Welcome to the Healthwatch Suffolk Winter newsletter 2015/16

Firstly, I would like to warmly welcome Andy Yacoub who will be taking on the role of Chief Executive Officer for Healthwatch Suffolk from December 2015. He joins us from local charity Focus 12. The Board of Directors look forward to working with Andy to take Healthwatch Suffolk forward and into the future.

A big thank you to everyone who attended our AGM in October. The event was very well attended. A special thank you is due to Netta, who shared her inspiring story about how she was empowered through us to make a difference for her family and also to services at Ipswich Hospital.

With the festive season just around the corner, we hope that everyone has a wonderful break. Our office will be closed from noon on 24th December and will be open again from Monday 4th January 2016 at 8.30 am. You can still share your experiences with us on our website, using the comment cards inside this newsletter, leaving us a voice message or emailing the team on info@healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk. We will respond to you as soon as we can.

Please remember that if your GP surgery is closed or if you need any medical advise over the festive season you can call 111 in the first instance.

Thank you for your continued support, we hope you enjoy catching up on all things Healthwatch Suffolk.

Dr Tony RolloChair

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If so,we would be grateful if you could let us know by calling 01449 703949 or by email to info@healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk

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Suff olk

Winteredition2015 Mental health: Inspiring progress

More will be done to support people with mental health difficulties in Suffolk after our survey showed some communities were not aware of the services on offer.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) made the pledge after asking us to explore the experiences of diverse communities in Suffolk.

The work is part of an ongoing project, called Open Mind, which aims to improve mental health services for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities.

The results, showcased in November at a half-day conference, included:

• Almost half of BME service users said mental health services were not culturally sensitive.

• 1 in 4 were asked questions not acceptable to their culture or faith.

• Some people said they had experienced racial discrimination.

An update on our work with Suffolk User Forum

Almost 50 service users, carers and professionals attended the joint Healthwatch Suffolk and Suffolk User Forum “Stepping Forward” event in November to listen to early findings from our joint survey and take part in workshops about how mental health care could be improved in Suffolk.

We aim to release the final report in early 2016.

Priorities identified at the event and from the findings of the survey will be reported to commissioners and to senior NSFT staff. We are confident that the views recorded will be heard and used to improve services for people in Suffolk.

The Trust has committed to open and transparent dialogue with Healthwatch Suffolk and Suffolk User Forum at a senior level to explore all of the issues raised.

We would like to reiterate our thanks to every person that attended the event to make it such a success and to help us achieve our joint aim of making services better for everyone that needs them.

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The Trust will be taking a number of actions to improve the services:

• It will use insights from the project to inform training for staff.

• It will measure whether people say services are more culturally sensitive.

• It will improve the way it publicises services to a wider range of communities.

• It will refresh its Spirituality Strategy (2013-2016) to include insights from the project.

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Our AGM

Your Voice Counts

Rate, review and improve local health and social care services with us.

You can share feedback about any health or care service in Suffolk (e.g. hospitals, dentists and care homes). Simply search for the name or location of the service on our website or browse by category on the Feedback Centre atwww.healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/services

We were pleased that almost 70 professionals and members of the public attended our second Annual General Meeting in October.

The day included opportunities to find out about what we do and to get information about support available in the county. We also shared many examples of positive changes made to care in Suffolk and how we have been making a difference.

There was an emotive and captivating live panel discussion with Netta, who shared her journey through health and care services. She explained that, through us, she has enabled the services to improve care for people living with Sickle Cell disorder in Suffolk.

This has included a meeting with the Ipswich Hospital board which led to the introduction of new measures to identify people living with Sickle Cell, improved treatment pathways and a number of other outcomes.

This session was followed by an interesting talk from Nick Hulme (Chief Executive of Ipswich Hospital) about the future of community healthcare in Suffolk. He expressed that too many individuals are kept in hospital despite having no clinical need to be there

and that such patients could be treated more effectively in the community.

He acknowledged however that new arrangements for providing community health services in Suffolk are uncharted territory and that the first year was likely to show little improvement over the performance of the previous provider (Serco).

Mr Hulme emphasised the importance of local people sharing their views and asked patients and carers to test new plans for community healthcare through regular feedback on what is and what is not working.

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Winteredition2015 P4Your views at the heart of improving services

It makes a difference when you have your say with us

We received feedback about Ipswich Hospital which indicated somebody had not received good care. They had been left in pain and no-one had answered call bells for pain or to use the toilet. The comment highlighted staff had shown little kindness and that they had been left without fluids for long periods.

We escalated this to the Chief executive (Nick Hulme) for a formal response.

The hospital took the feedback seriously and conducted a thorough investigation which resulted in a number of actions for ward staff. This includes weekly audits to ensure call bells are being answered promptly, discussions about introducing a different pain assessment tool for palliative patients and to ensure that all staff are practicing according to the trusts values and behaviors. For more information on this story please visit our website.

Your feedback is keeping A+E patients in James Paget better informed

Following one of our engagement visits, patients in A&E told us that it would be better to have information about waiting times. There is a TV screen monitor that should display this information.

Unfortunately, on the day we visited, this was not switched on. Your feedback highlighted this error and indeed, the requirement for staff to be more vigilant in their daily checking processes to ensure the screen is activated.

The Service Manager for A&E, has escalated this to the relevant staff responsible for the daily checks to ensure that this will be actioned to improve the patients experience by keeping people well informed at all times.

Enter and View update Enter and View is one of the powers that we have available to us to monitor and challenge health and social care services.

It means that we have the right to visit (announced or unannounced) any premises where publicly funded care is provided to people in Suffolk with a few exceptions.

Our most recent visit was to Mildenhall Lodge in Mildenhall. If you would like to see what we found you can download a report from our website or you can call the office.

We have also carried out our first unannounced visit and are working hard to set the plan for the year ahead.

Your feedback made a difference at Ipswich Hospital

Help us chose which services to visit. Rate, review and improve services on -www.healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/services

P5 Seeking Your Views

Maternity services - Have you had your say?

We believe the views of birthing partners are underrepresented. That is why we have been working

with two hospitals (Ipswich and James Paget Hospital) to give birthing partners a say in maternity care.

To support this work we are calling for fathers/partners, mums or anyone that has been present at a birth in Suffolk to share their experiences. Whether you had a good or a bad experience, this is your chance to influence current services and also the shape of future services so make your voice count.

The results of this project will be used to inform the ongoing national review of maternity services in England.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/suffolkmaternity

Do you live with diabetes?

As a result of your feedback we want to explore

services in Suffolk that provide foot care for people with diabetes. Specifically, we want to

know if they delivering care in accordance to NICE guidelines (2015).

We will be engaging people living in Suffolk with Diabetes (Type 1 or 2) and we want to encourage people to share their experiences of receiving health care.

Over the coming months we will be attending diabetic clinics in the county and we have also produced a survey.

If you are living with diabetes, or you know someone that is, please follow this link to complete our online survey which will be live until the end of April 2016.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/suffolkdiabetes

Hard copies of all surveys are available on request. Call 01449 703949.

Winteredition2015 And a few updates...

We have been very pleased to work closely with Survivors in Transition (SiT) and University Campus Suffolk (UCS) on the launch of “Focus on survivors” - An important research project about the experiences of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Our role has been to find ways of ensuring the report is engaging and that it connects with survivors.

In October, our Chair travelled to London to join forces with other Local Healthwatch organisations to raise the real concerns of people using health and social care services.

Attended by more than 30 parliamentarians, as well as key decision makers in health and care, the event provided an opportunity for us to speak with Ben Gummer MP on behalf of Suffolk residents.

Tony Rollo said “It was gratifying to hear Mr Gummer note the early impact of the Healthwatch network and the excellent progress made to date on raising awareness and improving local services. It is our intention to keep him informed of our work in Suffolk as he is the sponsoring Minister for Healthwatch and has ministerial responsibility for healthcare services.”

We are pleased to announce that Andy Yacoub has been appointed to the role of Healthwatch Suffolk Chief Executive. He will begin to work for us from the beginning of December 2015. Andy joins us from Focus12 (an independent

charity providing abstinence based drug and alcohol rehabilitation in Suffolk), where he held the post of Chief Executive. He brings a wealth of statutory and voluntary sector experience and we hope you will join us in wishing a warm welcome!

Abuse stopped in the same year as they made their disclosures

Abuse stopped one year or more before making disclosures

Continued to be abused for an average of almost 6 years after making disclosures

11%

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20%

Launched by SiT and UCS at an emotive high profile event in October, the report has been well received locally and nationally.

It highlights many findings that are shocking and have wide ranging implications for support services (statutory and voluntary). Ultimately, It is hoped that the report will be used to engender change in the system and genuinely improve support for survivors.

The full report is available to view on our website.

Our Chair Dr Tony Rollo and Ben Gummer MP

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Speak Out With Us. t: 01449 703 949 w: www.healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk e:info@healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk

Community Engagement

Our Community Development team have been busy engaging with people all over the county.

We regularly visit Ipswich, West Suffolk and James Paget University Hospitals. This means we are able to talk to people visiting the different outpatient clinics and A&E, listening to their experiences of the care they are receiving both at the hospital but also generally.

Our team also engage with many groups and community venues such as local libraries and synergy cafes. We would be happy to meet with your group, just let us know when you meet and where.

We are building relationships with local organisations who will be encouraging their staff and service users to share experiences of services with us. For example, the Wellbeing Champions at Liverpool Victoria have been really welcoming and have distributed feedback postcards to colleagues.

The King’s Project in Mildenhall are supporting us too as well as many other organisations throughout the county such as Age UK Suffolk. Suffolk Family Carers and the Rural Coffee Caravan.

We would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for their enthusiasm and help.

Suffolk Information Standard Update

The Suffolk Information Standard, which we administer, aims to give you confidence in the information you receive or can access about health, social care and wellbeing. By working closely with other organisations in the county, we aim to ensure information is clear, reviewed regularly, accessible and up-to-date.

We would like to congratulate Sue Ryder, which is the most recent organisation to be accredited with the Suffolk Information Standard.

To see the full list of accredited partners and find out how your organisation can apply for free, please visit: http://www.healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/signposting/suffolk-information-standard/

You can also call 01449 703949 to speak with a member of our Information team.

In October, our Chair travelled to London to join forces with other Local Healthwatch organisations to raise the real concerns of people using health and social care services.

Attended by more than 30 parliamentarians, as well as key decision makers in health and care, the event provided an opportunity for us to speak with Ben Gummer MP on behalf of Suffolk residents.

Tony Rollo said “It was gratifying to hear Mr Gummer note the early impact of the Healthwatch network and the excellent progress made to date on raising awareness and improving local services. It is our intention to keep him informed of our work in Suffolk as he is the sponsoring Minister for Healthwatch and has ministerial responsibility for healthcare services.”

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Winteredition2015

BME & Diversity Group update

For the first time, the group held its October meeting outside of Ipswich, at Gatehouse in Bury St Edmunds. We were happy to welcome new members including a Dementia Trainer from West Suffolk Hospital and representatives of local organisations.

On 7th November, the Multicultural Women’s Group in Bury St Edmunds held their annual Taste of Culture event, which we part funded as part of our BME & Diversity Group Small Grants Scheme. The event was a great success and over 100 people attended to taste, dance and enjoy the experience of different cultures. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to engage people from multiple cultures about their use of services. Cllr Patrick Chan, Mayor of Bury St Edmunds as well as Julia Weklham, Deputy Mayor, attended to soak up the atmosphere too.

Engaging with Children and Young People: A Partnership Working Project with Unity and Diversity and the Thomas Gainsborough School

We are working in partnership with Unity and Diversity and the Thomas Gainsborough School to collect the views of children and young people in relation to healthcare service in Suffolk, the Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Transformation Plan, and Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) in the curriculum.

We visited the Thomas Gainsborough School in Sudbury on the 1st December and successfully engaged with over 500 students. The students, aged eleven to eighteen, took part in an interactive survey which sought to understand the needs of students in relation to mental health awareness, stress in schools, and the way in which PSHE engages with the needs of students today.

Our initial findings show that almost a third of students were dissatisfied with their PSHE

lessons, while over half of the students wanted their school to run mental health awareness workshops. Additionally, students were asked to prioritise seven topics that were taken from the CAHMS Transformation Plan. Of The seven topics presented, 76% of students rated mental health in their top three priorities, 54% rated self-harm in their top three priorities and 39% rated sexual health in their top three priorities.

We will be taking the findings from the 1st December to create an open debate at the Thomas Gainsborough School in January which will lead to student-led drama workshops on issues that are pertinent to those under the age of eighteen. All our findings will be fed into Suffolk County Council and Public Health to inform the CAMHS Transformation Plan and to make PSHE lessons more relevant to the young people of today.

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