30 January, 2012 | By Ben Clover- HSJ

Following elections for the Executive  held  at the end of 2011, two of the elected members, Susan Marshall and Martin Ellacott have had to withdraw for personal reasons.

Our constitution enables us to co-opt members in this circumstance for the period until the next election.  We would really like to hear from people, especially  service users or carers who might be interested in being co-opted onto the committee.

I would be very pleased to chat with anyone who would like to talk over what is involved and I can assure you that support  would be provided and special needs, if required,  met.

This is a really exciting time with Wandsworth LINk working as a HealthWatch Pathfinder with opportunities to influence the changing health and welfare landscape and make a positive difference for users and carers.  Please come and  join us.

Jenny Weinstein

Wandsworth Clinical Commissioning Group have identified their key health priorities for Wandsworth for the next three years as detailed in their Commissioning Strategy Plan (CSP) for period 2012-15.

They’re keen to hear feedback from LINk on the priorities, which you can read by clicking on the link below.

CCG- Wandsworth’s health priorities for 2012-15

Have the Clinical Commissioning Group got their priorities right? have they missed any priority areas?

What do you think of their Vision, Values and Strategic Goals?

Have they identified the right local health needs? Is anything missing?

If you have any comments please send them to Sherrinah Carr by Monday 6^th February 2012.

0208 812 7308

Sherrinah.carr@wpct.nhs.uk

In the second half of 2011 LINk carried out a consultation with seldom heard sections of the community to find out their concerns about health services and their ideas for involvement in the new NHS structures. Nine groups received funding to carry out consultation exercises with stakeholders and a further seven hard to reach groups were consulted for their views.

To read the full report click here The Voice of Seldom Heard Groups

Summary

• ·         Access and communication difficulties are key problems for marginalised groups, which is one reason why their health outcomes are poorer.

• The role of expert patients in strategic decision-making and in improving health outcomes must be recognised and incorporated into the commissioning process
• Commissioners must expect providers to have inclusive, welcoming, sensitive and accommodating attitudes to all service users.

Policy Recommendations

To address these issues a number of common suggestions emerged about involving people:

• Health service providers should conduct an audit of their systems of access and communications with service users
• Ensure diverse representation on consultative groups (in a way that does not necessarily require attendance at meetings)
• Ensure that representatives of diverse groups advise on tender specifications – especially on issues of access
• Use representatives of diverse groups to train and advise commissioners and service providers to raise awareness and change attitudes
• Use community leaders and voluntary organisations to consult people in community resources where they feel comfortable
• Set up online health groups and forums

Our Enter and View team has published its report on Wandsworth Your Way, a resource centre for people with mental health problems in central and west Wandsworth. The report reflects the broadly positive views expressed by the service users interviewed while attending an “open office” session in November. The team recognised the innovative nature of the service which it felt deserved a systematic evaluation but expressed some concerns for the future. These will be picked up in a wider report on the background, recent changes in commissioning and issues for future consideration, which is to be published shortly and discussed at a meeting next month with Wandsworth Social Services Dept, the Mental Health Trust and representatives of service users and carers.

to read the report click here Final Report -Wandsworth Your Way.

Please do let us know what you think of the report.

In preparation for the new role that HealthWatch will have to undertake LINk is looking to assess how effectively local health and social care agencies provide advice and information   .

 The Project group will devise questions to ask the different services, mystery shop the services and write a report on their findings. As a volunteer you can be involved in one or all of these areas.

 If you want to take part in the project, you have to sign up as a LINk Member.  Membership is free and by becoming a LINk member you can have your say about improving health and social care services in Wandsworth.The first meeting is due to take place on 14th December from 1.45-3.45 pm. If you would like to attend please get in touch.

 You can get a membership form and a nomination form from Wandsworth Care Alliance (WCA) on 0208 516 7767.  You can also get both these forms on the LINk website – www.wandsworthlink.org.uk

Ring WCA office on 0208 516 7767 and they will help you

Our Enter and View team has published it’s report on Family Action resource centre for people with mental health problems: this report of two visits to Family Action reflects the broadly positive views expressed by the service users interviewed, while identifying a few minor points for the management’s consideration. The report mentions further work being done in preparation for a wider report on the background, recent changes in commissioning and issues for future consideration.  This will be published in the New Year.

to read the report click on the link PRELIMINARY REPORT ON ENTER AND VIEW VISITS TO WANDSWORTH FAMILY ACTION -10 & 20 OCT 2011

The Commission’s inquiry into the home care system in England reveals disturbing evidence that the poor treatment of many older people is breaching their human rights and too many are struggling to voice their concerns about their care or be listened to about what kind of support they want.

The final report of the Commission’s inquiry, ‘Close to home: older people and human rights in home care’, says hundreds of thousands [1] of older people lack protection under the Human Rights Act and calls for this legal loophole to be closed. It questions commissioning practices that focus on a rigid list of tasks, rather than what older people actually want, and that give more weight to cost than to an acceptable quality of care.

Around half of the older people, friends and family members who gave evidence to the inquiry expressed real satisfaction with their home care. They most valued having a small number of familiar and reliable staff who took the time to talk to them and complied with their requests to do specific tasks. Home care workers said their job satisfaction came from improving the quality of older people’s lives.

But the inquiry also revealed many examples of older people’s human rights being breached, including physical or financial abuse, disregarding their privacy and dignity, failing to support them with eating or drinking, treating them as if they were invisible, and paying little attention to what they want. Some were surprised that they had any choice at all as they thought they had little say in how their care was arranged.

For example, evidence given to the Commission included a woman being left stuck on the toilet in her bathroom, as the care worker said she was too busy completing the list of care tasks to help her; and people with dementia not being prompted to eat or their food ‘hidden’ in the fridge, so they go hungry; and a woman who asked for help with her washing up and to be assisted to walk out into her garden but was given help washing herself instead.

Ways for older people to complain about their home care are either insufficient or not working effectively. Reasons for their reluctance to make a complaint about their treatment included not wanting to get their care workers into trouble, fearing repercussions such as a worse standard of care or no care at all and preferring to make do rather than make a fuss.

The inquiry reveals the pervasive social isolation and loneliness experienced by many older people confined to their homes who lack support to get out and take part in community life. Yet evidence from the home care industry indicates that social activities are some of the first support services to be withdrawn when local authorities cut back their spending on care services.

Alarmingly, one in three local authorities had already cut back on home care spending and a further one in five planned to do so within the next year.

The low rates that some local authorities pay for home care raises serious concerns about the pay and conditions of workers, including payment of the minimum wage. The low pay and status of care workers does not match the level of responsibility or the skills they need to provide quality home care. A high turnover of staff as a result of these factors has a negative impact on the quality of care given to older people.

The inquiry found age discrimination was a significant barrier to older people getting home care. It found that people over the age of 65 are getting less money towards their care than younger people with similar care needs, and are offered a more limited range of services in comparison. It also found that local authority phone contact lines can screen out older people needing home care without passing them on for a full assessment – which is unlawful.

Very few local authority contracts for home care specify that the provider must comply with the Human Rights Act. This undermines the quality of care that older people are getting. The evidence given to the inquiry indicates that where human rights are embedded into the way home care is provided – from commissioning to service delivery – high quality care is delivered without necessarily increasing costs.

In response to the findings of its inquiry, the Commission says that legislation and regulation needs to be updated to reflect huge shifts in how care is provided [2]. Its recommendations from the inquiry fall under three broad categories: -

• Proper protection: Closing the loophole in the Human Rights Act which would give protection to the growing number of older people receiving home care from private and voluntary sector agencies. The law was changed in this way in 2008 to protect residents of care homes who are funded by the state.
• Effective monitoring: The government, Care Quality Commission and local authorities need to work together better to build human rights into home care and make sure that abuses are detected faster and dealt with more effectively.
• Clear guidance: Clear and robust guidance on human rights is needed for councils so they can use the opportunities they have to promote and protect older people’s human rights in commissioning; older people also need guidance to help them make choices about care and to explain how their human rights should be protected.

Sally Greengross, Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:

‘It is essential that care services respect people’s basic human rights. This is not about burdensome red tape, it is about protecting people from the kind of dehumanising treatment we have uncovered. The emphasis is on saving pennies rather than providing a service which will meet the very real needs of our grandparents, our parents, and eventually all of us.

‘This inquiry proposes some steps that would make sure human rights are protected in future – including changes to the law so that, at a minimum, all people getting publically funded home care are protected by the Human Rights Act. Currently this is not the case.

‘Most of us will want to carry on living in our own homes in later life, even if we need help to do so. When implemented, the recommendations from this inquiry will provide secure foundations for a home care system that will let us do so safely, with dignity and independence.’

To read Issue No 11 click LINk newsletter dec-Feb 2011

Articles include:

‘Service users win Campaign against paying backdated charges’

‘Seldom Heard Voices’

‘Getting Involved with Clinical Commissioning’

‘HealthWatch Update’