Commissioning Surrey
Healthwatch
Update to the Health & Wellbeing Board
6th September 2012
Today’s presentation
1) Commissioning the new Healthwatch function
Simon Laker (Surrey County Council)
2) Work to date
Richard Davy (Surrey Independent Living Council)
3) Proposed next steps
Simon Laker
Commissioning HealthWatch
•The
Health & Social Care Act makes provision for a new consumer
organisation called Healthwatch
•Healthwatch
will replace LINkS
•Healthwatch
will be commissioned by the County Council (in two-tier
authorities) and must be a social enterprise
•Healthwatch
may be developed in partnership with existing LINkS,
partners/stakeholders via a process of co-design OR commissioned by tender
•The
sole legal responsibility of the County Council is “to have a contract signed
with a local Healthwatch organisation” by 1st April 2013
Objectives
To develop local Healthwatch arrangements which are:
▪
Robust
▪
Representative
▪
Partnership based
▪
Accountable
▪
Deliverable
▪
Built upon Surrey LINkS skills, knowledge,
experience and commitment
▪
Values and makes effective use of volunteers
Aims
• For Surrey Healthwatch to be the independent
consumer champion for the people of Surrey and
promote better outcomes in health and social care
for all
• To be accountable to the full diversity of the
community of Surrey
• To establish public trust through being responsive
efficient and effective
• To work (where possible) in partnership with
stakeholders and providers
• To become recognised as one of the best
local Healthwatch organisations in the UK
Delivery (1)
Surrey Healthwatch will:
▪
Provide information and advice about accessing
health and social care services and choice in
relation to those services
▪
Promote and support the involvement of people
in the monitoring, commissioning and provision
of care services including Enter & View visits
▪
Obtain peoples views about their need for and
experiences of care services and make those
views widely known
Delivery (2)
▪
Provide NHS independent complaints advocacy
services (in partnership with a professional
advocacy organisation)
▪
▪
Represent the views of “consumers” at the
Surrey Health and Wellbeing Board
Make recommendations to Healthwatch England
and CQC to carry out specific reviews or
investigations
▪
Make peoples views and experiences
known to Healthwatch England
Consultation & Engagement
SILC as the LINk’s host developed a consultation and engagement
plan
This helped understand how Surrey Healthwatch should be developed
and obtain views that represent all communities in Surrey
This has informed Surrey County Council’s service specification
We recognise Healthwatch will be very different to LINkS, we want to
ensure it is set up in a way that is right for Surrey people
Healthwatch needs to build upon LINks skills, knowledge, experience
and commitment but also acknowledge where there have been
challenges in the past
Next steps
Developing the specification:
•
Outline specification presented to Board today (Appendix 2)
•
Council running series of events during Sept/Oct 2012 to co-design HealthWatch
specification
•
Final specification to be circulated to Health and Wellbeing Board by 4th October and
shared with LINkS
The decision to proceed:
•
SILC and LINkS to prepare a statement of readiness to deliver the specification by
14th October
•
On the basis of that statement the Council will either
a) award LINkS the function by grant-in-aid funding to engage in a process of
co-design to develop Surrey HealthWatch
b) commence a full tender process for the HealthWatch contract
Next steps
Legal standing and governance
•
If LINkS are to become Healthwatch they will be supported by SILC to prepare
articles and memorandum for incorporation as a new organisation and social
enterprise
•
LINkS will be required to detail against the new specification any work to be
undertaken pre- and post- the contract award
Key milestones from project plan
•
31st October Cabinet member decision
•
If Cabinet award LINks the function the co-design with SCC and partners will begin
•
If they don’t then there will be an Invitation to Tender issues on 23rd of November
•
23rd March new contract signed
•
1st April go live
Questions?