Agenda item

Healthwatch Update

Select Committee members are asked to consider the information presented within the report and note the key issues described.

 

Minutes:

Alex Francis, Healthwatch B&NES addressed the Select Committee. A copy of the update can be found on their Minute Book and as an online appendix to these minutes, a summary of the update is set out below.

 

Accessible Information Standard (AIS)

 

During 2017 and early 2018, Healthwatch carried out a series of engagement visits to local groups and services to gather people’s feedback, in addition to a running an online survey. Through this work, Healthwatch spoke to 70 people and received a further 39 survey responses.

 

Findings:

·  It soon became clear that there is a lack of public awareness of the AIS. 28 survey respondents (72%) reported not having heard of the legislation, this was reflected through our conversations with local groups too.

·  20 of the 28 respondents (71%) reported using primary care services in the first instance, which highlights the importance of these services in raising awareness of the AIS with the public.

·  Almost half of the 28 respondents that had not heard of the AIS had a disability or sensory loss that would be recognised and supported through the legislation.

 

In general Healthwatch found that health and social care staff have a good knowledge of the need to support people with communications needs, however they are not always aware of the AIS legislation, or its requirements on how they work and operate. This is particularly important for organisations to note as the Care Quality Commission is beginning to include compliance with the AIS in its inspections.

 

Through our engagement we identified many areas of good practice, where organisations are working hard to comply with the AIS legislation, including the Ophthalmology and Audiology departments at the Royal United Hospital (RUH) and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP).

 

Following our engagement, we held a workshop for local health and social care providers to find out what Healthwatch had learnt, share best practice and learn from one another’s experiences of implementing the AIS.

 

We invited the RUH and AWP to present to the group and share what they have done to comply with the legislation. Their insight was well received and attendees reported finding it useful to hear what had worked well, the challenges that these organisations had faced and how they had worked (or are still working) to overcome them.

 

Healthwatch is now going to work with colleagues at The Care Forum to set up an online provider forum for organisations across the West of England to continue sharing resources, information and experiences around the AIS.

 

‘What matters to you?’ – Public Event

 

On 4 July 2018, Healthwatch B&NES held an open meeting at Saltford Village Hall for members of the public and staff / volunteers from community or voluntary groups to come and share their experiences of using local health and social care services, or those of the people that they work with or support.

 

Topics or concerns raised by attendees, included:

·  Non-emergency patient transport services

·  Prescribing policy reviews, implementation and consistency of prescribing across the district

·  Direct payments and support around managed accounts

·  Individual Funding Requests (IFRs)

·  Home care services and the current review

 

Where possible, Healthwatch will seek answers to the questions that were raised from statutory partners, e.g. B&NES Council and BaNES Clinical Commissioning Group, and provide feedback to the people that attended. Healthwatch’s Executive Board will also consider this feedback and identify if there is any further engagement work that can be carried out during the year to understand people’s experiences around these issues, and also which strategic groups this information needs to be shared with.

 

Healthwatch will hold another public event in the autumn in another part of the district. This approach is part of our new model of trying to engage with local people and understand what is important for them.

 

Councillor Tim Ball commented in relation to the AIS. He said that he was aware of a resident that has Asperger syndrome who has repeatedly requested to be contacted via email rather than phone to both the Council and Curo.

 

Alex Francis said that she was not aware of this particular matter but acknowledged that individuals will have preferences in the way in which they are communicated with. She added that all public funded services should be acting in accordance with the legislation.

 

The Chair thanked Alex Francis for her update on behalf of the Select Committee.