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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 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

We are pleased to announce Healthwatch Northamptonshire has been recognised as highly commended in the ‘Helping more people to have their say’ category at the 2019 Healthwatch Network Awards.

The work done by Healthwatch Northamptonshire has been recognised as ‘Highly commended’ in this year’s Healthwatch Network Awards for in the ‘Helping more people to have their say’ category.

Current and former Armed Forces members and their families in Northamptonshire shared their views to help shape services by taking part in a survey. The survey aimed to help the Armed Forces Community Covenant Partnership address issues such as the return to civilian life and health problems and draw up the first ever map of the size and scale of the Armed Forces community in Northamptonshire.

From this survey, we found that:

• A third of veterans said they found it difficult to access GP and mental health services
• A fifth of veterans thought they had a mental health need relating to their military service, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• A quarter of veterans said they had a physical need relating to military service, such as arthritis

You can read the full report here

Every year, the Healthwatch Network Awards celebrate the many positive stories of how the local Healthwatch network is helping to make care better for thousands of people. The awards are an opportunity to demonstrate where local Healthwatch worked within the local community to make sure health and social care services meet people’s needs.

Healthwatch listen to what people like about the NHS and social care and what needs to be improved. Their views are shared with health and care professionals, so that services can understand what people and their families want from care.

These awards recognise how people’s feedback is vital to improving services. Thanks to the many hundreds of thousands of people who shared their experiences with Healthwatch last year. This has led to positive changes to the way local health and care services are run.

The local Healthwatch shortlisted for 2019 Healthwatch Network Awards were picked from almost 150 award entries.

The winner and the highly commended from each category were chosen by a panel of external judges and announced at the Healthwatch England Annual Conference on 1 October 2019.

Kate Holt, CEO of Healthwatch Northamptonshire, said:

“I am very pleased that our work with local Armed Forces is being recognised nationally. It’s very important to Healthwatch Northamptonshire that seldom heard groups are represented and that their voices are heard.

“I hope this recognition gives more awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant, ensuring that veterans do not feel at a disadvantage when it comes to health and social care, especially concerning mental health.”

Imelda Redmond, CBE, National Director of Healthwatch England said:

“The Healthwatch Network Awards is a fantastic event which showcases the very best of local Healthwatch and it’s an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate the impact our teams and volunteers have in improving health and care across the country.

The awards demonstrate the breadth of issues local Healthwatch work on every year. Their work makes sure people’s experiences are placed at the heart of the services they receive.

I’d like to acknowledge and thank all the network and congratulate those who took part, they have done their communities proud.”