Message from our Chair Welcome to Healthwatch Sandwell’s Annual Report for 2017-18. The last year has seen us continue to engage with patients, carers and the public about the health and social care issues that really matter to them. We have continued to reach out to listen to people’s issues, with extra efforts to reach the seldom heard, and produced real change through our investigations and reporting. Our staff have continued to be busy with public meetings, Enter and View visits, responding to individual requests from patients, carers and families, publishing several reports into services and getting out and about. One example of a report is that into the day hospice service at Rowley Regis. Our staff and volunteers visited the service and found an excellent facility, whilst identifying minor improvements that the palliative team have been able to incorporate into their service. We have continued our dialogue with the team and are now exploring how we can work together to enable patients and their experiences to play a greater role in improving services. As we look forward to the year ahead, Sandwell’s health and social care services continue to face changes and some unique challenges, and we will endeavour to ensure that your voice is being considered and listened to, and to support and bring forward these views when needed. Fellow Board members, staff and myself have been active in addressing changes to oncology (cancer) services at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Trust. This has been an ongoing issue for several years and Healthwatch Sandwell has had an ongoing role in bringing forward the consumer voice; and a public consultation is currently underway. We are pleased with efforts so far by NHS England and Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group to engage with service users and their families, and we hope that all of the service providers respond positively to the results in formulating an offer that addresses these views. We will continue to play an active role in trying to see that this happens. There are also challenges beyond Sandwell’s borders that affect us. The Black Country Sustainability and Transformation Partnership will have increasing influence on our services, and even though it has now been running for some years, it is still
What we do: Advising, guiding and listening to health and care service users Consultation Network Our Consultation Network is a network of local community groups and organisations across the borough. These are listed on our website and contacted regularly to share their issues and hear our updates. We created this network to enable these groups to represent us to their members, some who may not meet us at engagement events or visits. Any group or organisation can join, and the current members include those shown below. The total membership number is now 73 and our latest member is the Brasshouse Community Centre in Smethwick. Health and Social Care Group Our Health and Social Care Group holds regular public meetings at different locations throughout Sandwell. The group enables the community to meet commissioners and providers of services and find out about service developments, changes and ongoing consultations. We also provide feedback on our own activity. The group is chaired by a Board member. During 2017/18, the following topics included: April 2017 – Care Navigation and End of Life Care
General Practitioners. Various views were presented, and evidence gaps highlighted. The overall finding of this investigation was that, if there is varied and available access to GP appointments, weekend opening is only preferred for serious conditions. It was also found that GP opening times is a far more complex area than simply asking people when they want GPs to open, depending on several factors, and it is difficult to obtain meaningful evidence. There was significant preference shown for most of the appointment times and booking methods presented in the investigation scenarios. There was also considerable support for a Skype or telephone consultation with any GP, if it was within ten minutes of the request. Flu Jab Survey In June and July 2017 HWS carried out an investigation into the public’s awareness of where flu vaccinations could be obtained. This investigation resulted from an item at the SWB CCG Primary Care Committee, where evidence on the positive effects of flu vaccination in relation to hospital admissions was presented. There was a discussion that identified that they are made available widely and that this is publicised. However, there was no evidence regarding public awareness of this availability. The survey found that General Practitioners were the most popular providers of the vaccination. 10% of respondents knew that it was available at supermarkets. This is a relatively low number and suggests that the public’s awareness of this provider is not widely known. Based on the findings, HWS made recommendations which included, publicising where flu immunisation is available, especially in supermarket pharmacies. SWB CCG responded to each of our recommendations. Patient Participation Groups Commencing September 2017, HWS with a team of volunteers began visiting each GP Practice to find out patients’ awareness and involvement in Patient Participation Groups (PPGs). Image of one of our reports From 1 April 2015, it became a contractual requirement for all English practices to form a PPG and to make reasonable efforts for this to be representative of the practice population. PPGs are the primary mechanism for GPs to engage with patients. We are surveying each practice separately, town by town, as all practices have their own ways of working.
Our people Our board The members of our Board are: John Clothier. Chair William Hodgetts Wasim Ali Geoff Tranter Kwadwo Owusu-Darko Teresa Culverwell Glenn Jones Kushvinder Chahal Percy Eamus Healthwatch Sandwell is governed by its community Board which is ultimately responsible for all decision making. It is proud to have had this level of community control from the start. The Board meets quarterly for a formal meeting, and later to consider the quarterly Healthwatch Activity Report. This report is concerned with matters relating directly to health and social care, providing the time to be considered without distraction, and allows the main Board meeting to concentrate on company matters. This meeting, like with the main Board meeting, are held in public. Healthwatch Sandwell Board members take an active role in representing the view of patients on various strategic partnerships and groups throughout the Borough. The Board aims for every member to be the lead in at least one area e.g. Hospital Trust. This approach ensures that representation of patients’ views is as close to the community as possible. How we involve lay people and volunteers The involvement of lay people and volunteers is at the very heart of our governance and decision making, with the Board being comprised of community volunteers. The Board has overall control of all decisions. Its main meetings are held in public, supported by information gathered from the public.