at the moment, and what could this document be better, in terms of the provision of • By emailing your views to [email protected] information, advice and support about health • In writing to Healthwatch Consultation, and social care services? FREEPOST NWW6059A, Cumbria County Council, Carlisle, CA3 8NA 4. How should Local Healthwatch gather views from local people? If you have any questions about this consultation contact: 5. How should Local Healthwatch work with Sue Stevenson other community and voluntary groups? Strategic Policy Adviser Cumbria County Council 6. What would make you want to get actively T: 01228 226305 involved with Local Healthwatch? E: [email protected] What happens next? The deadline for consultation responses is 24 August. Feedback you provide will help us better understand how a local Healthwatch organisation can best meet people’s needs. This will be reflected in the ‘service specification’ which will set out the requirements for organisations bidding to become the Local Healthwatch provider. It is important that the council aims to commission something that is designed in line with local objectives and can achieve a vision for Local Healthwatch as a strong voice for local people on health and social care issues as well as satisfying its statutory duty set out in the Health and Social Care Act.

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Your views

Complete the questions below and return your questionnaire to Healthwatch Consultation, FREEPOST NWW6059A, Cumbria County Council, Carlisle, CA3 8NA no later than 24 August.

Your use of information services

Q1. Have you ever tried to find out information or advice about what health and social care services are available to you in Cumbria? Yes No Go to Q6 Don’t know Go to Q6

Q2. Where did you go? (Select as many as apply)

LINk Family and friends Library NHS Choices Hospital Pharmacy NHS Choices website Family Information Service NHS Direct telephone Your GP PALs Carers group County Council Citizens Advice Bureau Internet District Council Local Support Group Other (specify below)

Other (Please specify) ______

Q3. How useful was the information they gave you?

Very useful Useful Not very useful Not useful at all

Q4. What worked well?

Q5. What needs improving?

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Q6. Where do you think you would go if you needed help in future?

Gaps in services currently available

Q7. Do you feel there are gaps in the information and advice currently available?

Yes No Go to Q9 Don’t know Go to Q9

Q8. What would you like to see in place?

Q9. Local Healthwatch will provide advice and information to help people access and make choices about health and social care services. How would you ideally like Local Healthwatch to provide information and advice on local services? (Select as many as apply)

Post Drop in centre Text Telephone Newsletter Email Helpline *Face to face Expert Patient” or a representative Website/information *Leaflets available at *Through existing advice and online appropriate locations information services Facebook Local outreach/events Twitter GP surgery Online

Q9a. If you selected any of the options marked with * can you say where you would want these to be?

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Q10. Are there any particular sorts of information and advice that you think you might need and that Local Healthwatch could provide?

Q11. Please indicate if you have heard of, or used, the following services?

Service Neither heard Heard of, Used of nor used not used Cumbria LINk NHS Patient Advice and Liasion Servcie (PALS)

Q12. If you have used either of the services in the previous question, please tell us what you particularly liked or disliked about it, clearly identifying which service you are referring to (e.g. LINk or PALS)

Liked

Disliked

Q13. How should Local Healthwatch Cumbria work with and alongside voluntary and community organisations?

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Q14. How would you like Local Healthwatch to involve you/gather your views? (e.g. would you like to attend meetings or a drop-in session, answer surveys, volunteer, post your views on a website)?

Getting involved with Healthwatch

Q15. Based on what you have read in this document do you think you would be interested in being actively involved with Local Healthwatch?

Yes No Go to Q19 Don’t know Go to Q19

Q16. Why would you want to get involved?

Q17. What sort of things would you like to do if you volunteered with Local Healthwatch?

Going out and about and talking to people about their health and social care experiences Attending boards and meetings to represent the views of people from your local area Providing advocacy and advice Signposting to relevant help and advice Helping with office duties such as data input or sending out information Attend meetings to feed back the public’s views Attend meetings to monitor or plan local services Help carry out surveys/focus groups Be an advocate (one to one support to help people) Other (please specify) ______

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Q18. What information/support would you need to help you become involved in the way you have said in the previous question?

Having your say on Healthwatch

Q19. Local Healthwatch will promote, and support, the involvement of local people in decision about how, where and when health and care services are provided. Do you feel you are currently able to have your say on local health and social care services?

Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never

Q20. Are there any barriers that prevent you from having your say on health and care services at the moment (Please tick all that apply)?

I don’t know who to contact in order to have a say I’m not interested in having a say at the moment I’d prefers to have my say anonymously, but am not sure how to do this I don’t think anyone will listen and feedback to me I’d prefer to have my say through another organisation (please give an example) Nothing stops me. I’m able to have my say Other (please specify)______

Advocacy services

Q21. Have you or any of your family members used Advocacy Services regarding health and social care issues?

Yes No Go to Q25 Don’t know Go to Q25

Q22. What service do you use?

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Q23. What were your experiences of these services, good or bad?

Q24. Please let us have any suggestions for improving this service.

About youself

Q25. Please tick which applies to you

Voluntary organisation representaive Private sector organisation representative Local Authority representaive Parish council representaive Residents’ association representaive Individual member of the public Student Servcie user Other (please specify) ______

Q26. What is your postcode? ______

Q27. Are you male or female?

Male Female Transgender

Q28. What was your age on your last birthday? ______

Q29. Do you have any long-standing illness, disability or infirmity? (longstanding means anything that has troubled you over a period of time or that is likely to affect you over a period of time).

Yes No

cumbria.gov.uk 11 Irish British Q31. Q30. Q32. Chinese Cumbria County Council County Cumbria

To which of these groups do you consider you belong to?To you belong you do consider groups these of which your is sexualWhat orientation? Is there anything else you else wouldlike add? to anything there Is 01228 606060 Braille or large type) or in another language, please telephone 01228 606060. If you require thisdocumentinanotherformat (egCD, audiocassette, / straight Heterosexual Any other White background Any other Mixed background Asian and White African Black and White White and Caribbean Black Mixed White groups ethnic Other and Chinese 01228 606060

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Gay man

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