Wandsworth LINk is keen to hear from patients as the new combined services begin to find out whether the 111 service is effective and whether the “out of hours” GP service works well.  The link below gives more information in the Wandsworth Guardian.

http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/9701657.New_NHS_advice_service_launching_in_Wandsworth/?ref=eb

A scoring panel of 60 people has kicked off a long process to help the local NHS decide which options to do more work on when considering the future shape of health services in SW London.

Panel participants including members of the public, patients, the voluntary sector, doctors, nurses, local authorities and directors of public health have given their scores and ranking on which of the current south west London hospitals should host a state of the art planned surgery centre, and which sites should develop and improve their A&E and maternity services.

Participants also scored the no-change option. In all of the options, St George’s Hospital remains the hyper acute, stroke unit and major trauma centre, as this has previously been subject to public consultation.

The panel’s combined view is not a decision, but one input into a lengthy process to determine the best future shape of services. (* Please see diagram at the end of the press release.)

The scoring panel considered options for the future shape of services based on non-financial criteria, including clinical quality, patient experience and travel times. 

The scoring panel ranked all of the options in the following order: 

• ·         St Helier Hospital to host a state of the art planned surgery centre and Croydon and Kingston hospital to develop and improve their A&E and maternity services scored 201 points 

• ·         Kingston Hospital to host a state of the art planned surgery centre and St Helier and Croydon hospital to develop and improve their A&E and maternity services scored 119 points

• ·         Croydon University Hospital to host a state of the art planned surgery centre and St Helier and Kingston hospital to develop and improve their A&E and maternity services scored 109 points

• ·         The no change option scored 85 points

 Dr Howard Freeman, local GP and Joint Medical Director, said:

“Clinicians leading this programme are committed to four hospitals in south west London but we know that the services at all four of our local hospitals need to change to better meet the needs of the local population.  Our population is ageing, we have more people living with long term conditions and a rising birth rate. Doctors, nurses and patients representatives have worked hard in Clinical Working Groups for the past year looking at the clinical evidence, debating and testing with patients and public the models of care for health services. We want to get our proposals for the local NHS right and that takes time.

“The options appraisal process – financial and non-financial – is about identifying what options are viable and then which option is preferred. The scores from the panel will now be combined with financial scoring which we expect to be available later this month.  Even after combining these scores, we will need to work up those options that score highest to make sure they would deliver the changes to local health services that we need. Once this detailed and comprehensive modelling analysis has been done, we will then know if the options modelled would work in practice.  It is important that we do this work before formally consulting the public. This is why the scoring panel is happening now – a long way before public consultation.

“Today has been a uniquely open and transparent approach to scoring these options; it is unusual to directly involve so many people in this way. We asked people in January how they thought we should do this and this panel was the result.

As doctors and nurses, we want high quality, safe health services and patients have told us they want the same.  There is a long way to go before we put firm proposals to the public for them to have their say.  No decisions will be made without the views of local people being considered in full.”

 Dr David Finch, local GP and Joint Medical Director for BSBV, said:

“We want to make local health services better and safer for our patients. We believe we can improve vital and life-saving services by creating centres of excellence for A&E, maternity and planned surgery.  We also want to move services from hospitals to community services so people are kept well, kept out of hospital and treated as close to home as possible.

“Changing the way we deliver health services will save lives – 520 lives could have been saved last year across London if hospital staffing was the same at weekends as weekdays. Remember that London-wide stroke and major trauma were criticised at first as they meant longer travelling times in an emergency – but they have saved hundreds of lives. As a local GP, I am convinced that our proposals will save lives too and that they will improve services for my patients.”

Mr Michael Bailey, Senior Surgeon and Acute Medical Director for BSBV, said:

“Throughout the day I spoke to a number of my fellow panel members including GPs, hospital doctors, nurses as well as patients and the public.  I believe each one of us took our role on the panel extremely seriously and considered the evidence for each of the criteria including patient experience and clinical quality carefully in our task to weigh up the options.” 

The panel’s view on the future shape of local services will now be combined with a financial appraisal. Later this month, the BSBV Clinical Strategy Group and Programme Board will consider both, before the Joint Boards of South West London Primary Care Trusts decide which options should be modelled in full to be presented to the public for formal consultation later this year.”

For more information on Better Services Better Value, and to read the clinical reports, full report on the deliberative events and the feedback the review has received, go to www.southwestlondon.nhs.uk 

- Notes to editors -

For further information contact Rory Hegarty on 020 3458 5926 / 07919 302708 or rory.hegarty@swlondon.nhs.uk 

*This diagram gives a breakdown of the process following the input of the scoring panel and the financial appraisal.

• ·         Clinicians from across health organisations in South West London are working together on the Better Services Better Value review. The organisations involved are:

-       Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

-       Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust

-       Kingston Hospital NHS Trust

-       St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust

-       Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust

-       The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

-       Your Healthcare

-       South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

-       West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 

-       South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust 

-       The six emerging GP consortia across south west London

-       NHS South West London, including Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Wandsworth

• ·         The review looked at six clinical areas, each with its own clinical working group:

-       Planned care

-       Urgent, unscheduled and emergency care

-       Maternity and newborn care

-       Children’s services

-       Long term conditions

-       End of life care

To deliver the models set out in the reports, doctors, nurses and other health professionals leading the Better Services Better Value review are recommending:

• Three emergency departments in south west London rather than the current four, each with an integrated urgent care centre. A fourth stand-alone urgent care centre which could treat up to 70% of patients currently seen at A&E, is also proposed.
• Three maternity units in south west London rather than the current four, though clinicians do not rule out the possibility of a stand-alone midwife-led unit. The three units would be co-located with emergency departments.
• A world class, state-of-the-art planned care centre for elective surgery, kept separate from emergency care, where all procedures will be performed by surgeons on a frequent basis, increasing their expertise while minimising cancellations
• Increasing services in the community – more services delivered in GP surgeries, community settings and people’s homes, including support for people with long term conditions

For more information on Better Services Better Value, and to read the clinical reports, full report on the deliberative events and the feedback the review has received, go to www.southwestlondon.nhs.uk

• For more information or to get involved in the Better Services Better Value review:

-       Twitter: @nhsswlondon #BSBV

-       Facebook: www.facebook.com/BetterServicesBetterValue

-       Email: betterservices@swlondon.nhs.uk

-       Phone: 020 8251 0512

-       Website: www.southwestlondon.nhs.uk

• If you have any further questions please contact the Press Office on 020 3458 5717 or email media@swlondon.nhs.uk Please direct your readers to the NHS South West London website for more information – www.southwestlondon.nhs.uk

Last year the Department of Health provided Wandsworth’s shadow Clinical Commissioning Group with funding to explore different models of consultation and engagement with local communities.  Some of this funding was managed by LINk and allocated in small grants to groups whose views about their health needs and how these should be met are seldom heard.  A Report on the work undertaken by these groups and the important issues they raised was published by LINk and is available on this website.

For the financial year 2012/13  further funds have been made available to help seldom heard groups engage in NHS decision-making. Grants of up to £2,000 are available for use over the next year to empower members of these organisations to take part in shaping future healthcare provision. Wandsworth LINk is responsible for administering the grants, supporting the groups  and monitoring how the funding is used.

T o read the guidelines and application form click on this link 2012 Seldom Heard Groups grant letter

They are keen to collect feedback from service users, carer’s and the wider Wandsworth Community. The link below will take you to the booklet and there are a number of ways to feed back your views, which are outlined below.

Community Mental Health Services Consultation

How to let them know your views:

• Go to a meeting at 2pm on 25th April at Earlsfield Library, 276 Magdalen Road, SW18 3NY
• Write to them at: Mental Health Consultation, Department of Adult Social Services, Town Hall, Wandsworth High Street, SW18 2PU
• Email at srushton@wandsworth.gov.uk
• print off and send the form at the back of the above document or drop the form in to either Wandsworth Carers Centre or Wandsworth Care Alliance or your mental health service provider

The Council would like to hear your views by 11^th May.

If you have any questions or would like it in an alternative format please call 020 8871 7707 or email accessteam@wandsworth.gov.uk

Age UK Wandsworth works to improve the quality of life for all people aged 60-plus in the borough. Volunteers are essential in helping to deliver our services, and we are urgently seeking to fill a number of current volunteer opportunities.

Home from Hospital

We need caring, compassionate, reliable and committed people for our brand new Home from Hospital scheme, which assists older people in the weeks after they come out of hospital.

Home from Hospital volunteers help by:

• Carrying out small tasks around the house.
• Helping the older person to do gentle exercises or walk short distances.
• Having a cup of tea and a chat.
• Accompanying the older person to collect their pension.
• Providing information and advice about other services they may require.

For further information contact Pamela Hatton on 020 8877 8942 or email pamela.hatton@ageukwandsworth.org.uk

Garden Partners

Our Garden Partners scheme matches older garden owners with volunteers who would like to tend a garden regularly and grow some fruit and veg. The ‘garden partners’ form a team to plan how the garden will develop and share in the produce grown.

Gardens are available in all parts of the borough, and there is currently a particular demand for volunteers in Tooting/Balham/Furzedown.

Volunteer gardeners are wanted who:

• Can offer a minimum of 2-4 hours per week from March/April to October
• Would like to make friends with an older person as well as having space for gardening and growing.

Previous gardening experience helps, but is not essential!

For further information contact Sarah Jackson on 020 8877 8946 or email sarah.jackson@ageukwandsworth.org.uk

Your Care Your Choice

Would you like to be involved with an exciting new information and support project which helps older people to access and use a Personal Budget for social care?

Volunteers can help in one of four different ways:

• Be a personal budgets champion, providing information to older people through outreach sessions across the borough
• Providing direct information and support to older people who want to use a personal budget
• Researching information on local services
• Become a buddy scheme volunteer, helping with the development of peer support networks.

For further information contact Lorraine Colnaghi on 020 8877 8945 or email lorraine.colnaghi@ageukwandsworth.org.uk

Application packs for all the volunteer roles can be downloaded from our website www.ageuk.org.uk/wandsworth or by contacting Hicky Kingsbury on 020 8877 8959.

We are pleased to announce the release of our research project looking at Mental Health Service Users and Older People’s experience of Personal Budgets. Service users and carers were involved in every stage of the report and we would like to thank them all for their contribution. The report includes an executive summary of the key points and recommendations for how personal budgets could be improved for all those involved.  

Executive Summary and Recommendations

Personal Budget Full Report

Consequences of the government’s plans for Healthwatch

Background

1) The government’s intention in creating Healthwatch was to renew the system of public involvement and to restore some of the powers and influence to the public that were lost following the abolition of CHCs and Patients’ Forums.

2) LINks were intended to evolve and go through a transition to LHW.

3) Local Healthwatch was supposed to be led by local people.

4) The LHW seat on the Health and Wellbeing Board was intended to give it additional clout in relation to strategic commissioning, planning of local services and influencing the JSNA.

5) LHW was to be a statutory body in the public sector and was expected to be an independent and assertive champion of local people.

6) An independent Healthwatch England is intended to have influence on behalf of LHW and other community and public interests, with the Secretary of State, Monitor, the NHS Commissioning Board and the CQC in relation to major problems regarding the safety, adequacy and quality of health and social care services.

7) So what’s left? click here to find out….  Healthwatch-What’s Left-March 16- 2012