Wirral LINk October Newsletter

Local Involvement Network mem-bers who would like to take a more active part in the LINk are being en-couraged to get involved in ongo-ing work. Diane Hill, LINk Chair, appealed for anyone with relevent expertise or available time and en-thusiasm, to look at the LINk work-plan to see if there are areas where they can contribute. Speaking after the LINk Board Meeting on October 5th, Diane said that “Wirral LINk is about working together to achieve

improvements to care services on the Wirral. It is volunteer-led, and the more people who are able to get involved, the more we will be able to do”, and she encouraged mem-bers to get in touch with the LINk Support Team.

The activities which are currently available for active members to get involved with are distributing Dignity in Care Cards, undertaking training to become and Authorised Representative, helping to man the ‘kiosk’ at Arrowe Park Hospital,

The LINk has recently completed it’s first major report, which looks at the process of being discharged from hospital on the Wirral.

The report, which has been shared with NHS Wirral and Wirral Uni-versities Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was carried out by the LINk to follow up a previous survey by Wirral Older People’s Parliament which led to Wirral University Teaching Hospitals setting up a “Patient Flow Group” to improve the discharge process.

The report concluded that al-

though WUTH had done a lot to improve the patient’s experience of the discharge process, implementa-tion of the discharge process lacked consistency.

A sub group of the LINk, in-cluding Diane Hill, Sheila Ken-nedy, Diana Nightingale, Maureen Makin, Barbara Moody and Stanley Mayne, worked hard on designing and distributing four surveys, look-ing at discharge to Wirral services, to Cheshire West and Chester ser-vices, at the experience of people in the discharge lounge, and at care professionals opinions of the pro-cess. Almost 200 responses were

received in total, which were then compiled by the LINk Support Team.

Recommendations in the report in-cluded: brief job swaps to improve understanding and communication between WUTH staff and staff in the community; meetings with spe-

cialist forums to improve commu-nications between Wirral LINk and health and social care professionals; Inter-operable computer systems be-tween Wirral University Teaching Hospitals and community services to also include the cross-boundary

Wirral Council has pledged to engage with residents, staff, stake-holders, businesses and community groups right across Wirral in a huge consultation process that will shape the future of Council services.

So far the Council has already dis-tributed over 11,500 questionnaires and the consultation roadshow team have spoken to more than 4100 peo-ple at 49 different events and loca-tions across the borough.

Leader of Wirral Council, Coun-cillor Jeff Green said:

“I am delighted that so many peo-ple are taking such a keen interest in the consultation, taking the time to find out more and giving us their views on how the Council should be spending their money. This admin-

istration has promised that no part of Wirral will be ignored or left be-hind, so I am really impressed that we are receiving ideas, suggestions and comments from across all of

Wirral’s communities. “In a few months, we will be set-

ting the Council’s budget therefore, local residents, staff and com-munities who want their voices to

Issue 8

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Image of Arrowe Park Hospital

Council staff at a roadshow - the Consultation runs until Friday October 22nd

Wirral’s Future: Be a part of it Government Consults on Future of the NHS

Active Membership

LINk Reports on Hospital Discharge

By Wirral Council Press Office &the LINk Support Team

By the LINk Support Team

By the LINk Support Team

As reported in the last issue, the LINk Support Team have moved offices, along with the rest of VCA Wirral, and are now based in the Fire Station in Birkenhead.

The move is now complete, but the process has not been without diffi-culties. In particular, installation of a new digital telephone/computer system led to unforseen ongoing technical issues, which at times has made it difficult to contact the LINk

Support TeamAlthough the new system is still

not entirely up-to-speed, the situa-tion is improving and the team hope that normal service will be resumed very soon.

We would like to thank all LINk members for their patience and for-bearance during this transition.

Several LINk meetings have al-ready been held in the commu-nity rooms or the VCAW meeting room at the Fire Station, with more planned for the near future.

LINk Support Team Ccntact Details, back page

LINk Support Team Settles InBy Lisa Phillips and Phil Davies, LINk Support Team

By the LINk Support Team

The Coalition Government has outlined a series of proposals for the future of the NHS. Issued back in July the White Paper, ‘Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS’, sets out wide-ranging and signifi-cant changes to the NHS.

As part of this process, four public consultations are being carried out. Of particular interest to the LINk is the proposal to replace LINks with a new body called HealthWatch from April 2012, contained in the

L I N K E D U P N E W SOctober 2010 “Growing Stronger Communities - by joining together, many whispers become one voice”

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consultation entitled ‘Increasing Democratic Legitimacy in Health’. The LINk Board has coordinated a response specifically to this consul-ation. The other three public consul-tations are:

• Transparency in outcomes - a framework for the NHS

• Commissioning for patients• Regulating healthcare providersThe Government has pledged to in-

crease health spending in real terms in each year of this Parliament, and say that the reforms are to give pa-tients more choice and control, so that services are more responsive to patients and designed around them. The underlying principle of the changes will be “no decisions about me without me”.

Under the new plans, patients will be able to choose which GP prac-tice they register with, regardless of where they live, and choose be-tween consultant-led teams. More comprehensive and transparent in-

formation, such as patients’ own ratings, will help them make these choices together with healthcare professionals. Groups of GPs will be given freedom and responsibil-ity for commissioning care for their local communities.

Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts will be phased out. Management costs will be re-duced so that as much resource as possible supports frontline services. The reforms build on changes started under the previous Government.

Further consultations are being planned by the Department of Health for later this year, includ-ing consultations on the Improving Choice Strategy, the Public Health White Paper and the Information Strategy.

Wirral LINk Board have coordi-nated a response to the first of these consultations, and have also made comments on the proposals to estab-lish HealthWatch. These responses are available in the News section of the LINk website.

Murdo Kennedy, one of the LINk Board Members who coordinated the response, commented that “Among many far reaching propos-als are that LINks will become Local HealthWatch by 2012, with an addi-tional remit for taking on individual complaints. We are starting to talk to stakeholders and GP representa-tives about transition arrangements and about building a system where complaints feedback can be used constructively to improve outcomes and effectiveness without getting bogged down in delays and expense with lawyers.”

In response to the recent proposed changes to the NHS, including changes to the way local patient and public involvement is carried out, Wirral LINk held two events during September and October to let ac-tive LINk members contribute their thoughts and ideas about the future direction of the LINk.

The first ‘Addressing the Future’ Event was held in Bebington Civic Centre on Thursday 16th Septem-ber, with a follow-up event held on October 4th in the Lauries Centre in Birkenhead. The aim of the events was to update LINk members about the changes, and to look at how members can take more of an active role in the work of the LINk.

The events were reasonably at-tended, with nearly fifty people attending across both days. Repre-sentatives from statutory organisa-tions (Wirral Council and the NHS) were invited to the afternoon in Birkenhead, in keeping with the LINk’s committment to working in partnership with care commission-ers and providers.

Issues discussed included Enter and View visits, involving active members, keeping LINk members informed, responding to the NHS White Paper, and the transition to Health Watch.

Also discussed was the range of options open to the LINk for re-questing information from the NHS

and from Wirral Council. These in-formation requests can range from informal email requests via the LINk Support Team to written Freedom of Information requests. The LINk has formed good relationships with pro-viders and commissioners of health care and social care, and communi-cations with these organisations are on the whole very good.

A key finding of the two days was that the LINk Board needs to com-municate more clearly with mem-

bers via the LINk Support Team. Steps have already been taken to ensure that this happens and that active members are informed about available opportunities.

LINk Vice-Chair, Audrey Mea-cock, said “the LINk Board were very aware that we need to make sure that LINk members are fully involved, particularly in light of the proposed changes to the NHS and the potential transition from LINks to Local HealthWatch.

We would like to thank everyone who gave up their time to attend these events, and we will be doing our best to translate your feedback into action.”

LINk members who would like to be more actively involved are en-couraged to contact the LINk Sup-port Team using the contact details listed on the back page. Some of the available options for volunteers are shown above, with additional oppor-tunities expected to arise shortly.

If you would like to be involved in any of the above work streams, please contact the Support Team

Wirral LINk: Addressing the FuturePage 2 October 2010LINKED UP NEWS

By the LINk Support Team

Continued from Page 1By Phil Davies LINk Support Team

‘Equity and Excellence’

Wirral LINk Board

“We await much further detail, particularly for

how Local HealthWatch will relate to Healthwatch

England which will be part of the Care Quality

Commission”

You can now get Wirral LINk updates via Twitter.

Twitter is a social media website that lets

users send out updates, or ‘tweets’ of up to 140 characters.

Dont worry if you don’t quite “get it” - the communications sub-group has arranged for some ‘social media’ training for LINk members. If you want to get more involved in communicating online about health and social care, this half day session might be for you.

A date has been provisionally booked for November 13th at UK Online in Liscard. Numbers are lim-ited, tobook a place contact Phil Da-vies on 0151 203 2111.Follow the LINk at www.twitter.com/LINkWirral

LINk Starts to Tweet

Dignity in CareAs part of the ongoing Dignity in Care Campaign we need volunteers to distribute the Feedback Cards. If you are able to take a few of these cards to your local library, lunch club, community centre, dentist, GP or pharmacy, please get in touch.

Task GroupsWe are looking for members for the following task groups:

If you would be interested in joining these groups, contact Elaine Evans.

Arrowe Park KioskThe LINk regularly has a presence in Arrowe Park Hospital foyer, to tell members of the public and NHS staff about the LINk, gather feedback and promote the Dignity in Care campaign. The next dates are October 26th and December 2nd, and we need volunteers who can spare an hour or so to man the stall.

Enter & View TrainingThe LINk is looking to increase its bank of trained ‘Enter & View’ Autho-rised Representatives. Training in the necessary requirements, sensitivities and constraints will be provided and members will need to have a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. If you’re interested, please let us know ASAP.

What are my opportunities to get involved?

Long Term Conditions

Patient Safety Alerts

The LINk’s Dignity in Care Cam-paign continues to gain momentum. Nearly 200 responses have been received, with Wirral residents and service users telling us about their care experiences, both positive or negative.

There will be a renewed drive to distribute and collect feedback cards over the next few months, before an interim report is published later in the year. For more information, visit the LINk website.

Diane Hill, LINk Chair, said “thank you to everyone who has filled in the Dignity in Care cards already, telling us about the services and how they’ve been treated”.

Care Quality Commission • publishes community mental health surveyMemory Matters in Wirral• Health Options: Home, or a • stay in the Park?Opinions about Mental Health • Trust services in the North WestFlu vaccination plug from • health expertLINK responds to NHS • Consultation

For more on any of these stories visit www.linkwirral.org.uk

Wirral Third Sector Assembly (3SA) is in the process of planning an event in partnership with NHS Wirral to inform voluntary & com-munity groups about the changes to the NHS and what they will mean for the third sector on Wirral.

This event will be held on Novem-ber 24th at Wallasey Town Hall. More details will be circulated to 3SA and LINk organisational mem-bers over the next fortnight.

and sitting on the Long Term Con-ditions and Patient Safety Alerts sub-groups.

In addition, members can also come to any LINk Board meeting as an observer, and can contribute their feedback and experiences via the LINk website.

LINk Coffee MorningsTo allow members and the pub-

lic to become more involved, the LINk will be holding several coffee mornings over the next few months. At these events, speakers from the NHS and Wirral Council will give presentations on topics that will hopefully interest members and stimulate debate and feedback.

The dates for these events are not available at the time of going to press, but will be publicised on www.linkwirral.org.uk and in writ-ing to LINk members as soon as the date, venue and speaker have been determined.

If you have an idea for one of these coffee mornings, please let the LINk know via the Support Team.

The LINk’s workplan sub-group has been working hard over the past few months, looking at the issues received from the public and from LINk members and distilling them into a workplan for the next year.

This process has been complicated by the uncertainty about the for-mat of the LINk after March 2011, when it looks likely to become Local HealthWatch. The end result is a workplan up to March 2011 that covers the main topics raised at LINk events, continues ongoing projects, and allows for urgent is-sues to be addressed as they arise.

Ongoing work topics include Per-sonalisation, Dignity in Care, Dis-charge, Stroke, Care for the Elderly and Patient Safety Alerts. These topics will often just be periodic monitoring of the effects of changes as a result of previous work, but can also involve taking a previous proj-ect on to a new stage where there are ongoing issues and concerns.

In relation to new work, some top-ics will be dealt with simply by a request for information. Others may require a new ‘task & finish’ group to be set up and carry out detailed work plans after approval by the LINk Board. The LINk will also re-spond to significant new concerns and issues as they arise. New work already identified includes Qual-ity Accounts, long term conditions,

healthcare for children and young people, and nursing home ratings.

The activities needed to support this work includes formal “Enter and View” visits, involvement and outreach work. Active members are being encouraged to get involved in any areas of work that interest them or where they have expertise. Please contact the LINK Support team for more information.

Wirral LINk is ready to make tracks into 2011

LINk Workplan UpdateDignity in Care Campaign gathers pace

Recent news from linkwirral.org.uk

Stop Press! 3SA Event Announced

Group recommends that the LINk works on topics including Patient Safety Alerts and Dignity in Care

Active Members Asked to Come Forward

By the LINk Support Team

By the LINk Support Team

By the LINk Support Team

By Dennis Jones, VCA Wirral

Continued from Page 1

Christian Cancer Support GroupMeets twice monthly in West Kirby, all welcome. Contact Sister Marie on 0151 625 8775 or 0151 638 6370LINk Board Meetings in PublicNovember 9th, 9.30am start at the Pavilion in Birkenhead ParkDecember 7th, 9.30am start at the Pavilion in Birkenhead ParkArrowe Park KioskThe LINk will have a stand in Ar-rowe Park hospital main foyer on October 26th and December 2nd.

We are currently looking for volun-teers to help man the stand.Discharge / Dignity in Care Work-ing GroupThese groups have been combined, and the next meeting will be held at Birkenhead Pavilion on Thursday 28th October starting at 9.30.Communications Sub-GroupThe next meeting of the Communi-cations Sub-Group will be held on Friday December 5th at Birkenhead Fire Station, starting at 9.30am.Merseyside LINk EventA regional event for Merseyside LINks to look at transition to Health-Watch is being planned. More de-

tails are expected shortly.Social Media TrainingTraining in using social media will be held for LINk members on No-vember 13th (TBC). To book a place, contact the LINk Support Team.

LINKED UP NEWSIf you have articles, events or fea-tures that you would like to see in the next edition of LINKED UP NEWS, please contact Phil Davies.The deadline for the next edition is 12noon on Friday December 3rd.

Classifieds and diary datesBy the LINk Support Team & the LINk Board

Page 3 October 2010LINKED UP NEWS

Organisational members of the LINk may be interested in the services offered by Wirral Pro-Help. ProHelp’s aim is to ensure that local community groups can access free professional help and advice with issues that might oth-erwise hinder their work and proj-ects. They focus support in areas of greatest need, examples of the sorts of projects they help with are:

• When and how should I negoti-ate a new lease for my building?

• Are my employment contracts in good order?

• How can I adapt my building to comply with the Disability Dis-crimination Act?

• Does my organisation need a brand identity?

• Are my accounting systems ro-bust enough to deal with our rapid growth?

P r o H e l p offers ac-cess to a range of p r o f e s -sional ex-p e r t i s e - members include so-licitors, ac-countants, s u r v e y -ors, architects, public relations, marketing and management con-sultants who undertake one-off projects. Each ProHelp group is a local network of professional firms who often work collaboratively on larger projects.

ProHelp has previously helped with one-off projects, such as a structural survey, marketing or business plan, a property valua-tion or accountancy advice, or with projects that need support from a number of professional disciplines and provide an opportunity for ProHelp members to work collab-oratively.

The guiding principle of ProHelp is that members approach projects in the same way as they would approach an instruction from fee-paying client - the only difference is that the community client is not charged.

Locally we have a bank of very enthusiastic Professionals ie So-licitors, Accountants, Survey-ors, Architects (Landscape and Community), Banking Advice, Construction, Graphics and Photo-graphic, and Structural Inspectors who work with local voluntary & community organisations to offer support and advice on a 100 hour

pro bono basis.

How can I access ProHelp?

To see if your organisation is eligible for sup-port, visit www.vcawirral.org.uk, or contact Julie Podmore, Pro-Help Co-ordina-

tor, on 0151 203 2111 (ext 220) or [email protected].

Further information and applica-tion forms can also be found on www.vcawirral.co.uk in the Proj-ects and Services section.

Neston and Willaston GP practices who use the hospital’s services; and a “Red Book” personal care record system for patients with long term conditions.

Murdo Kennedy, who wrote the final report, commented that ”although Wirral University Teaching Hospi-tals (WUTH) NHS Foundation Trust has done a great deal to improve the patient’s experience of the discharge process, the imple-mentation of their discharge pro-

cess has lacked consistency. Our recommendations include brief job swaps between hospital and com-munity staff, inter-operable com-

puter systems for hospital and community staff and a “red book” personal care re-cord for people with long term conditions.”

The response to this report from NHS Wirral and Wirral Univer-sities Hospitals NHS Foundation

Trust will appear on the LINk web-site as soon as it is received.

Copies of the final report are available

“Process lacks consistency”

Page 4

By Karen Prior & Julie Podmore, VCA Wirral

Continued from front page...

be heard, need to make sure they complete and return their question-naire now.”

The Council has already had over 1200 responses and still has another three and a half weeks of roadshows remaining, visiting places such as supermarkets, shop-ping centres, libraries, youth cen-tres and Birkenhead market.

Of particular interest to LINk members might be the Adult Social Care Options Paper, which outlines in detail the recommendations for

social care provision for adults.Annette Roberts, Chief Execu-

tive of VCA Wirral, said that the consultation “is a great chance for Wirral residents and organisa-tions to let the Council know what they consider to be the important issues”, and encouraged all LINk members to complete the survey.

The survey can be completed at any council office, one stop shop, sports centre, youth hub or library, by catching one of the roadshows, or completing it online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/WQV-LTRV

Wirral Local Involvement Network (LINk) c/o VCA Wirral, Fire Station, Exmouth Street, Birkenhead, CH41 4NFTel: 0151 203 2111Fax: 0151 666 5300Email: [email protected]

LINk Support Team Karen Prior, LINk Manager (part-time) Ext. 203Elaine Evans, LINk Support Officer Ext. 211Phil Davies, LINk Comms & Information Officer (part-time) Ext. 207Lisa Phillips, LINk Admin Support Officer (part-time) Ext. 209

To contact LINk staff call 0151 203 2111 (+ Ext)Office Hours 9.00am - 4.30pm

Wirral Council ConsultsContinued from front page...

Contact Details

Professionals help local groups

Julie Podmore, ProHelp Coordinator

“Professional firms make a real difference to our local communities by providing some of their service for free”

October 2010LINKED UP NEWS

Success Story: Tam O’Shanter Urban FarmWhen the lease for the café premises at Tam O’Shanter Urban Farm in Bidston was due to expire in 2009, Farm Manager John Jakeman successfully submitted an application to Wirral ProHelp for assistance from a Property Surveyor. Wirral ProHelp member Chris Johnson of Smith & Sons Property Consultants, based in Hamilton Square, visited the café premises for an inspection and subsequently provided a full valuation including the property’s current rental value. This enabled a new four year lease to be drawn up and signed by the private proprietors who now run the café.

Editor: Phil DaviesDesign: Phil DaviesTo subscribe or change your contact details, phone 0151 203 2111

LINKED UP NEWS is published on behalf of Wirral LINk by:VCA Wirral, Fire Station, Exmouth Street, Birkenhead, CH41 4NF

Copyright © 2010 Wirral Local Involvement Network (LINk)

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this news-letter is accurate, but we cannot guarantee accuracy and our articles do not con-stitute legal or professional advice.Opinions expressed in the newsletter are not always to be taken as expressing the opinions of Wirral LINk or VCA Wirral. Advertisements, products or services listed are not necessarily recommended by Wirral LINk or VCA Wirral.