Liberating the NHS
HealthWatch
DH GATEWAY REF 16419
The national scene for HealthWatch
• Liberating the NHS: legislative framework and
next steps set out a vision for NHS reforms and
describes a system where:
– patients and the public are at the heart of
everything the NHS does
– health and care outcomes in England are
among the best in the world
– clinicians are empowered to deliver results
• Health and Social Care Bill 2011 and
recommendations from Future Forum
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The national scene for HealthWatch
HealthWatch will have a key role to play in enabling a
reformed system to develop that:
1. is genuinely centred around patients
2. refuses to tolerate unsafe and substandard care
3. eliminates discrimination and inequalities
4. is transparent, with more accountability for results
5. gives citizens more say in how the NHS is run
6. works much better across boundaries
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The national scene for HealthWatch
Strengthening the voice of patients, users of
services and the public and to help achieve this:
– Local Involvement Networks (LINks) provide
the foundation for Local HealthWatch
organisations to be the local collective voice
– HealthWatch England will be a new
independent consumer champion for the
national collective voice
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From LINKs to Local HealthWatch
Continuity of existing arrangements…
• local authorities will have duty to deliver Local HealthWatch
• funding for new functions
What will be different…
• move from influence to decision-making through a seat on health
and wellbeing board
• help individuals as well as understand and present community
views
• not only will views and experiences count locally – they will be
used nationally by Secretary of State, Monitor, NHS
Commissioning Board as well as Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• Local HealthWatch can employ its own staff
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representing the
collective voice
LOCAL HEALTHWATCH
Strong LOCAL consumer voice on views and experiences to
influence better health and social care outcomes
‘local consumer voice for health and social care’
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scrutinising quality
of service
provision
Influencing
signposting
advisory
seat on the
health and
wellbeing board
Help shape
the planning
of health and
social care
services
Help people
access and
make choices
about care
Advocacy for
individuals
making
complaints
about
healthcare
Joint Strategic
Needs Assessment
and Joint Health and
Wellbeing Strategy
informing the
commissioning
decision-making
process
from 2013/14
empowering people helping people understand
choice
providing local, evidence based
information
Respected, authoritative, influential, credible and very
visible within the community
From LINks to Local HealthWatch – continuing
LINk functions and acquiring new functions
HealthWatch England
HealthWatch England will be a new independent
consumer champion for patients, users of services
and the public located in the Care Quality
Commission
It will have a unique role, where it will
– be constituted as a committee within CQC
– have a Chair who will be a non-executive director
of CQC
– have its own identity within CQC
– be able to utilise CQC’s expertise and
infrastructure
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‘National champion voice’
advisory
HealthWatch England
NHS Commissioning Board
CQC
continuous
Monitor
dialogue
Ombudsman
‘Local champion voice’
Local authority
influencing
Local HealthWatch
health and well being board
OSC / scrutiny function
Community groups, Voluntary organisations
Mental health
Older people
Working age individuals
BME groups
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DH – Secretary of State
Carers
Disability groups
…others
GP consortia
Providers
Arrangements will ensure sharing of information to involve, consult
and protect the public
The public and patient voice - their views and experiences - influencing better
health and social care outcomes
Strengthening the collective voice of patients and the public
The national relationship between Department of
Health, HealthWatch England and CQC
HealthWatch England will:
– provide leadership and advice to Local HealthWatch
organisations i.e. set operational standards, standard
protocols
– propose that CQC investigate poorly performing
services i.e. importance of information flows and using
local intelligence, acting on poor outcomes
– advise Secretary of State, NHS Commissioning
Board, English local authorities, Monitor and CQC
itself – and have a response i.e. helping to understand
clinical and care standards to understand the quality
of care people should be getting
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From LINKs to Local HealthWatch
What relationships need building and strengthening…
• Health and wellbeing board – stronger role, capacity to join up
and make commissioning decisions; different role and skills
for HealthWatch;
• ensuring Local HealthWatch is inclusive and diverse
representing its communities i.e. working with other groups to
ensure all voices are heard including seldom heard people,
carers, children and young people, parents etc
• Clinical Commissioning Groups and providers i.e. engaging
and helping them to understand how to use patient and public
voice in their commissioning decisions
• volunteers i.e. capability and tapping into local expertise from
voluntary and community groups
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Pathfinders and action learning sets
Building for continuous learning and development
and doing this through putting in place a programme
of support:
– LINks to be involved in an action learning set to
create an action learning network
– Partnerships of LINks and local authorities acting
as HealthWatch pathfinders to test out aspects of
Local HealthWatch and share learning
– DH and CQC working collaboratively with
stakeholders who are members of the
HealthWatch Advisory Group to deliver the
HealthWatch programme
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Pathfinders and action learning sets
An action learning set…
– enables peer support and development i.e. LINks
doing well can share their success story to help other
LINks establish new ways of working
– DH is exploring expertise to support this
– A HealthWatch pathfinder…
– explores new ways of working
– encourages relationship building between LINks,
local authorities and community partnerships e.g.
Clinical Commissioning Groups, for a sustainable
future
– is thematic, evaluative and adaptable
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Welcome your thoughts
and questions…
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