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Healthwatch Northamptonshire and Healthwatch Rutland Annual Reports for 2020-21 have now been published.

This year has been a very difficult one for everybody. While Healthwatch could not visit health and social care premises, they were still able to investigate the impact of the pandemic on people’s access to the services that matter to them most.

Highlights of 2020-21 included:

• A closer look at young people’s emotional wellbeing and what would support them
• Championing people’s experiences and needs during the coronavirus pandemic
• Supporting good communication, information, oversight and engagement in response to COVID-19
• Seeking out and representing people’s views and concerns about the centralisation of acute and maternity services
• Helping people to find answers and escalating concerns such as delayed access to dementia assessment

Healthwatch Rutland’s contract with Connected Together has been renewed for another two years to March 2023.

We are pleased to announce that Rutland County Council have extended Healthwatch Rutland‘s contract with Connected Together for another two years.

Rutland County Council awarded the contract to Connected Together Community Interest Company (CTCIC) in April 2018 for providing Healthwatch services in Rutland.

This renewal is a reflection of the hard work of staff, Board members and volunteers. Healthwatch Rutland and Connected Together will continue to ensure that Rutland people continue to be heard and that their health and social care needs are met.

We at Healthwatch Rutland are delighted to hear that Rutland County Council have extended our contract for another two years. We see this as recognition of the hard work and dedication of staff, Board members and volunteers. We will continue this work in representing the voice of Rutland people with health and care providers and will always strive to achieve the best possible care for Rutland residents.

Dr Janet Underwood, Healthwatch Rutland Chair

Healthwatch Northamptonshire and Healthwatch Rutland Annual Reports for 2019-20 have now been published.

Both Healthwatch have had busy years. During 2019-20 they continued to assert themselves as independent champions to put local people at the heart of decisions in health and care services. They undertook some exciting projects to gather the views and needs of service users.

Highlights of 2019-20 included:

• Gathering people’s views about the local implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan and sharing them widely with providers and commissioners of care.
• Ensuring children and young people, including young carers, have a voice in decision making through our Young Healthwatch groups and projects.
• Continuing to provide high quality and accessible information and working in partnership with others to have the most influence and impact.

Connected Together CIC has been monitoring the rapidly unfolding situation around COVID-19 on a daily basis to consider its impact on how we work and how we best support our staff, volunteers, partners and stakeholders. We have also taken note of government communications which have escalated the status from “Contain” through to “Delay”, and developments since.

As a result of this status escalation we have decided to take the precautionary decision for everyone to work remotely (i.e. from home) as of today, Monday 16 March, until further notice. This will mean our office’s at Moulton Park Business Centre and The Kings Centre will be closed to staff, volunteers and visitors.

All staff have access to remote working and can be contacted by email or phone (see link below). The main phone number has been diverted to a mobile.

Contact the team

We are delighted to announce that Connected Together is now an accredited Living Wage Employer! This means that every member of staff working for Connected Together will earn a real Living Wage.

In April 2016 the government introduced a higher minimum wage rate for all staff over 25 years of age inspired by the Living Wage campaign.

However, the government’s ‘national living wage’ is not calculated according to what employees and their families need to live.

The real Living Wage rates are higher because they are independently-calculated based on what people need to get by.

The Living Wage Foundation encourages all employers that can afford to do so to ensure their employees earn a wage that meets the costs of living, not just the government minimum.

Connected Together has been acknowledged as an employer that provides above the ‘national living wage’ for its employees to ensure they are able to earn enough to live on.

Nearly 6000 organisations voluntarily choose to pay the real Living Wage because we believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. You can find other organisations who pay the Living Wage here.

We are very pleased to have re-accredited with the Investing in Children Membership Award™ for our work with Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire. Investing in Children (IiC) is a UK initiative that develops ways in which children and young people are supported to say what they want to say, and help to improve services used by them, by discussing their ideas with the adults who run the services.

The Investing in Children Membership Award™ Scheme recognises and celebrates examples of imaginative and inclusive practice with children and young people. Organisations applying for the award have to demonstrate dialogue with young people which leads to change. However, children and young people have to provide the evidence for the organisation and endorse the membership report because it is a children’s and young people’s award.

This reaccreditation comes after a busy and successful year for Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire, with achievements such as, winning the PENNA award in ‘Team of the Year’ category and a cinema premiere of a video produced about on their visit to Kettering General Hospital.

“Definitely – Everything we do is tailored to what we say, and things get changed”
“Changes happen! We all get listened to!”

Members of Young Healthwatch

“My report clearly demonstrates the ways young people influence decision making in the area. Everyone I met with spoke highly of the project and the ways they have a voice”.

Investing in Children project manager assessing Young Healthwatch

“Both myself and the young volunteers here at Healthwatch are so pleased to be re-awarded the Investing in Children Membership Award. It is great to see the hard work of the young people that volunteer their time recognised so prestigiously. We hope that the future holds more great opportunities for our young volunteers so they can continue helping others.”

Manager of Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire, Esther Stimpson

About Investing in Children:

Investing in Children (IiC) is a UK initiative that promotes the human rights of children and young people. Over the last 21 years, IiC has developed a range of different ways in which children and young people are supported to say what they want to say, and help to improve services used by them, by discussing their ideas with the adults who run the services.

One of the ways they do this is through the IiC Membership Award™ Scheme.

The Investing in Children Membership Award™ Scheme recognises and celebrates examples of imaginative and inclusive practice with children and young people. Organisations applying for the award have to demonstrate dialogue with young people which leads to change. However, children and young people have to provide the evidence for the organisation and endorse the membership report because it is a children’s and young people’s award. 

There are currently over 500 members across the UK and Ireland

Investing in Children was established in 1995 by senior managers from Durham County Council and the NHS. In May 2013 Investing in Children was spun out from Durham County Council to form a Community Interest Company – IiC CIC

For more information please go to: www.investinginchildren.net