Group established to champion the views of NHS patients & people in receipt of care services

Healthwatch Wandsworth has been established to make sure that the interests of patients and other health and social care users is properly heard and that their concerns are acted on swiftly.

It will use the feedback it receives from members of the public to campaign for improvements in local health and social care services.

The watchdog is funded by Wandsworth Council but is totally independent of the town hall and independent of all the commissioners and providers of local health and social care services.

As well as working to influence and challenge how local services are delivered, it will also signpost people to information to help them make the best choices about their health and care options.

The watchdog is managed by Wandsworth Care Alliance, a local voluntary organization that will be working in partnership with Lifetimes to provide its patient information and signposting service.

Membership of Wandsworth Healthwatch is free to people who live and work in Wandsworth. Anyone can sign up to become a member at www.healthwatchwandsworth.co.uk. People can also get in touch with the organization via Facebook and Twitter.

Healthwatch aims to build on the work of its predecessor, Wandsworth LINk. Its core tasks are:

• To promote and support the involvement of local people in the commissioning, the provision and scrutiny of local care services.

• To help local people monitor the standard and quality of local care services and determine whether and how local care services could and should be improved.

• To obtain the views of local people regarding their needs for, and experiences of, local care services and importantly to make these views widely known.

• To provide advice and information about local care services.

Healthwatch Wandsworth joins a network of similar organisations that have now been set up across England to champion the interests of patients and care service users.

The council’s cabinet member for adult care and health Cllr Jim Maddan said:
“The new arrangements will have a stronger emphasis on outreach work and will actively seek views from all sections of the community, especially those who sometimes struggle to be heard, and it will also have a new role in relation to children and young people. Healthwatch Wandsworth will work closely with other voluntary sector organisations in the borough and give patients, service users, carers and local people a stronger voice to influence health and social care.”

Ambra Caruso, manager of Healthwatch Wandsworth added:
“Through Healthwatch you can speak without fear. With priority seats on the health & wellbeing board and the clinical commissioning board and speaking rights at the adult care and health overview and scrutiny committee Healthwatch Wandsworth gives the community a chance to speak up and be heard.”

April 19, 2013