Healthwatch Wigan

Annual Report 2013/14

Healthwatch Wigan Company No. 08496412. Registered in England

Registered address: Wigan Life Centre (North), The Wiend, Wigan, WN1 1NH

Annual Report

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Contents 2 Introduction

2 Chair’s Introduction

4 Healthwatch Wigan

6 Healthwatch Wigan Board

8 Healthwatch Wigan staff team

9 Wigan’s health at a glance

10 Activities

10 Healthwatch Wigan’s approach

12 Engaging with people

14 The role of volunteers

15 Health & Social Care Network

16 Acting on concerns

18 Wigan Health & Wellbeing Board

19 Use of Healthwatch trademark

20 Financial information

20 Income & Expenditure

21 Balance Sheet

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Annual Report

2014

It is with a genuine sense of pride that I write the

introduction to the first Annual Report of

Healthwatch Wigan. It was an interesting birth,

one day I was the simply ex-MP for Makerfield

and the next day, 1st April 2013, I was reborn as

Ian McCartney Chair Healthwatch Wigan. We had

no staff, no office, no budget signed off, no

phone, e-mail...you get the picture, but wow,

how everybody rallied round.

Liz Roberts from Wigan Council organised an office, Room 13 “just for luck” she said. Doreen Hounslea a former top NHS manager and Chair of her local Patient Participation Group worked with me as a consultant to help develop the organisation. The Board of Directors were appointed by open public application over the Summer of 2013 then the recruitment of staff and establishment of permanent offices began. All four staff were in post by October 2013 and we’d moved into our permanent base in Wigan Life Centre. Following the appointment of the Board we put together a detailed draft work programme and submitted it to the local Health & Wellbeing Board. Thanks to everyone who has contributed in big and small ways to our first very active and positive year. There are lots of people I could name but it wouldn't be fair if I left someone out, having said that, the person I take my hat off to is Jenny Maguire, our Company Secretary. What an inspiration, knowledge, empathy, understanding and a steely determination to get things done, with a sense of humour and a knowledge of the diverse communities that make up our Borough. Jenny certainly Believes in Wigan and our local Healthwatch.

Healthwatch Wigan was born in unprecedented times – the public sector is grappling with austerity meaning that tens of millions of pounds has been taken out of the local economy with Health and Social Care services affected badly and the NHS undergoing its biggest transformation since it was formed in 1948 – amidst all of this, making sure that patients, carers, local communities and the wider public’s views are listened to and taken on board is more important than ever. As an organisation we want to make sure that we have the very best relationship with local statutory bodies, and at the same time be an authentic and trusted advocate for local people. To help us do this we have already established a Stakeholder Board of key individuals and health & care organisations within the Borough who will hold us to account and develop new ideas to improve health and social care across the Borough. We have carried out a patient survey of the current Patient Transport Services across Greater Manchester. We have trained a team of volunteers that are ready to commence our "enter and view" work in local care homes, GP surgeries, hospitals and other venues where health and social care services are delivered. If

Chair’s Introduction

Introduction

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you are interested in helping this critical work please contact us, we will provide training and support. Healthwatch volunteers, including me, have been trained to take part in "Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment" (PLACE) visits at all local hospitals. We have helped strengthen and reinvigorate the Greater Manchester Healthwatch Network and I represent the network on the Greater Manchester Health and Wellbeing Board, responsible for coordinating new health and social care services across our huge and diverse county. We have day-to-day working relations with Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust, 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Wigan Council, the Adult and Children's Safeguarding Boards and Care Quality Commission (CQC). We hope that all who represent us are seen by these, and many other bodies, as independent but critical friends in promoting a stable future for the NHS and modern effective local health and social care services for local people. Finally, a substantial part of our work in the past year has focussed on the Healthier Together proposals to reconfigure local

hospitals across Greater Manchester and this will continue in the year ahead. Alongside this proposal there is the transformation of primary care services and the realignment of health and social care services with a significant number of in-hospital service provided in the community or at home instead of as now in the local district hospital. We have already spoken out and raised concerns over the lack of real public engagement in the Healthier Together programme and we have the support of many other Healthwatch organisations in Greater Manchester. As it stands, the consultation is due to be held for three months from June 23rd 2014, we are working closely with colleagues from across the health sector to make sure that local public engagement is robust and we will do our utmost to make sure as many local people as possible can participate. Our vision for Healthwatch Wigan is “helping citizens and communities get the best out of health and social care services in the Borough of Wigan” and on these critical issues we do not intend failing. Ian McCartney Chair Healthwatch Wigan May 2014

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When Healthwatch Wigan was established

in April 2013 no one handed us a ‘how to’

manual; so we have had to spend a lot of

time in the first year talking, listening and

thinking about the best way to go about

our task.

We were clear from the outset that we wanted to learn from the past but be different from what had gone on before; we wanted to be strategic in our planning and our actions, but at the same time make sure we could provide for a strong and trusted patient and public voice.

We are funded by the Department of Health and commissioned through a contract with Wigan Council.

Wigan Council have identified 5 elements to the Healthwatch contract locally: 1. Advice, Information and signposting –

about local health and social care services, helping people to make choices

2. Engagement and Consultation – promoting and supporting the involvement of local people in the monitoring, commissioning, provision and scrutiny of local services

3. Influence and Involvement – obtaining views of people about their needs and experiences of local care services

4. Scrutiny and reporting - making reports and recommendations, influencing national priorities

5. NHS Advocacy & Complaints – point of contact for when things go wrong and people need to complain

At present Healthwatch Wigan has a contract for three elements (elements 2, 3 and 4).

There is nothing currently in place to cover advice, information and signposting although Healthwatch Wigan are in contact with Wigan Council and other partners to ensure this is in place during 2014/15.

NHS Independent Complaints Advocacy (ICA) is currently delivered in 9 out of 10 Greater Manchester Boroughs by the Carers Federation via an Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) contract. Healthwatch Wigan work with the NHS ICA service and have offered meeting rooms and regular surgery slots for them to meet clients. Healthwatch Wigan have referred a number of clients to this service. For more information on the service visit www.carersfederation.co.uk/ica/ Whilst Healthwatch Wigan are not contracted to carry out elements 1 and 5, it is important to note that we have provided people with information and signposted a number of people to other organisations within Wigan Borough. We have also supported, and continue to do so, several people through the process of making a complaint.

Organisation Structure Healthwatch Wigan is not a traditional organisation with a top down hierarchy and management structure. From the outset we wanted to create an organisation where volunteers not only governed the organisation, but were central

Introduction

Healthwatch Wigan

Healthwatch Wigan is part of a national network of local Healthwatch that were established under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and set up in April 2013.

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to its activities, we wanted to work in genuine partnership with others - not only with statutory bodies such as Wigan Council and Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group that we hope to influence, but also with voluntary, community and patients groups who can help us to listen and understand the needs, views and experiences of the different geographies and communities of Wigan Borough.

Board of Directors: are the volunteers responsible for making sure that the company is acting appropriately, delivering the services it is contracted to provide and working in the interests of the communities and individuals it represents. Staff team: the Board of Directors are supported by a staff team focussed on communication, engagement, consultation, policy development, scrutiny and influence. Volunteers: volunteers will play an increasingly important part in the work of Healthwatch Wigan enabling us to expand

our reach into the community, raising awareness of the organisation and increasing the impact we have across the Borough. Enter and View: this panel of volunteers are authorised to visit locations where health or social care services are provided. They will prioritise their work following evidence from patient feedback, as well as intelligence from partner agencies.

Stakeholder Board: made up of key individuals and voluntary organisations, the board will generate ideas, hold Healthwatch Wigan to account, extend our reach, activities and knowledge. Thematic Sub Groups: made up of Directors, Stakeholder Board members and key external agencies, the thematic sub groups will focus on achieving Healthwatch Wigan’s outcomes, as well as developing individual plans for engagement activities. Health and Social Care Network: made up of local voluntary and community groups with an interest in Health and Social Care, the Network will support partnership working, provide information and allow groups to influence local decision making.

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Healthwatch Wigan Board

Introduction

Healthwatch Wigan is an independent non-profit organisation, registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee. The organisation is governed by a Board of Directors who are responsible for making sure that the company is acting appropriately, delivering the services it is contracted to provide and working in the interests of the communities and individuals it represents.

The Board of Directors, who are volunteers from across the Borough, have been selected for their range of skills and knowledge in working in the public, private and voluntary sectors as well as their interest in health and social care issues in the Borough.

Sir Ian McCartney (Chair) Ian has been involved in local and national public life for 35 years both as a Councillor and Member of Parliament. In government, Ian designed and introduced the first ever UK National Minimum Wage, this was followed up in

2001/2 by introducing the new Pension Credit system taking 2 million+ pensioners out of poverty. Following open heart surgery in 2005 Ian was described by then Prime Minister, Tony Blair as the "Governments' own NHS mystery shopper". Ian has lived with a number of chronic & complex health issues and as a result he jumped at the chance of chairing Healthwatch Wigan.

Chris Brown (Treasurer) Chris has lived in the Borough all his life. He took early retirement in 2011 after a 33 year career (inc. 21 years in the NHS). This included significant experience at Board level. A qualified accountant

by professional background, Chris has a keen interest in supporting local health and social care services to deliver better quality and health outcomes. Chris joined the board as a Co-optee in March 2014, with a view to becoming a full Board member at the first AGM in May 2014.

Jenny Maguire (Company Secretary) With twenty years’ experience working within the health and social care sector and a specific interest in advocacy, coaching and user involvement, Jenny won a European Coaching award in

2008, recognising her success in helping others achieve their goals.

Tony Bishop Tony is a Charted Engineer by background and since his retirement in 2005 an active volunteer in cancer care who describes himself as a “cancer survivor”. Tony chairs Healthwatch Wigan’s Primary

Care sub group and has a particular interest in the development of services in the East of the Borough.

Paul Carroll Originally from Birmingham, Paul joined the NHS West Midlands regional management training scheme in 1976 and worked as an NHS hospital manager and commissioner up until his recent retirement. As

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a commissioner he led on cancer, musculo-skeletal, ophthalmology and assisted conception services. Paul chairs the Healthwatch Wigan Secondary Care sub group.

Rob Muirhead Although born and raised in neighbouring Westhoughton, Rob attended Castle Hill Primary School and subsequently the former Hindley and Abram Grammar School in Wigan. He was previously a school governor

for over 15 years, including a time as Chair of Governors of Oakfield High School and College in Hindley Green. Rob chairs the Healthwatch Wigan Social care sub group.

Philip Woods Philip was an Environmental Health Practitioner within both Local Authority and NHS sectors who has lived in Wigan all his life. Phil is a member of the executive committee of Wigan Borough Sports Council and a carer’s representative

on Wigan’s Autism Steering Group. Phil chairs Healthwatch Wigan’s Public Health sub group.

Eleanor Blackburn Eleanor has worked in public service for over 11 years, specialising in policy development, multi-agency strategic planning and project management. Martin Broom Although he was born in Tottenham, Martin has lived in Wigan for over 40 years. He joined the NHS straight from school at the age of 16 and spent most of his career working there. Martin was an active member of Health and

Care Together (Wigan LINk) and chairs his local Patient Participation Group (PPG).

Diane Kay Diane brings a wealth of experience from both the private and voluntary sectors and also as a carer for her disabled son. Andrew Rogers Andrew is a passionate advocate of promoting health and has almost 30 years’ experience in the leadership, management and commissioning of community development, public health and health promotion

programmes within the NHS. Annmarie Stone Annmarie is culturally Deaf which means she is part of a minority community with its own language, British Sign Language. Originally from Cardiff, Annemarie lives in Ashton-in-Makerfield and is actively involved with Leigh Deaf Centre and runs a

project called Deaf Awareness Network which works with the Deaf Community across the North West.

Tim Smith Tim decided to stand down as a Director of Healthwatch Wigan following his appointment as Development Manager at Healthwatch Salford. We would like to thank him for his contribution to the

development of our organisation and wish him well in the next phase of his career.

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Introduction

The Healthwatch Wigan staff team, pictured here with Healthwatch England Chief Executive, Katherine Rake OBE and Shadow Health Secretary, Andy Burnham MP, joined the organisation between August and October 2013.

Dave Nunns (Chief Executive)

Originally from Huddersfield, Dave has lived in Greater Manchester since attending university in the early 1990’s. Dave has always worked in the voluntary sector and prior to joining Healthwatch Wigan spent twelve years working for Voluntary and Community Action Trafford (VCAT), leading it for the last year as its Chief Executive. Throughout his time at VCAT Dave has supported local voluntary and community groups with fundraising, advice and information, working to ensure that there is a strong third sector in Trafford. Dave is a passionate advocate of community engagement and of patient involvement. He is committed to working with local people to ensure they have a voice in health and social care services.

Helen Fairweather (Engagement & Involvement Lead). Helen, who grew up in Wigan, has spent her career to date in the voluntary sector as a

volunteer, Project Worker and Development Manager. In 2007, Helen set up Greater Manchester Youth Network (GMYN) to support young people to volunteer, giving them the opportunity to have a positive impact in their community whilst developing skills and experience. Helen recently managed GMYN’s transition to becoming a charity and, in doing so, stepped down from the board of directors. Helen wishes to use her knowledge of the Borough and her experience of community engagement and public involvement to support local people to improve health and social care services.

Ruth Walkden (Policy & Development Lead) Ruth has thirteen years’ experience working in the voluntary sector, the majority of which has been in Wigan Borough. Prior to joining Healthwatch Wigan Ruth managed Trafford LINk including managing through the period of being a pathfinder and overseeing the transition to Healthwatch Trafford, working at local, regional and national level. Her particular interests include Safeguarding, having sat on the Adult Safeguarding Board and Panel meetings in her previous post. Sue Jago (Office Manager / PA to the Chair & Chief Executive) Sue has worked the majority of her career for the NHS with the last seven years as Training & Development Manager at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust. Her role involved being responsible for the writing and auditing of the Training & Development Polices and the development and facilitation of Trust wide training and providing monthly statistical reports for Trust Board. Sue was also the lead for Investors in People and was the Training Department Lead for all NHS Litigation Authority inspections. Sue spent the last four years at the Trust as the Non-Clinical Staff Governor.

Healthwatch Wigan staff team

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Wigan’s health at a glance

The health of people in Wigan Borough is

varied compared with the England average.

The following information is taken from Public Health England Wigan Health Profile 20131

Deprivation in Wigan Borough is higher than average and about 11,900 children live in poverty.

Life expectancy for both men and women is lower than the England average.

The difference in life expectancy between the most deprived areas and the least deprived areas of Wigan Borough is significant at 11 years lower for men and 8 years lower for women.

Levels of teenage pregnancy, breast feeding take-up and smoking in pregnancy are worse than the England average.

Alcohol-specific hospital stays among those under 18 is worse than the England average.

Over the last 10 years, early death rates from cancer and from heart disease and stroke have fallen but remain worse than the England average.

Estimated levels of adult 'healthy eating', smoking, physical activity and obesity are worse than the England average.

In Year 6, 19.5% of children are classified as obese, this is equal to the England average.

The rate of road injuries and deaths is better than the England average.

It is recognised that the industrial past of the area has had, and continues to have, a negative impact on people’s health. According to Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group, 96,000 people in Wigan Borough are living with one or more long term conditions, including diabetes, asthma, heart disease, lung disease, dementia, stroke and arthritis. In the case of diabetes, 5% of the population in Wigan

Borough are living with the disease with around 100 additional people being diagnosed each month.

There are four NHS Trusts providing health care within Wigan Borough: Acute Trust—Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust Health and Care Trust—Bridgewater Community Healthcare Trust Mental Health Trust—5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Ambulance Trust—North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust In addition there is a network of 65 GP practices, 40 dental practices, 30 opticians and 72 pharmacists providing health care. Wigan Council are responsible for commissioning social care in the Borough, this is delivered by a combination of local authority, private and voluntary sector providers.

In Wigan Borough, men are now expected to live to an average age of 77 years and women 81 years. Two years lower than the England average for both genders.

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1. www.apho.org.uk/resource/view.aspx?RID=126937

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Activities

This diagram shows how we are trying to make sense of our task – we refer to it as ‘the onion diagram’ – it demonstrates the vision that is at the core of what we aim to achieve and shows that we are focussed on a series of aims and outcomes for our work that are closely related to our contract with Wigan Council.

As an organisation our main focus is to make sure that local people’s views and experiences of local services are listened to, understood and acted upon by decision makers and service delivery organisations.

The next ring focuses on a series of aims: 1. “Gathering the views of local people

about their experiences of local health and social care services”

2. “Making sure that the views of the public and people who use services are heard and acted upon” in the planning and provision of health and social care services locally.

3. “Responding to identified concerns and poor practice”. 4. “Developing and sustaining Healthwatch Wigan” as an efficient and effective organisation. The outer ring of the ‘onion’ diagram focuses on outcomes. At present this ring is still blank, it will be for a series of thematic sub groups to develop these outcomes over the coming months. These sub groups will be made up of Healthwatch Wigan Directors, members of the Stakeholder Board and representatives from bodies such as Wigan Borough Clinical Commissioning Group, Wigan Council and local NHS Trusts. To assist the sub groups we have developed a Healthwatch Wigan Prioritization Framework document

that recognises that we need to take into account a range of factors over whether or not to prioritise an issue – how many people are affected by the issue, whether it affects any priority groups of people, whether it is a safety or quality issue, who else is interested in the issue that might be already working on it etc… The other factor to consider is capacity – do we have enough staff, volunteers and supporters to work on the priority issues.

Healthwatch Wigan’s approach

At the core of our organisation is the vision “helping citizens and communities get the best out of health and social care services in the Borough of Wigan.”

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We don’t want to predetermine the discussions at the Sub Groups, but our discussions to date and the feedback we received at our launch will suggest that the following issues are likely to be prioritised: Healthier Together – or at least the in

hospital / in community debate – will be a priority for us this year.

The integration of services, the joining up of services and referrals between services – between primary and secondary obviously, but also social care and health care.

Health Inequalities – the work of Public Health – is a major concern for our Board. We want to be fully involved in the discussions over the re-writing of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA). Making sure that patient experience and public views are fully taken on board.

Transport has already been raised as an issue – not only the Patient Transport Service that we worked on in year one, but also public transport to get to locations.

There are some concerns over the mixed picture of patient and public engagement across the health and social care community – there is some very good practice, but this isn’t universal. We want to work with partners to raise both the quantity and quality of engagement locally.

This list is not confirmed and nor is it exhaustive, each thematic sub group will work in the early part of year two to firm up their proposals. Once priorities have been set, the sub groups will also develop action plans. To support this work, we have made a number of statements about how we want to work:

We want to be well networked – we recognise that we aren’t the only organisation interested in the needs of local people and we know that our reach

into local communities is closely connected to the strength of our network. We want to take full advantage of our relationships with members of our Stakeholder Board and the Health and Social Care Network and develop stronger links with key organisations such as the Patients Forum and the Patient & Public Involvement mechanisms of NHS agencies and other public bodies. We want to be a Partner of Choice – we want people to want to work with us, not feel like they have to work with us because of our position, or statutory powers. Ideally, partners will want to work with us to design and implement change based on patient and public views and experiences. Each sub group will have a small number of partners involved who can feed into our discussions and we will seek to work with other agencies that are not members of these sub groups. We want to be evidence based – we cannot respond to anecdote or simply personal experience, however powerful. We want to work to find out what local people’s views and experiences are – of the Health and Social Care network in general, but also of the specific services and issues we want to focus on. As well as gathering views, we can we learn from other sources such as CQC inspection reports, ‘Patient Opinion’ feedback, or evidence of best practice from local and national reports into the subject. We want to be a problem solver not a fault finder – it’s one thing to identify a list of issues of concern, it’s another to offer practical solutions. Where possible we want to be able to offer solutions that are proportionate, affordable and sensible. Some of this may flow naturally from our ambitions to be well networked, to be a partner of choice and to have a focus on evidence.

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Engaging with people

Healthwatch Wigan’s main focus is to make sure that local people’s views and experiences of local health & social care services are listened to, understood and acted upon by decision makers and service delivery organisations. In order to do this effectively and ensure we are gathering a broad cross-section of views it is important for Healthwatch Wigan to have ongoing engagement with all sections of the community across Wigan Borough. Part of the way to do this is through direct contact with residents but in a borough with approximately 320,000 residents it would be wrong of us to assume we can make a significant impact without building effective working relationships with organisations that provide support and services to people living in the borough. For this reason, we have spent a significant amount of time meeting with organisations and agreeing ways in which we can work together to support people to have their say on health and social care services. Our face-to-face engagement to date includes holding stalls at a variety of events across the borough, as well as our own launch event at St Peter’s Pavilion in Hindley. We have attended a number of workshops across the Borough and took part in an empty shop unit takeover coordinated by Wigan Borough CCG as part of their Shape Your Local NHS campaign to gather people’s views on current services and how they can be improved. We attend Wigan Borough CCG’s Patient Forum, an opportunity to engage on a regular basis with Patient Participation Group members. We had the opportunity through our work on the Patient Transport Survey (PTS) to spend some time in each of the Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust sites talking to patients, carers and volunteers

about their experience of the PTS, handing out Healthwatch flyers and talking more broadly about what Healthwatch Wigan does. As well as these more generic engagement activities, Healthwatch Wigan are carrying out targeted engagement with a number of groups.

Young Healthwatch

The views of young people have been instrumental in the development of Healthwatch Wigan, with Wigan Council’s Voice & Engagement Team supporting young people to participate in a focus group prior to the organisation being set up then, in October 2013, a Young Healthwatch weekend event was held to raise awareness of Healthwatch Wigan. It was also an opportunity to gather views from young people on how we should engage their peers and what health issues are of most importance to them. A film made during the weekend by a young person from The Media College in Leigh is available to view on Healthwatch Wigan’s YouTube Channel.

Since the Young Healthwatch event, we have: Supported young people to present

ideas to Patient Participation Groups Worked with Wigan Borough CCG on

plans for engaging young people

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including a joint presentation to sixth form students

Supported young people to participate in ‘Shaping Your Local NHS’ workshops

Set up @YHWWigan on Twitter and created a separate section on our website for Young Healthwatch

Promoted NHS England’s Youth Forum and attended their launch at Health & Care Innovation Expo 2014

Offered young people the opportunity to attend training, e.g. Health Improvement Course, Dementia Awareness, etc.

LGB Community

Healthwatch Wigan are supporting The Lesbian and Gay Foundation (LGF) with a new three-year project they are running across Greater Manchester. The project includes training and supporting a number of Community Leaders to ensure that the health and care needs of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people are recognised through facilitating interaction between seldom heard LGB voices and NHS organisations. It is envisaged that these volunteers will work closely with Healthwatch Wigan to raise awareness of health issues and inequalities experienced by LGB people and to encourage more people to share their experiences and views of services.

Deaf Community

Healthwatch Director, Annemarie Stone has been actively engaging with the deaf community, including talking to members of Leigh Deaf Society about issues and concerns they experience when accessing health services, particularly GPs and A&E. Annemarie also volunteers with Deaf Health Champions Project and will be delivering deaf awareness training for the Healthwatch Wigan team. Healthwatch Wigan plan to train a group of people from the deaf community who will volunteer as mystery shoppers to visit a range of providers and record their experience as a deaf person in trying to access a service.

Stakeholder Board

An important part of Healthwatch Wigan’s work to increase and widen our engagement has been the establishment of our Stakeholder Board. Initial recruitment took place in February 2014 when we welcomed the following 13 people onto the board: Chris Arkwright Ernie Rothwell Denise Bailey Margaret Hughes Ann Heaton Roger March, Alzheimer’s Society Julie Davies, Wigan & Leigh People First Bob Short, Lowton, Golborne & Ashton

Mencap Society John McArdle, Age UK Wigan Borough Mike Aspinall, Think Ahead Community

Stroke Group Pauline Gregson, Wigan & Leigh Carers

Centre Lisa Kidston, Wigan & Leigh Citizens

Advice Stuart Parsons, Wigan Family Welfare We will be recruiting a further 11 members to the Stakeholder Board to make sure as many different interests are represented.

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The role of volunteers

Volunteers are at the heart of Healthwatch Wigan’s structure – as board members, stakeholders, Enter & View panel members and in a variety of other roles. It was recognised early on that volunteers would be vital to the work of the organisation and work began to set up a formal volunteer programme. To cement the organisation’s commitment to volunteering, Healthwatch Wigan will be working towards the Investing in Volunteers standard with the aim of achieving it by the end of 2014. This will ensure that the programme is set up and delivered effectively and is of full benefit to the organisation and the individual volunteers. Healthwatch Wigan have joined Wigan & Leigh CVS Volunteer Forum and are also going to be part of a project Healthwatch England are running with the Volunteering Development Team at National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) to develop a toolkit to support engaging volunteers. Recruitment this year has concentrated on attracting volunteers to join the Healthwatch Wigan Enter & View Panel although a couple of volunteers have also helped run stalls and carry out consultation activities. The full volunteer programme will be rolled out from May 2014 onwards with plans in progress to link in with Volunteers Week, which runs in the first week of June.

Enter and View “Enter and View” is a power given to local Healthwatch organisations to visit locations where health or social care services are provided. This is not an “inspection” but rather the opportunity for lay people to observe and talk to service users. Following a visit, a report will be written, which will

include recommendations for the service provider. Enter and View Panel members are authorised to undertake these visits. Eight volunteers from Healthwatch Wigan applied for the role initially. A comprehensive training package was completed. This comprised of a half day understanding the role, sessions on the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and Dementia Awareness. Further support in report writing and an awareness of how the NHS works is planned. Following the completion of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks (previously known as CRB), this group is now ready to undertake visits as they are identified. A second group of at least seven people will undertake the training in the very near future.

If you are interested in finding out more about Enter and View or other volunteering opportunities, please speak to Helen Fairweather on 01942 489737. The Healthwatch Wigan Authorised Representatives are:

Activities

Two Healthwatch Wigan volunteers took part in the Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) visits at Royal Albert Edward Infirmary and Leigh Infirmary during March 2014.

Jenny Maguire Paul Carroll Diane Kay Phil Woods

Alan Blood Wilf Gerrard Janice Sheath Ann Heaton

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One of the original ambitions for Healthwatch Wigan was to establish a ‘Network of Networks’ with local voluntary and community groups and social enterprises. We have held discussions with key voluntary sector agencies about the need for and potential scope of a VCS Health and Social Care Network. Something that brings together voluntary and community groups, statutory agencies and potentially social enterprises allowing groups to: Connect with others delivering services

that compliment their own Get information to help them work out

where their group fits in the ever changing health, care and wellbeing landscape

Influence the development of the health and care system locally, regionally and nationally.

Healthwatch Wigan has offered to support the development of a network and will facilitate its activities – meetings, invitations, events etc. as well as host information on our website.

The first meeting of the Network took place on March 28th 2014 with presentations from Will Blandamer, Programme Director for Integrated Health and Social Care at Wigan Council and Claire Roberts, Assistant Director for Strategy & Collaboration at Wigan Borough CCG.

Health & Social Care Network

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Acting on concerns

Responding to identified concerns and poor practice is one of Healthwatch Wigan’s main aims. When deciding how to prioritise an issue we consider a variety of factors, e.g. who is it affecting, how many people are affected, is it an issue that someone else might already be working on, what capacity do we have to work on the issue, etc. We speak to our Stakeholder Board and members of the Health & Social Care Network to ask if the issue has been raised with them. This information is then presented to the relevant sub group for a decision to be made. An example of this is the work Healthwatch Wigan have done with other local Healthwatch in Greater Manchester to look into issues related to non-emergency patient transport.

Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service Survey and Report The Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service is an NHS service that is used by local disabled, older and vulnerable people in the Borough to get to and from outpatient clinics, day-care centres and routine hospital admissions. In 2013 changes were made to the service – to the management of the service, as well as to eligibility criteria used to assess whether people qualify for the service, these changes led to an increase in negative feedback and complaints about the service.

Paper surveys were distributed on services across the Borough throughout February and March. In addition, staff and volunteers from

Healthwatch Wigan visited the discharge lounges at Wigan RAEI, Leigh Infirmary and Thomas Linacre Centre to speak with users. Healthwatch Wigan also promoted an online survey via Twitter, Facebook and the Healthwatch Wigan website. 573 people from across Greater Manchester took part in the survey, including 71 people from Wigan. Most were regular users of the service, and most were using it to attend regular hospital or clinic appointments. In the report, we recognise that there are lots of positives about the service; many people praise the drivers who work on the service, most people think the vehicles are appropriate for their needs and two thirds of people would recommend the service. However, there are clearly areas where the service needs to improve: The timeliness of scheduled pick-ups and

returns is clearly a problem; this is more than the inconvenience of being left hanging around, it can have a knock on effect for hospital staff and clinics, it can impact on patient’s treatment and medication and some patients have had to be re-admitted onto a ward creating issues for hospital managers.

It is unclear why regular users of the service are faced with repetitive questions about their eligibility with patients feeling like they need to justify their need for the service.

Three-quarters of our respondents said they didn’t know how to make a complaint about the services, and those who have made complaints haven’t necessarily had them recorded.

Based on the findings of the report, we have made a series of recommendations to the commissioners and managers of the Patient Transport Service and will seek to work with them to make the necessary changes.

Activities

Such concerns were common across Greater Manchester, so working with Healthwatch colleagues across the county we developed a survey and in June 2014 will publish our findings.

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An overwhelming majority of the public (94%) think NHS and social care services could be improved

Other issues that Healthwatch Wigan have worked on in 2013/14 include: Closure of day centres across the

Borough Provision of BSL interpreters for NHS

Trust Patient and Public Involvement Activities

Healthier Together poor public engagement

Provision of free exercise sessions for people aged 60+

Work with Care Quality Commission/Local Authority Quality Team An important relationship for Healthwatch Wigan is that with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), both on a local and national level. Locally, we receive on a weekly basis, the reports following CQC inspections. These are immediately analysed, both for inspections done within the Wigan Borough boundaries and services outside those boundaries that are accessed by local citizens. Where there are concerns or specific issues these are raised with local CQC inspectors, closely monitored and action taken as appropriate. An example, following concerns raised by Healthwatch Wigan, working with St Helens and Wigan Council, a care agency in the borough was de-registered. Partnership working between the organisations ensured continuity of care for those people affected including the fact that the same carers were available to those receiving care. It also publicised the fact that the agency was no longer in a position to take on new clients. Work in future will identify locations that are appropriate for an “Enter and View” visit. Healthwatch Wigan has also worked with CQC locally on providing information for forthcoming visits, for example, Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust. Based on our information CQC were able to look at specific areas.

CQC are currently looking at the way they carry out inspections nationally. Healthwatch Wigan has been involved in the consultation and continues to work with them nationally. The benefit of this includes advance notice of policy developments and the opportunity to contribute to initiatives. Healthwatch Wigan is also meeting regularly with the Local Authority Quality Team. This team monitor all care homes in the borough where public money funds places. It is crucial for Healthwatch Wigan to work closely with this team and the Clinical Commissioning Group to share information and avoid duplication.

Annual Report

2014

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As well as establishing the framework for Healthwatch, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 also established Health and Wellbeing Boards as a forum where key leaders from the health and care system work together to improve the health and wellbeing of their local population and reduce health inequalities. Each local Healthwatch has a statutory ‘seat’ on the Health and Wellbeing Board – for Healthwatch Wigan this seat is taken by our Chair, Ian McCartney. Ian also holds a seat on the Greater Manchester Interim Health and Wellbeing Board, this is a position he holds on behalf of all local Healthwatch across Greater Manchester. The Boards have a number of statutory functions, which include: Producing a Joint Strategic Needs

Assessment (JSNA) which outlines the health and wellbeing needs of the Borough, and a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWS) which identifies priorities and sets out how services will be commissioned or provided to meet these needs.

Promoting integrated working across health and social care commissioning and with other local services such as education and housing.

The inclusion of Healthwatch Wigan in the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board is intended to give the formal patient, user and public representation to the process of strategic commissioning for the Borough. It is important that Healthwatch Wigan use this place effectively and appropriately and for the benefit of our local communities. The Chair of Healthwatch Wigan has attended every meeting of the Wigan Health and Wellbeing Board in 2013/14 and has contributed to the discussion in each

meeting. Ian has made recommendations to improve the work of the Board, these include improving public involvement and the potential to select an independent chair of the Board. In preparation for the meetings the Chair and Chief Executive meet on a monthly basis with the Programme Director for Care and Health Integration to discuss draft agendas and emerging issues.

Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny In March 2013, the Chair and Chief Executive addressed the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee of Wigan Council. This committee is made up of local councillors and is focussed on scrutinising local NHS policy, planning, and impact against local needs and inequalities.

Wigan Health & Wellbeing Board

Activities

The Health & Wellbeing Board have agreed to three pillars:

1. Health and social care services should support people to be well and independent and to take

control of their own care

2. Health and social care services should be provided at home, in the community or in primary care, unless there is a good reason why

this should not be the case

3. All services in our Borough should be safe and of a high quality and part of an integrated system led by

primary care

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Use of Healthwatch trademark When undertaking activities Healthwatch Wigan use the Healthwatch trademark, which comprises of the logo and the Healthwatch brand. Materials we have used the trademark on include:

Board papers & minutes Meeting agendas & minutes Reports Promotional leaflets Website Social media Display boards Application forms Signage Event stand Banners e-news Newsletters Marketing materials, e.g. pens

Making reports public

All reports produced by Healthwatch Wigan, including this annual report, will be made

available to the public by posting on the Healthwatch Wigan website and distribution via

email. Hard copies will be provided on request.

The meeting was an opportunity to update local councillors on Healthwatch Wigan developments and to discuss potential future collaboration. Suggested shared interests include: Increasing awareness of Healthwatch and

taking advantage of the role of local councillors as community leaders

Improving public engagement in health and social care – working to coordinate activities, pooling budgets and promoting engagement

A joint focus on Healthier Together, integrated care and primary care development

A joint focus on the Health and Wellbeing Board especially in their role of tackling Health Inequalities and developing the JSNA.

Annual Report

2014

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Financial Information

Healthwatch Wigan’s financial statements have been prepared to fulfil our duties under the Companies Act 2006 by Hull Judy a Wigan based firm of chartered accountants. The full statements are available on the Healthwatch Wigan website and consist of Directors’ Report, Income and Expenditure account, Balance Sheet and related notes.

Healthwatch Wigan Income and Expenditure 2013-14

Income

Wigan Council Contract 160,137

Other Income 10,000

Bank Interest 73

Total Income £170,210

Expenditure

Premises & Room Hire 17,277

Insurance 711

Wages 73,869

Social Security 6,734

Photocopier 1,060

Post & Stationery 4,917

Travelling 1,053

IT Equipment and Support 9,993

Licences and subscriptions 255

Repairs and Renewals 668

Sundry Expenses 58

Accountancy 830

Professional fees 26,402

Governance and Board meetings

552

Interpreting 2,485

Advertising and Marketing 3,184

Volunteer Expenses 1,251

Total Expenditure £151,299

Net Surplus £18,911

Financial Summary

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Healthwatch Wigan Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2014

Current Assets

Debtors 3,979

Cash at bank 27,572

31,551

Creditors

Amounts falling due within one year 12,640

Net Current Assets 18,911

Total assets less current liabilities 18,911

Reserves—income and expenditure account

18,911

Healthwatch Wigan Company No. 08496412. Registered in England

Registered address: Wigan Life Centre (North), The Wiend, Wigan, WN1 1NH

Have your say and give feedback on local services.

Whether your experience of health or social care has been good or bad we want to hear from you.

Healthwatch Wigan gathers the views and

experiences of local people and makes sure those views are heard and listened to by care providers

and decision makers.

This is your opportunity to influence local services and help to improve them for yourself, your family

& friends and the citizens of Wigan Borough.

Phone: 01942 489737

Email: info@healthwatchwigan.org

Web: www.healthwatchwigan.org

fb.com/healthwatchwigan

@HWWigan

Annual Report

2014