A Delegated Decision Notice has been issued today in relation to the development of a local Healthwatch body for the Isle of Wight.
The report explains that under the Health & Social Care Act 2012, the Isle of Wight Council is placed under a duty to commission a Healthwatch organisation for their local area by April 2013.
The consultation will provide the local community “an opportunity to share their views on how Healthwatch will be developed on the Island”.
What is the Local Healthwatch?
According to the paperwork, “Local Healthwatch will gather people’s views on, and experiences of, the health and social care system (whether current users of the services or not) and will be required to ensure that insight is gained from the broadest possible scope of the community; championing diversity so that it is inclusive, particularly for those whose voice might not otherwise be heard”.
The Local Involvement Network (LINk) which currently fulfils some similar functions, particularly those in relation to information and signposting, will cease to exist from the end of March 2013.
How will it support residents?
A representative of the local Healthwatch organisation will have a seat on the Isle of Wight council’s Health and Community Wellbeing Scrutiny Panel (which according to the council’s website has three vacancies).
In addition it will support residents by:
- providing information and advice to the public about accessing health and social care services and choice in relation to aspects of those services;
- potentially providing or, at the very least, signposting people to complaints advocacy services;
- making the views and experiences of local people known to Healthwatch England helping it to carry out its role as national champion;
- making recommendations to Healthwatch England/the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to carry out special reviews or investigations into areas of concern;
- promoting and supporting the involvement of people in monitoring, commissioning and provision of local care services;
- obtaining the views of people about their needs for and experience of local care services and make those views known to those involved in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of care services
- making reports and recommendations about how health and social care services could be improved.
The report also explains that the cost of the consultation exercise will be £5,250. The Department of Health will be funding £5,000 of this and the remainder will be recovered from existing service budgets.
The Delegated Decision Notice
Embedded below for your convenience, the Delegated Decision Notice along with the relevant appendix.
Image: Okko Pyykko under CC BY 2.0
