A new watchdog is being launched to monitor health and social care and represent the voice of local residents and patients.
Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire (HCB) will seek and gather the views of patients and social care service users from April as part of changes taking place nationally to put people who use services at the heart of decisions about services.
HCB will be run by as a new independent charity formed by existing local community and voluntary groups who were confirmed as the preferred provider at a meeting of Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive yesterday (Tuesday).
The new organization will replace the former Local Involvement Network (LINk). It will have three key functions:
Gathering evidence about what health and social care services are actually like. Healthwatch will have statutory powers to enter providers’ premises to see at first hand how services are being delivered. It will then be able to make recommendations to providers who will have to respond.
Informing Central Bedfordshire about what’s on offer locally in terms of health and social care services and how to access them.
Representing local residents at the Health and Wellbeing board, the group that makes the decisions about which health and social care services are provided locally.
All publically funded health services, including hospitals, doctors surgeries and dentists come under Healthwatch’s remit – as do adult and children’s social services.
Councillor Carole Hegley, at Central Beds Council, said: “The creation of Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire is great news for us all. The quality of health and social care services matters a great deal to everyone, and by having an organization with real teeth and the backing of local people we can work together to make sure we’re delivering great services for everyone.
John Gelder, of Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire, said: “Healthwatch is a really great opportunity for residents and carers from across Central Bedfordshire to get involved in the development of local health and social care services. Once established, Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire will work with local voluntary organisations, community groups, providers and residents to ‘tell the story’ of their experiences, identify gaps and work with Central Bedfordshire Council, the NHS and others to improve and promote local services.
“At this stage we are looking to recruit and appoint volunteers prepared to sit on the Board of Healthwatch and contribute to the strategic development and oversight of Healthwatch services locally.”