This in from Healthwatch in their own words. Ed
The work, which has led to changes in the way local maternity services are delivered on the Island, won the award for best stakeholder engagement at the national Healthwatch Network Awards of Achievement 2014.
Healthwatch locality manager Gretel Ingham joined Sara Ellis, community outreach and engagement officer, to receive the award at Healthwatch’s annual conference in Reading last week.
The national Healthwatch annual awards are held to recognise the individuals and teams across the network who have demonstrated exceptional impact within local communities.
Gretel said:
“We were delighted to receive this award which is down to the contributions of all those mothers who took part in the survey.
“We set out to reach as many new mothers as possible to ensure the survey was meaningful and reflected their real experiences, both good and bad. We were helped enormously by the support of the Island’s network of Children’s Centres and other groups so this award is very much for them too.”
Will lead to even better maternity services
Sara said:
“The project was incredibly successful with over 200 pieces of feedback being collected and 187 surveys filled in, meaning that the data presented to commissioners and providers in the final report was irrefutable.
“Furthermore, the relationship with Children’s Centres continues as they are giving out copies of the report and signposting parents to us to tell their stories on an ongoing basis. But perhaps the best legacy of all is that comments and suggestions made in the survey are being taken on board by local providers and this will lead to an even better maternity service for the Island.”
“Incredibly successful project”
Jane Mordue, Healthwatch England Committee Member and presenter of the Healthwatch Award for Stakeholder Engagement, said:
“We were really impressed with the team’s outreach programme, in particular their work with eight of the Isle of Wight’s children centres to find out what parents and children thought about local services to really understand some of the issues facing families.
“The project was incredibly successful, creating a powerful data set to present issues to local commissioners and providers.”
Image: Gretel Ingham, Sara Ellis and Dr Katherine Rake OBE, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England
