Leicestershire LINk Newsletter Issue 11

Make a difference to your Health & Social Care Services

Local Involvement NetworkImprove your Health and Social Care Services Issue 11 September 2011

Newsletter


Inside This Issue: HealthWatch

LINk Task Groups LINk Representatives

Spotlight On EMASand much more...


Leicestershire LINk Newsletter 2 Leicestershire LINk Newsletter 3

GOING FORWARD...Since the last newsletter the Project and Task Groups have been working really hard as usual. We now await the Department of Health’s decision on the children’s heart surgery unit at Glen� eld Hospital which is expected in the autumn - although if true to form it will be delayed yet again.

The HealthWatch Task Group has also been working hard since last year to make sure that the transition from LINk to a local HealthWatch is effective and is what people in Leicestershire want. Our discussions with the County Council have so far been very productive. We have two members on the new shadow Health and Wellbeing Board from the onset, which is important.

We also sit on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Steering Group, and we have a LINk representative on the two GP Consortia (now renamed by the government as Clinical Commissioning Groups).

The exciting news is that we are one of the 75 new Path� nders for Local HealthWatch. This

has encompassed considerable work with Leicestershire County Council and whilst a lot of us have been involved, I think I must single out Geoffrey Smith for the mammoth amount of effort he is putting in.

Our Path� nder is centred on 3 key topics; signposting the public, organisational change and engagement with hard to reach groups. We now � nd that there are no extra funds from central government for this work, so we will do the best we can but always remembering that LINk work comes � rst.

You will have read about the concerns relating to the � nancial crisis at the University Hospitals of Leicester. We have written to the Chief Executive outlining our concerns. The Director of Communications, Mark Wightman was invited to the last LINk Board meeting to present their recovery plan which states that there will be no change which affects patient care and quality. We need you, our members, to alert the LINk if there is any deterioration in the service you have previously experienced. Likewise this is true for all the community health services, which have also been transferred to other bodies.

Sustainable � nance for our future as LINk and going into HealthWatch is an issue especially as the government in its wisdom has delayed the start of HealthWatch to October 2012. We are meeting shortly with the Council to discuss this need.

Finally, I plead again for more members to join the growing number of working groups in the LINk. You will be surprised at how much you can contribute and we’ll give you training to help, so please contact Gill Wollerton and offer her your undoubted talents!

Closer working between GP Patient Groups and LINks will mean a stronger voice for patients in Leicestershire and RutlandIn May, members from the Leicestershire and Rutland LINks met with GP Patient Groups to explore the potential for working together to improve patient and public experiences of the NHS. Over 100 people attended the event and overwhelmingly agreed that there were lots of reasons why it made sense and could only work to bene� t everyone.

Since then a small Working Group has been looking at the ‘How’ and actioning many of the suggestions that were put forward. One of the immediate proposals that we were able to put in place, is that a co-opted seat be reserved for a GP Patient Group Representative on both the Leicestershire and Rutland LINk Boards.

In the meantime, two LINk members who are also members of PPGs, are forging ahead with plans to form an East Leicestershire & Rutland Patient Participation Chairs Network. This Network will aim to strengthen and empower local Patient Participation Groups in the area of the East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group. One of their key objectives will be to build strong working relationships and partnerships with

main stakeholders, which will include both the Leicestershire and Rutland LINks.

The aim is that a similar Network will be established for PPGs covering the area of the West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group.

Once these Networks start to meet, the LINks look forward to their involvement on our Boards and importantly working together to ensure that, in the government’s words there is “no decision about us without us.”

John Baker - Leicestershire LINk Chair



BOWEL CANCER AWARENESSLeicestershire LINk worked in partnership with Leicestershire and Rutland NHS Trust, Pacesetters and the Shree Ram Krishna Centre in Loughborough to raise awareness of Bowel Cancer. The Bowel Cancer Awareness event focused on prevention, what to look out for in the very early stages and information on services.

The event was attended by over 100 people who took part in yoga, chair exercises and cooking demonstrations. The importance of using less oil in cooking and using a variety of vegetables in Indian cooking was just one of the many tips given to the attendees who also commented on how surprisingly good food can taste with less oil. In addition to presentations there were activities to reinforce ways of decreasing the chance of getting Bowel Cancer. Potential risks include:

Mental Health Task Group Announce Their PrioritiesThe Mental Health Task Group have developed a 12 month action plan, which details its objectives and what it wants to achieve. The new chair Andy Murtha, recently spoke on Radio Leicester about mental health issues. He also asked for more people who have an interest in mental health to join the LINk Task Group, so that we have a wide perspective of views. These are the priorities we will be working on for the next 12 months:

• Increase involvement and participation by service users, this can be groups as well as individuals.

• Reach out to the counties Black & Minority Ethnic mental health groups which were previously supported by Age UK and explore ways to work with them in the future.

• Increase partnership working with Leicestershire Partnership Trust.

• Carers of people experiencing diffi culties with their mental health will be an area of continuing work, here we want to strengthen the voice of this seldom heard group and improve support.

• Use existing LINk mechanisms to inform the wider population about mental health by producing articles and information for the LINk website, E-News and Facebook.

• Look into what information should be included in a city and county wide information document/ directory for Mental Health and health and wellbeing.

Other areas of work for the group will be to continue to monitor services, identify issuesand in� uence future provision of mental health services. If you are interested in joining the Mental Health Group, contact Ian Clowes on 0116 229 3050 or email [email protected]

Leicestershire LINk Newsletter 4

Leicestershire LINk worked in partnership with Leicestershire and Rutland NHS Trust, Pacesetters and the Shree Ram Krishna Centre in Loughborough to raise awareness of Bowel Cancer. The Bowel Cancer Awareness event focused on prevention, what to look out for in the very early stages and information on services. The event was attended by over 100 people who took part in yoga, chair exercises and cooking demonstrations. The importance of using less oil in cooking and using a variety of vegetables in Indian cooking was just one of the many tips given to the attendees who also commented on how surprisingly good food can taste with less oil. In addition to presentations there were activities to reinforce ways of decreasing the chance of getting Bowel Cancer. Potential risks include: If you would like any further information on Bowel Cancer or where you can obtain your testing kit, please call 0800 707 6060 or visit www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel

A campaign has been launched to stop bogus callers from conning people with learning disabilities Leicestershire County Council has produced door stickers, giving people prompts on how to handle any trader who calls at their door. Tracy Foulds, who lives near Coalville, said: “The sticker reminds me to think before I answer my front door, especially to strangers. It’s really easy to understand with easy words and pictures which remind me to stay safe."

Stickers are available from [email protected] or by contacting 0116 305 7543

Diet: the risk of bowel cancer can be increased with a diet high in fibre and low in fat and also a diet high in red or processed meats Exercise: participating in activity decreases the chance of getting bowel cancer

Healthy weight: obese people are more likely to develop bowel cancer than leaner people Alcohol and smoking: high amounts increase chances of bowel cancer Family history and inherited conditions: there is an increased risk if a close relative has had bowel cancer Related conditions: some other bowel conditions can increase the chance of getting bowel cancer

Age: of the people who are diagnosed with bowel cancer 80% are over 60

If you would like any further information on Bowel Cancer or where you can obtain your testing kit, please call 0800 707 6060 or visit www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/bowel

A campaign has been launched to stop bogus callers from conning people with learning disabilitiesLeicestershire County Council has produced door stickers, giving people prompts on how to handle any trader who calls at their door. Tracy Foulds, who lives near Coalville, said: “The sticker reminds me to think before I answer my front door, especially to strangers. It’s really easy to understand with easy words and pictures which remind me to stay safe.”

Stickers are available from [email protected] or by contacting 0116 305 7543

Update on Young People...We felt it important to share with you the plans for our work with young people over the coming months. With one eye to HealthWatch and the other to the needs of young people, the next twelve months will see us working on the following priority areas: • Continue to engage with Leicestershire’s young people to hear their opinions about services and identify issues. We will use various ways to achieve this including social networks and surveys.• Increase our active membership of young people who could gain valuable experience of working with the LINk.• Continue our successful partnership working with local authorities and health service providers. The last twelve months took us into schools where we identi� ed a number of issues and this exciting work will continue.• Develop a questionnaire which will enable us to ask small groups their opinions about issues and concerns as they arise.• Ensure we are really representing the true picture of Health and Social Care issues for Leicestershire’s young people.

If you are a young person and would like some more information about what we are doing in your area, please contact Ian Clowes on 0116 229 3050 or email [email protected]



SPEAKING UP: What Our LINk Representatives Are DoingAfter the � rst two formal meetings of the Leicestershire Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board, Margaret Moore and Geoff Smith sum up the experience as “a lot to learn but a real opportunity to bring the experience of users of health and social care to the decision makers.” We’ve had our say about the development of Leicestershire HealthWatch, the � nancial challenges facing our hospitals, Market Harborough Hospital and the changes to thresholds for some planned treatments as well as keeping up with the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the development of the Clinical Commissioning Groups (formerly known as GP Consortia).

West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group - Bev Gillman, LINk Representative brings us up to date

West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (WLCCG) has 355,781 patients registered at 50 practices in Hinckley and Bosworth, North Charnwood, South Charnwood and North West Leicestershire.

Since May, as a member of the Leicestershire LINk Board, I have been the lay member representing the Patients and Public on the WLCCG Board. There is a meeting each month, the duration of which is gradually lengthening! It has been a very interesting few months and I am pleased to tell you that I have been made welcome at these meetings and have felt able to put forward a viewpoint that can differ from those of GPs.

As a member of the WLCCG Board, I am able to attend the Board development sessions and I have also been working in the Urgent Care Project group, which has been mainly concerned with debating the future of the Walk-in-Centre in Loughborough. Those of you who live in this area will know that many of the public have very strong feelings regarding this issue and I have been endeavouring to explain these.

East Leicestershire & Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - formerly The Crescent ConsortiumEric Charlesworth, the LINk representative says that: “exciting and very encouraging preliminary meetings to discuss the position, role, and key contribution that LINk will be making, have been undertaken with the Chair, Dr Mike Briggs and Operating Director, Dominic Cox from the East Leicestershire & Rutland CCG.”

These monthly meetings are helping prepare for the formal acceptance of the LINk representative at the CCG Board, which will commence in September. The CCG have shown a very strong desire and commitment to use the reputation, knowledge, skill base, interests and communication channels of the LINk and its membership. This will ensure there is full and transparent communication and engagement with the public and patient population for whom the CCG will be commissioning (buying) health services.

Dr Briggs has already recognised the 5 signi� cant practice boundaries, which make up the CCG. Dr Briggs and his colleagues have commenced public meetings in Oadby & Wigston, Lutterworth and Blaby, Melton, Rutland and Market Harborough, in order to explain the new NHS responsibilities and to seek the public views on how the new Commissioning Group can work closely with their community.

Work already highlighted by the CCG as being key in the creation of a successful partnership, include many of which the LINk have successfully undertaken substantial work, or have achieved strong working protocols or work streams. This was greatly welcomed.

• Need for regular transparent communication, engagement and consultation• Reviewing the current/proposed services and planning for improving the quality of Primary Care provision• Establish strong working relationships with LINk (and its development into HealthWatch), GP Patient Participation Groups, Local Authorities, Secondary Care, PCT cluster• Ensure value for money, cost effective high quality services• Addressing the issues of ‘rurality’• Operating strategically in planning and provision of services• Equability/Accountability between the NHS, Adult Social Care, 3rd sector and the public they serve• Reviewing Dementia Strategy Mental Health Services

The next year will clearly be a very busy and de� ning time, as the new responsibilities of both the CCG and the LINk transfer into HealthWatch. It is important that we have been invited to be part of that process from the outset, and it befalls us all to ensure that individually and collectively the East Leicestershire & Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group becomes a service of excellence.

The future of the Loughborough Walk-in-Centre and Urgent Care within the West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group - Bev GillmanFor the past few weeks, I have been representing Leicestershire LINk at the group looking at the future of Urgent Care, and thus of the Loughborough Walk-in-Centre. Brie� y, the Primary Care Trust and the West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (mainly GPs) would prefer to change both the nature of the Loughborough Walk-in-Centre - to become an Urgent Care Centre - and move the resulting service to the Loughborough Hospital site.

I helped in the organisation of an engagement event, which was held in August in Loughborough. More than 80 people attended, representing local NHS trusts, local government at county and district level, the voluntary sector, Walk-In-Centre staff, local GP practices, and members of the public, several of whom belonged to Leicestershire LINk.

They learnt that:• At present the Walk-in-Centre is being run by a local GP practice, but that the contract will have to go out to procurement (the of� cial business method) in approximately 15 months. Any provider (including private � rms) could tender to take on the service.

• That the GPs in the area believe many

patients attend the Walk-in-Centre for needs that could be dealt with at GP surgeries. As GPs have to pay over £50 for every patient that attends the Walk-in-Centre, this diverts money away from other health services for the patients.

• The cost of running the Walk-in-Centre in its present form is £2.2 million, but it would cost about £100,000 if Urgent Care was to be provided at the Loughborough Hospital.

During the session, I felt that two main points emerged:• If the service was to be changed to Urgent Care only, patients would need assurance that GP appointments would be more accessible.• There were issues to do with transport in general and, in particular, if the service was to be re-located, parking at Loughborough Hospital would have to be addressed.

When a vote was taken, 24% preferred to retain the Walk-in-Centre, 33% to change the Walk-in-Centre to an Urgent Care Centre and 43% were happy to receive Urgent Care at Loughborough Hospital.Thus, there was no clear direction arising from this event. As a result, it has been agreed that the proposals should now go to full public consultation. There will be several consultation events taking place over the next 12 weeks.



The Future for CCGs is Becoming Much ClearerIn Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland the two Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) joined to form one Cluster. This Cluster decided that, from August this year, the CCGs would become responsible for all decisions with regard to commissioning (buying) of health services, for which they will become of� cially responsible in April 2013. This is all services except those relating to public health and the ones that will become the responsibility of the NHS Commissioning Board. They will also take the lead role in identifying and addressing key clinical quality and safety issues within major provider contracts e.g. contracts with Leicestershire Partnership Trust (Mental Health and Community

Health Services) and University Hospitals of Leicester (acute services). They also have to take on the responsibility for reduction in the NHS budget, which is where the public see a con� ict of interest!

A newer development is that our local Cluster has to join with other Clusters in the area, and all Clusters are going to be required to act in a similar manner. Therefore, the possibility exists that dictates from Clusters to CCGs regarding the way they function will become very precise. PCT staff will be moved into the CCGs and may bring with them de� ned ways of working.

The WLCCG is worried that this could cause them to become effectively mini-PCTs and to lose all the initiative to improve services for the patients. The Board has agreed that they will do their utmost to prevent this from happening.

Two private care homes have won a new County Council award to show that they provide a quality service...Thorpe House in Loughborough and Broadoak Lodge in Melton Mowbray are the � rst homes to achieve Leicestershire County Council’s Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) for Older People, which shows they put residents’ needs � rst. They have both won the gold award.

QAF was launched as the Council wants to drive up the quality of care services in the 106 private residential and nursing homes for older people with whom the council has contractual arrangements.

David Sprason, Cabinet member for Adults and Communities, said: “We want to increase the number of homes providing high quality and give residents and relatives reassurance that they are meeting the highest standards of quality and dignity.”

POLICY UPDATES...

From LINks to LHW

Email and internet access has transformed

the lives of 4,000 people over the last decade, thanks to a

Leicestershire County Council scheme

It’s the 10th birthday of CareOnLine, which has helped older and disabled people to use the internet to make new friends and keep in touch with old acquaintances.

Annie, from south Leicestershire, said: “Having a laptop from CareOnLine has opened up a whole new world for me with my daughter and family in Australia and reunited me with my son in Scotland, who I haven’t seen for 40 years.”

For further details of CareOnLine visit

www.leicscareonline.org.uk

Local Healthwatch Start Up Pushed BackThe set up of HealthWatch England (HWE) and Local HealthWatch (LHW) has now been delayed even further to October 2012. This is a direct consequence from the feedback the Government received from the NHS Future Forum. The NHS Future Forum is an independent group of the country’s leading NHS professionals and patient representatives who were tasked with analysing the results from the Government’s Listening Exercise. The Listening Exercise provided local people with another opportunity to tell the Government what they thought of the proposed changes to the NHS. Some of the major reforms which were due to take place in April 2012 have now been delayed and will not come into place any earlier than June 2012. This means the vital work of the LINk will continue during this transition time.


Policy Updates Local HealthWatch start up pushed back The set up of HealthWatch England (HWE) and Local HealthWatch (LHW) has now been delayed even further to October 2012. This is a direct consequence from the feedback the Government received from the NHS Future Forum. The NHS Future Forum is an independent group of the country’s leading NHS professionals and patient representatives who were tasked with analysing the results from the Government’s Listening Exercise. The Listening Exercise provided local people with another opportunity to tell the Government what they thought of the proposed changes to the NHS. Some of the major reforms which were due to take place in April 2012 have now been delayed and will not come into place any earlier than June 2012. This means the vital work of the LINk will continue during this transition time.

From LINks to LHW We were successful in our bid to become a ‘Pathfinder’ HealthWatch, which will mean time, energy and commitment will be spent on ensuring we ‘get it right’ for Leicestershire. Transforming LINks into LHW will not be an easy task. We have been working closely with Leicestershire County Council and our partners to identify ways we can test some of the functions of HealthWatch in this transition year. During the transition, we will work with the other 74 Pathfinders across the Country to share and develop ways in which LHW can be effective, visible, independent and more importantly really accessible for everyone in the County. Our LINk wouldn’t be where it is now, without the energy and time our volunteers have given. To make sure LHW is as successful, we will need your expertise and knowledge to assist with the move to LHW. If you want to get involved, please contact Saima Khan on 0116 229 3048 or email [email protected]

Health and Social Care Bill Due to the pause, the timetable for the Health and Social Care Bill has slipped. The amendments which arose out of the NHS Future Forum’s report were tabled in June and the Public Bill Committee met last in July. The Bill is due to have its report stage and third reading in early September. At this stage all MPs can suggest amendments to the Bill or new clauses (parts) they think should be added. We are keen to ensure our views on LHW are heard, so for this reason we will continue to lobby our local MPs. A special thank you to all those members who made contact with their local MPs - collectively we can work to make sure our views are heard.

Get involved and help develop HealthWatch An excellent opportunity has been offered to anyone who would like to be involved in shaping and developing HealthWatch. Throughout this year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be working to design the new, independent consumer champion (HealthWatch) for users of healthcare services. To register your interest in becoming a member of the CQC HealthWatch online forum, please email [email protected]. You will receive an email once the online forum has been set up, which will ask you to register as part of the group. This is your chance to make a difference and to make HealthWatch work for you!


Policy Updates Local HealthWatch start up pushed back The set up of HealthWatch England (HWE) and Local HealthWatch (LHW) has now been delayed even further to October 2012. This is a direct consequence from the feedback the Government received from the NHS Future Forum. The NHS Future Forum is an independent group of the country’s leading NHS professionals and patient representatives who were tasked with analysing the results from the Government’s Listening Exercise. The Listening Exercise provided local people with another opportunity to tell the Government what they thought of the proposed changes to the NHS. Some of the major reforms which were due to take place in April 2012 have now been delayed and will not come into place any earlier than June 2012. This means the vital work of the LINk will continue during this transition time.

From LINks to LHW We were successful in our bid to become a ‘Pathfinder’ HealthWatch, which will mean time, energy and commitment will be spent on ensuring we ‘get it right’ for Leicestershire. Transforming LINks into LHW will not be an easy task. We have been working closely with Leicestershire County Council and our partners to identify ways we can test some of the functions of HealthWatch in this transition year. During the transition, we will work with the other 74 Pathfinders across the Country to share and develop ways in which LHW can be effective, visible, independent and more importantly really accessible for everyone in the County. Our LINk wouldn’t be where it is now, without the energy and time our volunteers have given. To make sure LHW is as successful, we will need your expertise and knowledge to assist with the move to LHW. If you want to get involved, please contact Saima Khan on 0116 229 3048 or email [email protected]

Health and Social Care Bill Due to the pause, the timetable for the Health and Social Care Bill has slipped. The amendments which arose out of the NHS Future Forum’s report were tabled in June and the Public Bill Committee met last in July. The Bill is due to have its report stage and third reading in early September. At this stage all MPs can suggest amendments to the Bill or new clauses (parts) they think should be added. We are keen to ensure our views on LHW are heard, so for this reason we will continue to lobby our local MPs. A special thank you to all those members who made contact with their local MPs - collectively we can work to make sure our views are heard.

Get involved and help develop HealthWatch An excellent opportunity has been offered to anyone who would like to be involved in shaping and developing HealthWatch. Throughout this year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be working to design the new, independent consumer champion (HealthWatch) for users of healthcare services. To register your interest in becoming a member of the CQC HealthWatch online forum, please email [email protected]. You will receive an email once the online forum has been set up, which will ask you to register as part of the group. This is your chance to make a difference and to make HealthWatch work for you!

We were successful in our bid to become a ‘Path� nder’ HealthWatch, which will mean time, energy and commitment will be spent on ensuring we ‘get it right’ for Leicestershire. Transforming LINks into LHW will not be an easy task. We have been working closely with Leicestershire County Council and our partners to identify ways we can test some of the functions of HealthWatch in this transition year. During the transition, we will work with the other 74 Path� nders across the Country to share and develop ways in which LHW can be effective, visible, independent and more importantly really accessible for everyone in the County. Our LINk wouldn’t be where it is now, without the energy and time our volunteers have given. To make sure LHW is as successful, we will need your expertise and knowledge to assist with the move to LHW. If you want to get involved, please contact Saima Khan on 0116 229 3048 or email [email protected]

Health & Social Care BillDue to the pause, the timetable for the Health and Social Care Bill has slipped. The amendments which arose out of the NHS Future Forum’s report were tabled in June and the Public Bill Committee met last in July. The Bill is due to have its report stage and third reading in early September. At this stage all MPs can suggest amendments to the Bill or new clauses (parts) they think should be added. We are keen to ensure our views on LHW are heard, so for this reason we will continue to lobby our local MPs. A special thank you to all those members who made contact with their local MPs - collectively we can work to make sure our views are heard.

Get Involved and Help Develop HealthWatchAn excellent opportunity has been offered to anyone who would like to be involved in shaping and developing HealthWatch. Throughout this year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be working to design the new, independent consumer champion (HealthWatch) for users of healthcare services.To register your interest in becoming a member of the CQC HealthWatch online forum, please email [email protected] You will receive an email once the online forum has been set up, which will ask you to register as part of the group.

This is your chance to make a difference and to make HealthWatch work for you!



SPOTLIGHT ON

Good quality and accessible services for people with Dementia is a concern of the LINk. LINk representatives have been attending various meetings and identi� ed the need for more joint working. The good news is that a new local “Dementia Joint Commissioning Strategy” has been produced which will bring the NHS and social care together to work on ensuring that services for people with dementia are improved.

In order to take the Dementia Strategy forward, a joint Dementia Commissioning Group has been established. This Group will have four different strands of work where representatives from the LINk will be able to feed-in your views and experiences. These four areas are:

• Early diagnoses and access to care and support services• Living well with Dementia in the community• Improving Hospital Care for people with Dementia• Living well with dementia in care homes

So that we can feed in your views about current dementia services and ideas for how these can be improved in the future, we have established a Leicestershire & Rutland Dementia Task Group. If you have any experience of Dementia, we need you to come along to the LINk Dementia Task Group. If you are interested in hearing what is happening, would like to represent the LINk on any of the above groups or would like to in� uence the implementation of the Strategy, please contact Kamini Patel on 0116 229 3019 or email [email protected]

NEW Task Group Focussing on Dementia..Joint LINk EMAS Task Group

Dr Mike Pepperman, Chair of the Joint LINk East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) Task Group talks about what the group is trying to achieve...Hello, my name is Dr Mike Pepperman and I’m the chair of the LINk EMAS Task Group. I‘m a former consultant at University Hospitals of Leicester and currently a Leicester City LINk Board Member and the EMAS representative for Leicestershire LINk.

What does the EMAS task group do?The main purpose of the EMAS Task Group is to look at concerns raised by the public about the East Midlands Ambulance Service. As a group we prioritise these and take on projects to improve the quality of care given to patients who need the services of EMAS.

How long has the EMAS Task Group been running?The � rst meeting was held in January 2011 and has been meeting bi-monthly ever since. From the very beginning our Task Group believed we should open a dialogue with our major stakeholders. These were identi� ed as EMAS, the University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL), GP Consortia (now known as Clinical Commissioning Groups) and the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP). The group recognised that there might be additions to this list over time.The group have received presentations from the Acting Admission and Discharge Manager at UHL and the Assistant Director of Operations at EMAS. These were invaluable as they informed the group of how their organisations were structured and worked.

What issues are the group working on?We decided on the following work streams in order of priority: Re-bedding* of patients, Patient Safety and Complaints, Cleanliness of vehicles, Turnaround times of ambulances at UHL, Public transport services and the Mobilisation of vehicles.The EMAS Task Group has 30 members in total. To ensure that the skills, knowledge and experiences of the members of the task group are used effectively, the group took a proactive approach and nominated a member to lead on each work stream. We are working closely with EMAS and UHL on our current projects: Re-bedding and Patients Safety and Complaints.

How do you get involved?The group welcomes new members and if you are interested in joining or � nding out more, please contact Saima Khan on 0116 229 3048 or email [email protected] information on this Task Group can be found on the dedicated webpage at www.leicestershirelink.org.uk

*This occurs when patients, who are � t for discharge, are sent down to the discharge lounge and have to re-occupy a bed because of a failure in the discharge process. This has been a particular problem at the LRI where the re-bedded patients block beds that are needed for new admissions. Re-bedding does not seem to be an issue at other acute hospitals in the area.

Do you have a Neurological Long Term Condition?Do you feel that services could be improved?If your answer is YES, then you may want to come along to the joint LINk Neurological Task Group, which is working on putting a case to the new Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) for how services could be greatly improved at probably less cost. The CCGs have told us that they want to hear about people’s experiences of services and their ideas for how these could be improved and provide better outcomes for patients.

We are planning an information event, which will bring voluntary organisations who provide services, information and in some cases training, as well as hopefully the Multi-Agency Neurological Team in Nottingham to talk about how it works in their area. We will keep you informed about this event but in the meantime, if you want to be part of the Neurological Task Group and work towards raising the pro� le of these conditions, please join us at our next meeting on Monday 10th October at 2pm at The Brite Centre. Contact Gill Wollerton on 0116 229 3028 or email [email protected] for more information.

You can get involved in any of our Sub Groups and Task Groups, including: Project Group, Communications Group, Neurological, EMAS, Mental Health, Dementia and Young People. If you are interested in joining any of these groups, please contact

the LINk offi ce on 0116 229 3103 or email [email protected]

Contact Us...

Copyright © Leicestershire LINk

[email protected]

FREEPOST RSCK-LBKH-UBGL,Leicestershire LINk, Leicester, LE4 1HB

0116 229 3103

www.leicestershirelink.org.ukBack issues online - http://issuu.com/leicestershirelink

Tell Us What You Think...LINk Poll ResultsWe have run a number of mini polls on our website to � nd out what you think on the latest Health and Social Care issues and topics. The results of these polls are below:

88%

8% 4%

Do you want to keep the Children’s Heart Surgery at Glenfield Hospital?

Yes No Don't Know

7%

72%

7%14%

Do you think the new measures for the Care of the Elderly at Leicester

Hospitals will be effective?Yes No Not Sure Don't Know

61%

34%

5%

Do you think that gym memberships should be prescribed

by GPs?Yes No Not Sure

88% of you said you wanted to keep the

Children’s Heart Surgery at Glen� eld.

Over 70% of you are not convinced that the new

measures will be effective.

Mixed responses for this question but with over 60%

of you voting that GPs should be prescribing gym memberships, it seems that

the majority feel that this is an effective way to help

people get healthier.

You can take part in our mini polls on our website

www.leicestershirelink.org.ukPlease let us know if you have a question you would like us to include!

Leicestershire LINk Newsletter Issue 11

Documents

link work

link board meeting

gp patient groups

patient care

local healthwatch

healthwatch task group

social care services

start of healthwatch