Archive for January, 2010

Wands worth Care Alliance are looking for people to do the following:

Be 1-2-1 Tutors and support those with Learning difficulties in reading, writing, seaking and attedning meetings around London. Training will be provided and a CRB check is necessary.

Provide Admin Support  and help to produce flyers, minutes, agendas, mailouts and carry out general admin duties using Microsoft Word, photoshop and Access.

Work on the Newspaper and provide technical support, interview and report on relevant issues and contribute to the newspapers content and design. 

For more details and an application form please contact:

Hannah Baker on 0208 516 773  or at hannah@wandcareall.org.uk

At this morning’s PCT Board, NHS Wandsworth decided to proceed with plans for 4 polyclinic hubs across Wandsworth. Three of these hubs will offer a single-site solution for a wide range of healthcare services which currently are delivered from acute hospitals. For Battersea the solution is a dual-hub on two sites near Clapham Junction station but three quarters of a mile apart.

Wandsworth LINk consider that this proposal for Battersea is very different from what was agreed as a result of public consultation in 2008 and so is seeking the decision to be opened up for public debate. It is recommending that the PCT should consider three options: the original proposal for a purpose-built polyclinic hub on the north side of Clapham Junction station, a single-site solution using St John’s Therapy Centre or the currently proposed split-site solution.

For more details and the press release please click on the link below.

Press Release by Wandsworth Local Involvement Network,polyclinics decision

Keep your child safe from swine flu this winter

All children over six months and under five years of age in Wandsworth are now being offered the swine flu vaccine.  The under fives are most at risk from swine flu and more likely to need hospital care than any other age group.

GPs across Wandsworth are offering the vaccine and parents of eligible children will be contacted directly by their GP.

Local GP Tom Coffey said: “Even if your child is healthy, it’s extremely important to get them vaccinated again swine flu.  Children can easily catch and pass on the swine flu virus and unfortunately we’ve seen higher rates of hospitalisation in the under fives.”

“It’s impossible to know if you’re child has already had swine flu unless they’ve had a positive laboratory test for the virus.  Our advice to parents is therefore, don’t take a chance, the swine flu vaccination will keep your child safe this winter.”

The under fives are the latest group to be offered the swine flu vaccine.  The vaccine is already being offered to

• Adults and children between six months and 65 years of age in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical ‘at risk’ groups. e.g. who have a long-term health condition, including chronic lung disease and heart disease;
• Pregnant women;
• People who live in the same house as someone whose immune system is compromised by disease or treatment, and
• People aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical “at risk” groups.

For more information on swine flu, visit  www.nhs.uk or call the Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1 513 513.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an independent body set up by government to make sure people in England get better health and adult social care.

Beginning in April this year they are introducing a new system of regulation called the essential standards of quality and safety. The new standards are designed to bring important benefits to people who use services. The CQC are starting with independently regulating all NHS providers across the country. This will impact everyone in Wandsworth.

Wandsworth LINk held its first Executive Meeting of the new year last night in Roehampton. As well as a presentation and open discussion on Polysystems the members elected a twelth member onto the Executive, namely Carol Tan who has lived in Wandsworth for much of the last 20 years and has many ideas and suggestions for how local health and social care services could be improved.

Carol says …

I am a lawyer and an academic by background and I believe that I can bring my expertise in these areas to add value to the LINk Executive. As a young (ish) professional person, I also believe that I can help the Executive better represent this particular constituency who form such a large percentage of Wandsworth’s population.

At its meeting on Monday evening, the Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed a report on “Information for Choice” in the NHS. This report identified the various sources of information available to local residents who want to find out more about the quality of different local healthcare services in order to help them make a sensible choice about where they should go fro treatment. In an appendix to the report, Wandsworth LINk provided comments about some of the gaps in the information provided by NHS Wandsworth and the NHS Choices website about local services. These gaps were generally due to missing or misleading information. NHS Wandsworth, in its reply to the report, noted the issues and stated that most of the problems would be overcome when their new website was launched later this year.

To read LINk’s comments click here Informed Choice

The next LINk Executive Meeting open to the public and starts with an Executive business meeting from 6 pm on Monday 18^th January at Cornerstone ,Roehampton Parish Great Hall, Alton Road.

This will be followed at 7.15 pm by refreshments, and updates and an open discussion about the PCT’s proposals for Polyclinic sites and services. 

The NHS argue that polyclinics will provide a faster, more convenient and higher quality health service, but  what do you think? What concerns do you have? What services do you think should be available at these hubs?  We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

To view the papers click here.

At the Last LINk Executive meeting held on 23rd November, Roger Appleton was elected as the new Chair for Wandsworth LINk. Roger will take over from the current chair Jeremy Ambache in January, for the calendar year 2010. 

Communication and Participation Sub Group

Local Involvement networks were set up by the government to enable the voices of service users, carers, patients and communities to influence the improvement and development of local health and social care services.  The Communication and Participation sub-group of Wandsworth LINk has a specific role to engage with service users, carers and the local community to encourage their involvement and to seek their views about health and care issues that matter to them.

Volunteer Role Description

 Main Purpose

To support the work of the sub-group by promoting LINk and encouraging service user and carer involvement through a range of  activities identified below:

 Activities

-       Attending C & P sub group meetings – 6 per year, afternoon meetings 2 hours

-       Helping to explain the role of LINk at Wandsworth events by helping to run stalls, visiting relevant groups, writing in local Newsletters/Bulletins and generally contributing to the development of appropriate publicity materials.

-       Helping to gain the views of service users, patients, carers and the community by helping with surveys or feeding in views that are expressed by those you meet through involvement work

-       Helping LINk to feedback the views of service users, carers and the community to service providers.

Training and support

Training and support will be provided by the Chair of the sub-group and by the lead C & P LINk staff at WCA.

Reimbursement

Volunteers will not be paid but will be reimbursed for all out of pocket and travel expenses including, if required, funding to pay a carer to provide respite care for person they look after.

Informal Discussion

For more information and an informal discussion e mail jennyweinstein@tiscali.co.uk or telephone Jenny on 0208 6776869.  No interview process – all volunteers welcome.