news

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.”

 

Publication of pharmacy inspection reports to help drive improvement in pharmacy practice.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is publishing pharmacy inspection reports for the time on a new website. You can now search for inspection reports from pharmacy inspections taking place since April 2019 in your local area or by a range of other criteria, to find information relevant for you.

The new website features a searchable ‘Knowledge hub’ with anonymised short examples of excellent, good and poor practice identified through pharmacy inspections. You can use these to learn from others and to improve the services you provide.

The GPhC has also published a new report sharing what they have learnt from carrying out over 14,000 inspections covering every registered pharmacy in Great Britain since 2013. This independent analysis shows that the vast majority of pharmacies (over 85%) are meeting the standards. The analysis also identified some key themes, patterns and trends which every pharmacy and pharmacy team can use to improve.

Find out more by visiting the GPhC inspection reports website, by following @TheGPhC on Twitter or at Facebook.com/TheGPhC.

View the website

After reviewing almost 150 entries, Healthwatch England has announced the finalists for the Healthwatch Network Awards 2019.

Healthwatch Northamptonshire has been nominated for an award in the ‘Helping more people to have their say’ category for their work gathering the views and experiences from the local Armed Forces community.

Healthwatch Northamptonshire surveyed over 450 members of the Armed Forces Community in the county (which includes people serving in the Armed Forces as regulars or reservists, volunteers, ex-forces members (veterans) and family members of past and present service personnel veterans) on behalf of the Armed Forces Covenant Northamptonshire and found:

• 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

Healthwatch Northamptonshire has recommended greater awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant, which is in place to make sure that veterans do not feel at a disadvantage. Services should have specific and timely support to meet the mental health needs of veterans and help with the preparation for transition to civilian life. These recommendations will be addressed through the Northamptonshire Armed Forces Covenant Partnership of organisations from across the county who work closely together to ensure the Covenant aims are upheld.

Every year, the Healthwatch Network awards celebrate positive stories of how local Healthwatch are helping to make care better for thousands of people. The Healthwatch Network Awards are an opportunity to demonstrate where local Healthwatch have gone above and beyond, to make sure health and social care services meet everybody’s needs.

The ‘Helping more people to have their say’ award recognises Healthwatch who have used people’s views to make tangible improvements to local health and social care services.

Healthwatch across the country listen to what people like about the NHS and social care and what could be changed. They share these views with professionals, so that services can understand what people and their families want from care.

These awards recognise the importance of how people’s feedback is vital. Thanks to the 406,000 people who shared their experiences with Healthwatch nationally last year, positive changes have been made to how 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 from each category will be 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, “We are very pleased that our work gathering the views of our local Armed Forces is being recognised nationally with this award nomination.

“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the Armed Forces survey, your views and experiences are important for improving the lives of those who are currently serving, have served or have family who are serving. Please visit our website, www.healthwatchnorthamptonshire.co.uk, to keep updated on our projects and how you can share your views”

Deirdre Newham MBE JP DL, Chair of the Armed Forces Covenant Partnership said: “We are delighted that Healthwatch Northamptonshire have been nominated for this award supporting our Armed Forces Community. We hope that the research undertaken will enable us to continue to work across partnerships supporting our veterans in the areas that they need it most.”

Jacob Lant, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at Healthwatch England said, “The Healthwatch Network Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the difference local Healthwatch have made across the country.

“This year we received some outstanding entries from the network, which has made the shortlisting even more challenging. We have been very impressed by the quality and incredible range of work on show.

“These entries highlight the real impact we can have when people come forward and tell us about their experiences. Healthwatch can only make a difference when people speak up and help services understand what is working and what is not.”

The full survey report can be read at http://www.healthwatchnorthamptonshire.co.uk/armedforcesreport

Northamptonshire Armed Forces Covenant Partnership: www.afcnorthamptonshire.co.uk

Northamptonshire Health and Care Partnership (NHFT) have asked us to make a pledge called #mywellbeingpledge to take steps for ourselves and for others to look at out mental health, just as much our physical health. Small improvements in wellbeing can help decrease and prevent some mental health problems by taking opportunities to:

• Connect with the people around me
• Be active in a way that suits me and that I enjoy
• Take notice and be mindful of my surroundings
• Keep learning new skills and developing myself
• Give what I can whether it is my time or simply a random act of kindness

These are known as the 5 ways to wellbeing. As we make our pledge we are asked to look at the changes we can make to look after our own mental wellbeing and the mental wellbeing of others.

To uphold our pledge, we will encourage each other to be more active and to take time to focus on their own wellbeing and to look out for each other. We will continue to let people work flexibly to help them balance work and home life. And we will all make each other tea!

This pledge allows us to all think about mental health and how different teams in Northamptonshire can support eachother.

Find out more about #mywellbeingpledge and how you can make a difference today

Kettering General Hospital and Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire have won a national award for work they have undertaken with young people.

The two organisations entered the Patient Experience Network National Awards (PENNA) in the ‘Team of the Year’ category.

The joint entry was called ‘It’s my health – youth voice’ and their win was announced on Wednesday 20 March 2019 at the awards ceremony in Birmingham.

Young Healthwatch is part of Healthwatch Northamptonshire – the body which represents the interests of local people in health and social care. It is a group of 11 to 24 years old who are keen to make a difference in health and social care and are interested in young people’s rights and wellbeing.

The entry described the way that members of Young Healthwatch were encouraged to carry out a visit to children’s services at KGH in April 2018 from which they documented their findings and produced a report – which was then acted on by the hospital.

The report recommended improvements – which the hospital has made – to children’s services including:

• Improving signs to direct people to children’s services – for example, colourful footprints on the floor signposting the paediatric area in A&E
• Adding more colour to paediatric areas to make them more child-friendly
• Having more books and games available for children in waiting areas in children’s A&E and outpatients
• Using brightly coloured fun staff name badges so children can better understand who they are talking to

Young Healthwatch Project Manager Esther Stimpson said: “We think it was a great example of team working between Young Healthwatch, Healthwatch Northamptonshire and Kettering General Hospital that enabled young people to make a real difference to the environment provided for young people at the hospital.”

Chair of Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire, Tanzi, said: “It has been amazing to work with Kettering General Hospital, every time we visit we see more of the recommendations we have made become reality. It is fantastic that the views of young people are taken on board and acted upon.”

Kettering General Hospital’s Head of Patient Experience and Involvement James Allan said: “The perspective that Young Healthwatch brought was refreshing. We learned a lot from their visit and will be using the new perspective they gave us – looking at things through the eyes of a young person – in other pieces of work in the future.”

“We plan to continue to work with Young Healthwatch and visit local schools to capture more of the experience of children when they visit hospital – either to be treated or with relatives.”

Kettering General Hospital and Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire have been shortlisted for a national award for work they have undertaken with young people.

The two organisations entered the Patient Experience Network National Awards (PENNA) in the ‘Team of the Year’ category. The joint entry was called ‘It’s my health – youth voice’ and will be judged alongside three other NHS organisations at the finals on Wednesday March 20, 2019, at The Rep Theatre, Birmingham.

The entry described the way that members of Young Healthwatch were encouraged to carry out a visit to children’s services at KGH in April 2018 from which they documented their findings and produced a report – which was then acted on by the hospital.

The report recommended improvements – which the hospital has made – to children’s services including:

• Improving signs to direct people to children’s services – for example colourful footprints on the floor signposting the paediatric area in A&E
• Adding more colour to paediatric areas to make them more child friendly
• Having more books and games available for children in waiting areas in children’s A&E and outpatients
• Using brightly coloured fun staff name badges so children can better understand who they are talking to

Young Healthwatch Project Manager Esther Stimpson said: “We are delighted that our partnership project with Kettering General Hospital has been shortlisted for this national award.

“We think it was a great example of team working between Young Healthwatch, Healthwatch Northamptonshire and Kettering General Hospital that enabled young people to make a real difference to the environment provided for young people at the hospital.”

Chair of Young Healthwatch Northamptonshire, Tanzi, said: “It has been amazing to work with Kettering General Hospital, every time we visit we see more of the recommendations we have made become reality. It is fantastic that the views of young people are taken on board and acted upon.”

Kettering General Hospital’s Head of Patient Experience and Involvement James Allan said: “The perspective that Young Healthwatch brought was refreshing. We learned a lot from their visit and will be using the new perspective they gave us – looking at things through the eyes of young person – in other pieces of work in the future.

“We plan to continue to work with Young Healthwatch and visit local schools to capture more of the experience of children when they visit hospital – either to be treated or with relatives.”