Healthwatch Swindon: Working with young people at school
Healthwatch is the new consumer champion for the public, patients, health and care service users, and their carers and families. Local Healthwatch (in our case, Healthwatch Swindon) was established in every English social services authority from 1 April 2013.
Healthwatch is one of the new organisations and changes to the NHS and social care introduced by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Nationally Healthwatch England provides leadership, support and advice to the local Healthwatch network.
It will use evidence based on experiences to highlight national issues and trends in order to influence national policy. Through the network and by receiving views directly, Healthwatch England will ensure that voices of people who use health and social care services are heard by the Secretary of State for Health, the Care Quality Commission, NHS England, Monitor and local authorities in England.
A key role of local Healthwatch organisations will be to promote the local consumer voice to ensure that the views of patients, service users and the public are fed into improving local health and care services. The primary task of local Healthwatch organisations will be to gather evidence from the views and experiences of patients, service users and the public about their local health and care services and to provide feedback based on that evidence.
A strong voice for children and young people, as well as adults, in both health and social care
The Local Government Association (LGA) has published a series of briefings which describe the Healthwatch role and its relationship with other organisations. Local Healthwatch is under a duty to involve the public in the design, commissioning and delivery of health and care services, and this applies as much to children and young people as to adults. The Department of Health has made clear its expectation that Healthwatch will be “a strong voice for children and young people, as well as adults, in both health and social care”.
There is a specific expectation in the contract we have with Swindon Borough Council to develop strategies for effectively involving children and young people in Healthwatch activity - and particularly those who are most disadvantaged. One LGA briefing is entitled Engaging with children and young people.
We have a number of proposals for work with schools and colleges:
- Producing a video, presentation or recording
- Timescale: Between 1 January and Friday 28 March 2014
- Maximum length: 6 minutes.
- In submitting your students’ work, the school/college acknowledges that all necessary agreements and consents have been sought and received for the material to be published by Healthwatch - initially on our website.
This is the question the presentation needs to respond to:
“A great deal of public money is spent on planning and providing the NHS and social care services. Why do we need an organisation like Healthwatch Swindon to act as a champion to speak up for the consumers of those services?”
- Healthwatch to receive all material by 28 March
- Arrange viewing/judging and award of prize.
Being an ambassador and champion for us in schools/colleges
- Timescale: Starting as soon as possible in January 2014 and continuing during the academic year.
- Two or three students recruited via school/college internal arrangements who act to whatever extent possible with their peers as the “eyes and ears” in relation to health and social care issues – general ones affecting several people rather than individual matters which should be dealt with appropriately through any necessary clinical, medical, social care intervention. (issues to consider: Confidentiality about sensitive issues raised. Managing any appropriate referrals elsewhere).
- Issues are gathered and passed to us at agreed frequency with meetings held once a term with our engagement officer.
- The students meet once a term with similar from other schools/colleges to exchange information and ideas an act together as Young Healthwatch and report back to school/college.
Using school/college intranet to survey students
- Timescale: Starting as soon as possible
- We will provide survey questions for inclusion on intranet.
- Particular focus: Young carers though all school response welcomed
These are the questions at the moment but there are likely to be others during the year:
- Where do you go to get your health needs met?
- Which practice are you registered with?
- Where else do you go?
- When you last needed to see the doctor yourself, how easy was it to make an appointment at a time which was OK for you?
- How well did you feel you were listened to?
- Did you feel you got the care/attention you expected/needed?
- When you last needed to see a dentist, how easy was it to make an appointment?
- Was it a dentist you had been to before?
- Did you feel you got the care/attention you expected/needed?
- What other health/care people have you recently seen for yourself?
- Did you feel you got the care/attention you expected/needed?
Speaking with health/social care/politics students
- Timescale: Starting as soon as possible in 2014 and continuing during the academic year
- Our engagement officer speaking with students in smaller groups to describe and discuss how the system works and use this to draw out views from students’ personal experience. Opportunities for short term placement There may be opportunities for
- Undertaking specific pieces of time-limited basic research based in the office or as part of our engagement activity
- Shadowing.
