News

We are proud to announce that we have achieved the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) accreditation, having been awarded the quality mark/standard for a further three years.

Investing in Volunteers is the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. IiV aims to improve the quality of the volunteering experience for all volunteers and demonstrates that organisations value the enormous contribution made by their volunteers.

Investing in Volunteers is unique in that it is the only standard that focuses on volunteers. It is based on the following six quality areas:

1. Vision for Volunteering

2. Planning for Volunteers

3. Volunteer inclusion

4. Recruiting and welcoming volunteers

5. Supporting volunteers

6. Valuing and developing volunteers

Further information about the Standard can be found at: www.investinginvolunteers.co.uk

“Achieving the Investing in Volunteers standard again is a real recognition of the dedication and commitment of our volunteers in West Northamptonshire and Rutland. They give their time, energy and insight to help improve local health and care services, and this accreditation shows the importance we put on supporting them. We’re incredibly proud of what they help us to achieve. A huge thanks to our spectacular volunteers, they are vital in the work we do in improving health and social care services locally and this would not be achievable without them.”

Kate Holt, CTCIC CEO

You can help Voluntary Action Rutland (VAR) continue to serve the rural community of Rutland by shaping the transport service to meet the needs of users in the future.

They now want to ask residents how it is doing and whether changes are needed to make the service better in future.

If you use VAR transport yourself, book it on behalf of friends or family, or have interactions with VAR transport staff and volunteers, please fill in the survey.

NHS England has produced a new guide to tell you what to expect from your general practice and how you can help them, so that you get the best from the NHS.

You and Your General Practice is a national patient charter developed by NHS England to help patients understand:

• What you can expect from your GP practice
• How you can get the best support from your GP team
• How to provide feedback or raise concerns

It’s designed to be accessible, inclusive, and practical—offering translated versions in over 15 languages including Urdu, Polish, Bengali, and Chinese.

You and Your General Practice explains how to:

• Contact your practice and request appointments
• Understand who may be involved in your care (not just GPs, but nurses, pharmacists, care coordinators, etc.)
• Register or change practices
• Access fair treatment and reasonable adjustments
• Use digital tools and online services effectively

Healthwatch Rutland has challenged a Rutland Times report of 18 September that misquoted its representative on prescription delays, warning the error could cause needless concern and damage trust in local GP services.

Today, an article in the Rutland Times misrepresents Healthwatch Rutland’s comments at a recent Rutland Health and Wellbeing Board meeting. Under the headline “surgery ‘delayed’ prescriptions ordered offline” the article misquotes the Healthwatch Rutland representative on the Board, Dr. Janet Underwood, as saying “this summer one GP practice had been making people wait longer for prescriptions if they ordered them in person rather than online.” 

However, at no point did Dr Underwood suggest that people who do not use online ordering will wait longer to have prescriptions processed. Our concern is that this misrepresentation will create unnecessary alarm and erode trust in local primary care services.

The article accurately reflects the discussion at the board that:

• Dr. Underwood acknowledged that digital services can be easier for many but emphasized the need to not disadvantage those unable to access them.
• Over the summer people at a Rutland Practice have had to queue to hand over paper prescriptions. Dr. Underwood commented that we have spoken to the practice concerned and know they had taken these measures for a short period to try to encourage people to move to digital.
• Both Dr. Underwood and the local NHS representative recognised that the move to digital services is a national push, but face-to-face and telephone options must remain available and be safeguarded.

The publisher Iliffe Media was contacted yesterday and was urged to make a correction across all its outlets. Without hesitation they corrected the misleading article on LincsOnline and in this week’s Rutland and Stamford Mercury but were too late to correct the article in the Rutland Times which had already gone to press. We will be looking for them to print a correction in next week’s edition. 

The full recording of the meeting on which the article is based is available on Youtube. Dr. Underwood makes her comments around 25m 40sec into the recording. 

The plan to ‘cluster’ Northamptonshire ICB and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) ICB has now been formally approved by NHS England and government ministers.

Both ICBs will continue to exist as separate statutory bodies, but in time they will move to work as one, with a single set of staffing structure and board governance. This is part of a national move to bring together Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) into 26 clusters, down from the current 42.

While there are still important details to be worked through – such as arrangements for continuing healthcare, safeguarding, and services for people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – they are moving forward with purpose to ensure a smooth transition that prioritises the needs of local people.

Their structure and implementation plan (currently being developed) show a significantly reduced running cost budget – a 33% reduction for LLR and a 29% reduction for Northamptonshire. This comes after NHS England announced that ICBs nationally were to reduce their running costs.