Agenda Item No 5
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If you would like this newsletter in another format, please contact us. What Healthwatch County Durham has been doing Issue 1 November 2013 2013 1. Board of Governors - working for you 2. What you have been telling us 3. Enter and View 4. Where we have been and who we have been talking to 5. Health and Wellbeing Board 6. Sign posting - pointing you in the right direction 7. The Healthwatch team Healthwatch County Durham Executive Board Working for you We have 12 Governors from different backgrounds who have come together to improve health and social care services across County Durham. They listen to your views and work on your behalf to turn your views into positive actions. To enable the Board to reach the community of County Durham each Governor has a portfolio of responsibility covering a specific aspect of health and social care these include; - Enter and View - Signposting and Information - Children and Young People - Disability, Learning Disability and Mental Health - Ageing Population - Quality of Services - Business Development - Carers - Engagement with Rural Residents - Engagement with Urban Residents Since forming in August 2013 the Governors have been working hard and are taking steps to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO).This will enable us to be independent and help to secure our long term future. Email: [email protected] Web: www.healthwatchcountydurham.co.uk Tel: 01325 375960 Freephone: 0808 8010384 Text: 07738 994067 Follow us on Twitter Like our page on Facebook The Work Place,Heighington Lane, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 6AH What you have been telling us Awareness of Healthwatch County Durham is on the increase resulting in more calls to our freephone number: 0808 375960 Frequently asked Questions: What NHS dentists are available in County Durham? How do I complain about my GP? How does the NHS ‘Choose and Book’ system work? You Said We Did We carried out local research and found That calls to GP surgieres using 0844 there are 12 surgeries using these numbers were costly numbers. We will be highlighting this to the Clinical commission groups. We established that all carers are able to Can all carers have Flu Jabs? have access to a flu jab and we promoted this widely. Issues Raised / Current Trends: Waiting times for GP appointments across County Durham Cost of Parking for blue badge holders at the University Hospital of North Durham Administration Fees charged by GP’s for a range of services Enter and View Healthwatch County Durham has the power to enter and view health and social care services to observe how services are being delivered. We have set up a sub group of governors to direct the enter and view visits from the information we receive (we visit following trends not individual comments) We have a small team of authorised representatives currently undergoing training to carry out visits. We will share our findings with Healthwatch England, Care Quality Commission and the service provider. We will be providing more training and recruiting volunteers in January. Are you interested in being the eyes and ears for Healthwatch County Durham? If you are interested then please get in touch by calling 01325 375967. The Work Place,Heighington Lane, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 6AH Where we have been and who we have been talking to: Our staff team and governors have been busy visiting lots of groups across the county to tell them about Healthwatch and listen to people’s comments and views. Some of the places we have visited include; Food Banks Town Councils Area Action Partnerships Health and Wellbeing Board Big Tent Event Blind Life Durham Local Motion Event Luncheon Clubs King James Academy The two Clinical Commissioning Groups in County Durham Patient reference groups Durham County Councils Adult Overview Scrutiny Committee We are always looking for new opportunities to engage with groups and communities. If you would like us to come in and talk to you, get in touch with our engagement workers on 01325 375 960. Consultations To encourage the public to take part in improving services we share information about relevant consultations and help spread the word across the county. Here are some we have shared; The transfer of emergency services to North Tees Hospital-consultation now closed The NHS call to action - please visit www.england.nhs.uk search call to action The Durham County Council proposals around 5 residential care homes- please visit http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=7452 Health and Wellbeing Board The health and Wellbeing Board make decisions about the future of services in County Durham. The chair of Healthwatch County Durham attends this important meeting to represent your views and be the voice of the public. At the next meeting our chair will be highlighting all the trends from the issues you have shared with us, good and bad. The Work Place,Heighington Lane, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 6AH Signposting and Information Pointing YOU in the RIGHT direction for HEALTH and social CARE matters Come and talk to Healthwatch County Durham Four Clocks Centre, 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month Newgate Street, Bishop Auckland 11.30am-1pm DL14 7EH Ferryhill Library 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month North Street, Ferryhill 9.30am-11am DL17 8HX Bullion Hall, 1st and 3rd Friday of the month South Approach, Chester le Street 12.30pm-2pm DH2 2DW Healthworks 2nd and 4th Friday of the month Paradise Lane, Easington Colliery 11am-12.30pm SR8 3EX Newton Hall Library 1st and 3rd Monday of the month Alnwick Road, Newton Hall, Durham 2.30-4.30pm DH1 5NL Consett Library 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month Victoria Road, Consett 9.30am-11.30am DH8 5AT Barnard Castle Library 2nd and 4th Monday of the month Galgate 10am – 12 noon Barnard Castle DL12 8BH St Catherine’s Community Centre 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month Market Place 10am – 12 noon Crook DL15 8NE __________________________________ Access Points are our regular venues where we meet the public and discuss Health and Social Care provision. Please come along and tell us about your experiences of using or accessing Health and Social Care Services in County Durham __________________________________ The Work Place,Heighington Lane, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 6AH Healthwatch Membership We are always looking for members of the community to join us to work together to help improve health and social care services. Membership Type Details Friends Receive regular updates, news and E-Bulletins Facilitator Volunteering opportunities Partner For organisations The Healthwatch team We have a full team of 6 here at Healthwatch to help you. We have; Development Officer Joanne Scott 2 Community Engagement Workers Carole Little & Julia Catherall 2 Signposting and Information Officers Sue Ewington & Noel McMenamin Administrator Kirsty Littlejohn If you would like to get in touch with any of the team please call at 01325 375967. We use social media regularly and want to continue grow our audience. Please Follow us on Twitter Like our page on Facebook The Work Place,Heighington Lane, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co Durham DL5 6AH .