Report We re Listening

Transcription

1 Annual Report We re Listening

2 Contents Message from our Chair 3 Message from our Chief Executive 4 Engagement 5 Strategic Plans 6 Our Projects 8 Knowledge is Power 15 Our Plans for Next Year 15 Our People 17 Finance 17 Contact us 19 Visit our website at www. healthwatchcumbria.co.uk We engaged face to face with 6,137 people

3 Annual Report Message from our Chair There have been many changes to the way our health and social care services are being delivered across the county. The development of two Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) in Cumbria has resulted in a lot of collaborative thinking and partnership working, both at a strategic and local level. Partnership is the key driver to our mission. Our role is pivotal in listening to and empowering people to become involved in the design of their own services. The concept of Co-production, the buzz word of the moment, should mean that people are treated as assets; Healthwatch is an essential part of that process. These changes have led to the formation of Integrated Care Communities (ICC) which support the Co-ordination of services at a local level and involve listening to the needs of local people. These initiatives mean that our role as the voice of the people has become more central. Healthwatch has been involved with a number of Co-production activities. After revisiting the community groups involved in work related to the removal of inpatient beds in the community hospitals we published a report outlining their concerns. Again at a local level I am delighted that we have welcomed the Chatty Van back into our fold. It provides a popular and strong visual presence in the community. The van enables us to reach the more rural and remote areas and allows participation from a wider range of people. Helen Horne - Chair of Healthwatch Cumbria One of our major pieces of engagement work this year was an ambitious project aiming to discover What Does a Good Life Look Like? for those with learning difficulties. We wanted to discover what level of support people need and what they want to help them live their best lives. An innovative symposium is planned, as an event, to consider emerging findings reflected in the report. As well as all the activity at a local level Healthwatch Cumbria (HWC) works hard at a strategic level, alongside the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthwatch England. As a member of the Healthwatch England Committee I have been heavily involved in the strategic forward planning at a national level. We also sit on the County Council s Health and Wellbeing Board where we have been working with our Health and Social Care colleagues to design a new strategy to address the demands of the changing landscape of health provision. We have 23 fantastic volunteers. (Including Board members) 3

4 Message from our Chief Executive I am a proud Cumbrian, and on the surface of things Cumbria looks pretty much the same as it has all my life, with its Pennine spine, the industrial Nuclear Coast and the picturesque Lake District, in contrast the landscape around the delivery of healthcare in Cumbria has changed beyond recognition in the last year. With the reconfiguration of the CCGs changing the organisational boundaries for the delivery of services HWC has adapted and repositioned itself close enough to the new structures and processes to be able to ensure the public voice and patient interest is central to any proposed service changes. We ve been at the forefront of the Co-production of solutions and ideas to service delivery, which has meant, on occasions, working with communities and individuals who had previously sat on opposite sides of the table. Our continued hosting of the West Cumbria Community Forum (WCCF) is a good example of us bringing people together who may have previously disagreed with one another, but by providing an environment and creating an atmosphere conducive to working together have produced some exciting, innovative ideas for the improvement of local health and care service delivery. The spirit of Co- production has been central to the work we have carried out this year. We have attended, encouraged and supported people to Co - production working groups to ensure that system leaders and decision makers hear, and act upon, the views and experiences of members of the public. David Blacklock - Chief Executive, Healthwatch Cumbria We have engaged with hundreds of young people asking them what health and care services they feel are of greatest importance to them and are implementing a project based around our findings to highlight areas of good and bad practice. We ve also bought a Chatty Van so that we can meet and hear the views of even more people who may live in the most rural areas of the county, if you can t get to us we ll come to you! An organisation that brings together so many people can not work in isolation; we work with others to help improve health and care services for the public, patients and service users. We forge strong links with local charities, community groups and work collaboratively with many partners, the success we have had doing this contributed to the successful tender made to Lancashire County Council to deliver the Healthwatch Lancashire (HWL) contract by our parent organisation People First. I particularly look forward to sharing, and learning from our colleagues in Lancashire having already worked successfully with them on a number of projects brought about through the Healthwatch Collaborative (more on this later) and by the establishment of the Morecambe Bay CCG (MB CCG). In a year that saw The Lake District National Park became a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural (UNESCO) world heritage site Cumbria still looks the same, but the man-made silos that affect the way we work and live have changed, and Healthwatch has adapted and sought to include people, bringing them together to ensure silos are overcome resulting in the best possible joined services worthy of the Cumbrian people. 4

5 Annual Report Engagement Engagement is at the heart of everything we do, effective engagement ensures we maintain links with communities and individuals and remain aware of what is happening and how people are feeling around the county. From these relationships comes the intelligence we need to inform our work and increase our influence. HWC has added an extra engagement tool to our kit this year in the shape of our very own Chatty Van (and yes, we ve checked with Alan Carr and he thinks it s a great idea). We had previously rented a van and customised it for specific engagement events to help us reach the most rural areas of the county. Now that we have our own van we intend to use it as often as possible to ensure that people in every community, no matter how small or rural, have the opportunity to have their say on health and social care issues. So keep your eyes peeled and you will probably see the van in a town, village or on a B road near you. Some of the ways we regularly engage include: Members of HWC staff continue to regularly attend volunteer fairs, local community groups and GP surgery Patient Participation Groups around the county to promote and raise awareness of HWC and encourage new volunteers to come forward and hear patient experiences. HWC volunteers are regularly present at the Cumberland Infirmary Carlisle (CIC) and the West Cumberland Hospital Whitehaven (WCH) collecting patient experiences and talking to patients, visitors and staff to gather their views on accessing health and social care services. The intelligence gathered during these sessions is collected on feedback forms and then transferred to the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM). Regular analysis helps to identify possible trends which require further exploration. Some examples of the more diverse seldom heard group events that we have attended include: Blind Society Macular Degeneration event in Ulverston In addition to a presentation about the work of HWC a HWC Volunteer who specialises in Macular Degeneration gave a talk about the condition, how sufferers may alleviate some of the symptoms and digital software available to help them. World Mental Health Day HWC created two pop up listening booths in Workington and Carlisle on World Mental Health day in October to gauge what the public thought about public awareness of mental health issues. We received 165 responses on the day to a short street survey. Cancer Group in Kendal HWC attended a meeting of people who have, or have had lymphomas to talk about the work of HWC. Recognising the potential in online engagement we are continually updating our website with engagement events, relevant news stories and service information and alerting the public to these items through regular social media updates on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. Our online audience continues to grow and we have refined our contact list to be General Data Production Regulation compliant. We host a number of surveys through our online platform as we understand that this is, for many people, the most easily accessible way of expressing feedback about services. However we always provide hard copies and easy read versions on request and at our face to face engagements. 5

6 Strategic Plans The strategic context for local Healthwatch (HW) is constantly changing. In Cumbria we have moved from working with one of the most challenged health economies in west, north and east Cumbria through the Success Regime to being at the forefront of two emerging Integrated Care Systems (ICS). At the same time a structural change to split the former single Cumbria CCG in two has meant that the core work of HWC is increasingly delivered in relation to two separate health and care economies. North Cumbria which is strongly linked to the health and care economies in the North East ofengland. South Cumbria which is directly linked to the health economy of North Lancashire as part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS. In both areas, HWC continues to seek greater involvement of people in work-stream activity, consultations, communication and engagement and to explore opportunities for further collaborative and/or commissioned work. Local Healthwatch Collaborative In the south the impact of HWC is strengthened through the HW Collaborative with HWL, HW Blackpool and HW Blackburn with Darwen which has already been commissioned to deliver a number of projects. Morecambe Bay CCG HWC has retained its observer status on the refreshed Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group (MB CCG) Governing Body, working with HWL to increase effective working relationships and impact across South Cumbria and North Lancashire. HWC was part of the interview panel for the appointment of their lay representatives. Representatives from HWC, HWL and HW Blackpool met with representatives of MB CCG to consider how local HW organisations can add value to, and enhance the involvement, inclusion and engagement of local people in healthcare governance. We ve published five substantive reports 6

7 Annual Report We ve had 971 responses to our reports Co-production Groups Following the Success Regime consultation The Future of Healthcare in West, North and East Cumbria, North Cumbria CCG decided to increase collaboration between the system and people through greater coproduction. HWC staff, volunteers and Board members are engaged in several co-production working groups which are focused on the implementation of the decisions made after the consultation: The Working Together Group is focused on involving people in considerations to deliver Option 1 for Maternity and Paediatric Services at the WCH The Recruitment and Retention Group is exploring new ways to attract and retain key staff The Children s Working Group is exploring the implications of the new model for delivery of paediatric services between the two hospitals The Experience of Care at a Distance Group is building on a HWC project and considering the implications and requirements of people who need to travel a distance to receivecare Representing the public strategically Representatives of HWC regularly attend; System Leadership Board Provider Alliance Group Senior Responsible Officers Delivery Group Implementation Reference Group Primary Care Commissioning Group Primary and Community Services Programme Delivery Board Mental Health ICC Steering Group Cumbria Health and Wellbeing Board Cumbria Health Scrutiny Committee. The level and extent of HWC involvement is a clear indication of the health and care system s increasing willingness to work with HWC to ensure that more local people can be involved at the design stage of services. Cumbria Health Scrutiny Committee (CHSC) HWC now attend pre-meetings and the main meeting of the CHSC committee, sharing appropriate reports or intelligence relating to specific agenda items. Additionally in December 2017 HWC provided a short presentation of the findings a HWC project found exploring the health and care experiences of deaf people. This acted as an introduction to a substantive item during which representatives of the local deaf community explained the profound challenges that face them daily. Cumbria Health and Wellbeing Board (CHWB) and Public Health Alliance (PHA) The Chair and CEO of HWC attend the CHWB and a nominated member of the HWC Board attends the PHA. CHWB meetings recently have focused on the aspiration to achieve greater integration of health and care services. 7

8 Our Projects Everyone Has a Voice: An inclusive approach to understanding quality of life for people with learning difficulties HWC has completed engagement work on an ambitious project aiming to discover What Does a Good Life Look Like? for those with learning difficulties. HWC wants to discover what level of support people need and what they want to help them live their best lives possible. The emphasis of the project is to hear and record the voices of people with learning difficulties. It is recognised that the experiences of this group are routinely underrepresented in decision making surrounding the services they use, as well as in research more generally. A core aim of this project is to explore the means by which this can be readdressed; indeed, it is likely that discourse surrounding the final report will make a significant contribution. HWC has worked in collaboration with Cumbria County Council (CCC), Parent Carer Forums and Provider Forums and formed a Steering Group to ensure commitment from the council and that other providers are kept involved during the analysis period supporting our no surprises approach. HWC developed five sets of survey questions, each of which were tailored to groups of individuals involved at all levels in shaping and delivering services for people with learning difficulties in Cumbria: service commissioners, social workers, service providers, parent or family carers and people with learning difficulties themselves. These questions formed the basis of semi-structured interviews where the focus was on what that person feels would make their life better, what the strategic decision makers and system leaders think are the problems and what nurses and care providers think could be done better. Additionally an online survey was created and the responses along with the interview data will form the basis for discussions at a symposium* at which there will be representatives from all 5 cohorts. It is anticipated that a refreshed Learning Disabilities Partnership Board will own and support the delivery of the Action Plan. Over the longer term, the report has the potential to serve as the basis for ongoing discourse between respondent groups and other stakeholders in learning difficulty support services in the county, with the aim of strengthening the governance of these services. *The project will be using an innovative symposium as an event to consider emerging findings reflected in a report in an open and transparent way with all the contributors to the project working to consider solutions together. 8 Our social media feeds have increased to 1805 Twitter followers and 809 Facebook likes.

9 Annual Report Young Healthwatch (YHW) HWC was keen to encourage young people (aged 11-25) to help us understand what they thought were the key issues for them around health and social care in Cumbria. Understanding that this age group are confident and happy engaging over digital media HWC developed an online straw poll to identify their main health and care concerns. The poll was sent to all schools in the county and promoted on social media. AQR (Quick response) code was created to allow access to the survey on mobile phones. HWC also undertook a series of face to face engagements including visits to schools, colleges, Youth Alliances and Carlisle Youth Zone to encourage responses to the poll and record any views/experiences that were offered. The poll received 418 responses. Mental health was recognised as the main issue giving HWC a clear mandate to form the basis of a new substantive countywide piece of work. This project will be designed to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges young people experience when accessing and using the mental health services currently provided. By hearing and recording young people s experiences we hope to highlight the need for better understanding and ability to recognise the signs of good and bad mental health and the prevention and management of mental health. A Member of the HWC Board is now Board Lead for Young Healthwatch and is actively promoting this work. Preparing for Winter The influenza vaccination was identified by NHS England as a key mechanism to address winter pressures during the winter of 2017/18. Following this announcement, a message to the info@healthwatchcumbria.co.uk address brought to our attention the case of an individual with learning and physical disabilities. For this individual accessing an appointment for an influenza vaccination was made extremely difficult by a conflict between their schedule of care and that of their GP s surgery. Furthermore, the individual expressed concern that they had not received adequate information regarding the provision of influenza vaccinations. The nature of the case suggested that its causes were systemic and deserving of a preliminary investigation by HWC. The aims of the work was to establish: How GPs and pharmacies are communicating with groups of clinically at risk individuals about the need for and means of accessing influenza vaccinations How GPs and pharmacies are ensuring that influenza vaccinations are available to all who need them The level of uptake of influenza vaccinations by clinically at risk individuals The experiences of clinically at risk individuals in accessing influenza vaccinations The perception of the quality of influenza vaccination service provision by groups of clinically at risk individuals. Effective methods of identifying and communicating with eligible patients are associated with significantly higher rates of influenza vaccination. Therefore, HWC sought to make a significant contribution to influenza vaccination rates within the county by comparing the experiences of patients with the strategies of GP surgeries and pharmacies to: i) identify barriers to influenza vaccination uptake and ii) to identify areas of best practice. A survey was developed available in two forms; online and a paper copy. Analysis of the results showed that the majority of the 205 people who responded (80%) had no difficulty obtaining the vaccination. However it also showed that many did experience difficulty and this was acknowledged by 37% of health professionals who responded. Arguably, many of those experiencing difficulty could be at the greatest risk of health complications. A number of recommendations to raise awareness and address access difficulties have been proposed. The published report can be read here: 9

10 Better Care Together Engagement (HWC and HWL) HWC and HWL were jointly commissioned to deliver a series of engagement sessions using the HWC Chatty Van across the Morecambe Bay Local Delivery Partnership footprint. This involved the development of a survey to explore people s views of the 5 hard truths which the Better Care Together Programme had identified as being key to address in order to deliver more effective and efficient services across the Bay. Members of staff from HWC and HWL were joined by NHS representatives on the Chatty Van at a variety of locations in South Cumbria and North Lancashire to encourage responses. Comment cards were also available on the van which gave an opportunity for people to make any comments they wished regarding health and care, the comments from both Cumbria and Lancashire have been combined on a single spreadsheet for analysis and reporting. HWC spoke with 403 members of the public and their views were combined with those from people in North Lancashire to inform the final report published in April The published report can be read here: bit.ly/2tyhsqb Dental project When the NHS Dental Practice in Appleby closedin December 2017 HWC began to receive a large number of signposting and information requests about the future provision of NHS dental services in the town from concerned local residents. HWC felt that the best way to address the questions and concerns of the public would be to hold an event where the public could speak directly with a member of the NHS Primary Care Team associated with the procurement process. The Hub in Appleby was chosen as the venue and a drop-in was organised for the 20th March 2018 with a member of the Primary Care Team and facilitated by HWC staff. Members of the public were able to ask questions, voice concerns and also obtain signposting advice from HWC regarding alternative options available. Feedback from attendees was very positive and HWC was thanked for arranging the event. A HWC Impact Report was completed to summarise this project. We own 1 brightly coloured, fully equipped chatty van 10

11 Annual Report West Cumbria Community Forum (WCCF) The WCCF continues to provide a vehicle for coproduction conversations about key aspects of the change programme in West Cumbria. A key feature of the Forum is its broad representation of members drawn from a wide range of communities of interest and place and also from the health and care system leadership. This enables people who may not otherwise be able to contribute to the discussions around the significant change in service delivery to play a more active role. Forum meetings also provide updates on the co-production work that has been facilitated through the Working Together groups. Eye Health Clinic at Furness General Hospital HWC intelligence gained from patient experience at Furness General Hospital indicated that Eye Clinic patients were experiencing difficulty contacting the clinic by telephone, the lack of an engaged tone giving the impression that the call was being ignored. Previously obtained data was analysed and the concerns shared with the representative on the NHS Local Eye Health Network Group, the Chair of the Group subsequently referring the issue to the CEO of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay (UHMB) NHS FoundationTrust. An apology was received from UHMB explaining some of the difficulties that the clinic was experiencing, largely related to staff shortages. Recruitment is underway and a number of actions are being implemented using IT and a messaging service to address issues of concern in the interim. A HWC Impact Report was completed to summarise this project. In addition HWC has attended the local NHS eye health network meetings and was able to share intelligence specific to eye health that has been captured from the CIC. There were 4 experiences shared at the meeting which were taken back to the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust (NCUHT) by their representative for action. Community Hospitals and Co-production This project explored the experiences of lay people involved in the co-production activity designed to implement the North Cumbria CCG decision to remove inpatient beds in Maryport, Alston and Wigton Community Hospitals. To establish what worked well and less well from a community perspective HWC created a survey to monitor the extent to which Leagues of Friends, Alliances and community groups were satisfied with progress and organised three focus groups with each of the community-based stakeholders to explore in greater depth any concerns; a report based on the response to the survey and in the focus groups was created. This work directly informs on-going work in the commissioned co-production project currently being delivered at the request of North Cumbria CCG. The published report can be read here: bit.ly/2km0qqc 11

12 Eden Valley Hospice Eden Valley Hospice (EVH) is a charity based in Carlisle which opened in 1991 and which received a good CQC rating. It regularly receives a vast amount of feedback which is almost entirely positive, but rarely receive any suggestions or ideas for service improvement. EVH approached HWC for help in developing and delivering a process to enhance the collection and use of patient feedback. Working through a Joint Steering Group including EVH staff and volunteers, HWC created the first ever EVH Patient Charter and a questionnaire designed to record the experiences of patients, families and carers against the criteria set out in the charter, providing useable/ useful actionable feedback. The Head of Care at the hospice wrote, members of staff and volunteers from across the hospice have worked in partnership with Healthwatch Cumbria to develop a Patient Charter. The Charter reflects the philosophy of hospice care and sets out clear expectations for patients in relation to the care and support they can expect to receive when accessing hospice services The Charter was developed in partnership with Healthwatch Cumbria who facilitated the project with input from patients, family representatives, volunteers and staff. Healthwatch helped with the design and facilitated sessions with staff and volunteers to determine the key themes to include in the Charter. The aim is for the Patient Charter to become embedded into every day practice and is a guarantee to patients and their families on the standard of care and support they can expect from hospice staff. HWC was fundamental in maintaining the momentum for this project and supporting hospice staff and volunteers to be involved in a new way of working. The development of the Patient Charter reflects effective partnership working to achieve an agreed goal with a shared vision a very positive example of a collaborative approach. 12

13 Page liste the Annual Report We ve created 14 Enter and View reports about care homes Enter and View Visits This year HWC trained staff completed our Enter and View programme of visits to care homes in Cumbria. The 18 homes (4 of which were visited in 2016 with the remaining 14 visited in 2017) were chosen based on intelligence gathered when reviewing our countywide patient experience of the out of hours GP service Cumbria Health on Call (CHOC). HWC sought to hear from residents about their experience of accessing health and care services and produced 18 individual reports reflecting the responses from residents and including HWC staff observations and recommendations. Each report was submitted to the relevant home for a factual accuracy check and then for a response within the statutory timeline after which it was published on the HWC website. Clinical Services Quality Measures (CSQMS) HWC staff and volunteers continue to support our local hospital trusts by participating in the various inspections/visits (Mock CQC Inspections and Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) visits) primarily focusing on the views of patients, families and carers. These are intended to improve service quality, safety and environment. HWC representatives provide an independent patient perspective and have attended 14 PLACE visits this year. Digital Project (Lancashire and Cumbria Healthwatch Collaborative) The collaborative is working together through a Steering Group to deliver a project that would involve local Healthwatch organisations working with local people to explore how computers and other IT technology could be employed to achieve better health and care outcomes. A short survey has been developed and is currently being promoted to the public to complete online and through the engagement activity using the Chatty Van. NHS England Learning Disabilities Screening Programme, and the Development of a Toolkit (Lancashire and Cumbria Healthwatch Collaborative). This project exples the relative low uptake of cancer screening opportunities amongst people with learning difficulties. The project is focused on breast cancer screening for women between years, and cervical screening for women between years. Engagement staff and volunteers have been trained to help them carry out the engagement work which will inform the design of a Toolkit to help increase sustained uptake of the screening process. 13

14 Broadening Communication Channels within the NHS (HWC and HWL) The Communication and Engagement lead for Better Care Together commissioned HWC and HWL to work together to identify previously unused communication routes/networks and to establish contact with those who preside over them. Approximately 530 s were sent to a range of contacts including Parish Newsletters, nursery groups, local interest groups, school newsletters and third sector care organisations. The full set of researched contacts was passed on to the health and care system communication leads and included in the HW Collaborative databases.. Cumbria CCG Developing enhanced Co-production approaches based on the Cumbria experience and the production of w toolkit to roll out our best practice Cumbria CCG commissioned HWC to explore people s experience of cop-roduction in North Cumbria. Three focus groups took place designed to inform the development of a co-production Charter which will be supported by a range of training material co-developed to help to achieve its aspirations for best practice. Great North Care Record (GNCR) The GNCR is a regional Integrated Digital Care Record programme for the people of the North East and Cumbria, covering a population of 3.6 million people. The GNCR aims to produce a platform to join up records in front line care with an analytics platform to be shared by the NHS, Local Authorities, Universities and other health and care related organisations. The improved access to information for care will help make the North East and Cumbria the safest place in the world to get care and the best place in the world to do research. HWC collaborated with Connecting Health Cities and Teesside University and 11 other local HW on this work and organised three focus groups (Workington, Carlisle and Barrow) to facilitate the views of patients, carers and the public regarding information sharing and consent. 14

15 Annual Report Knowledge is Power The more we know about people s views and experiences of health and care services the greater the strengthening of our position and influence to represent them. HWC has successfully positioned itself as a respected, influential, independent voice within the structure of the ICS model of change. We encourage, champion and support people to share their views and experiences at strategic meetings, thus providing a direct opportunity for them to influence decision making around change. The unique and privileged role HWC has as a people s champion with influence is based entirely on the strength and credibility of the intelligence we have gathered through engaging with the public. We have developed and sustained relationships during some of the most strategically challenging change processes in the health and care system; often in communities which have been concerned and suspicious of the proposed changes. We have remained steadfast ensuring that the right people are heard, and the right people are listening. Our plans for next year include the development of a rigorous programme of core engagements to encourage even more people to have their say on topics around health and social care. Plans for Next Year Core Engagement We have launched a Have your Say survey designed to gauge what health and care services are Hot (performing well) and which are Not (performing badly). This short survey will be promoted at all our engagement events and a monthly analysis of responses will provide a temperature gauge of what people are really happy or concerned about. This is a highly responsive means of measuring public opinion and could reflect seasonal or even minor service delivery changes, any more major trends that become apparent could warrant a substantive piece of work. Young People s Mental Health Project 60% of the 418 responses to our poll of health and care issues that are of most interest to young people aged gave us a clear mandate to explore issues around mental health. We have developed a survey to ascertain what may cause mental ill health in the young, what can help create good mental health and to see whether respondents are aware of the support services available to them and how to access them. We created two pathways through the survey, one for those aged and one for those aged 19-25, the language differs between the two pathways to reflect the development of language skills through these age ranges. The survey will be sent to all schools in the county prior to the face to face engagement planned to take place in September. The final report is planned to be made public in November. We have increased staff capacity with the support of 9 HW trained sessional officers 15

16 Healthwatch Hubs To support the rising awareness of HWC and increase both the quantity of intelligence received and the number of volunteers, HWC is setting up HW Hubs across the county. Utilising existing community groups as our eyes and ears to help us gather intelligence, HWC identifies lead representatives from the Hubs to liaise with an identified HW member of staff. The hubs are expected to report any intelligence received by them to HWC. The HWC Chatty Van Now that HWC owns a Chatty Van it means that we are able to use it anytime we need to meet with even more people, it also provides a unique selling point when tendering for commissioned work as we can customise it to the bespoke needs of our collaborative partners. More Commissioned Work Our expertise in engagement means that we are a highly sought after team, and our philosophy of ensuring the individual person, patient or service user is at the centre of any engagement has been recognised and adopted by others as an effective means of including all voices. The commissioned work that we take on gives us the chance to work, and learn, collaboratively with other groups and organisations whilst creating new engagement and networking opportunities. Any surplus revenue generated is fed back into HWC core projects to ensure we can deliver extra services. Our team of sessional staff provide us with the increased staff capacity during these commissioned projects so that our core staff can continue to concentrate on our day to day work. We ve bought a Chatty Van so that we can meet and hear the views of people who may live in the most rural areas of the county, if you can t get to us we ll come to you! 16

17 Annual Report Our People Our core staff team is supported by a dedicated, talented team of volunteers and is extended further by a pool of skilled sessional staff. The diverse range of skills, experiences and contacts that they bring enhances the scope of work we can undertake and increases our capacity. It is because of them that even with a county as large as ours we can be covering simultaneous engagement events from Brampton to Barrow (93 miles) and anywhere in between. Our volunteers and sessional staff care passionately about health and care services in our county, and their commitment is evident in their willingness to support our work, even when challenged by the Cumbrian geography and weather, be it a rainy morning on Alston Moor or a windy afternoon in Shap, they never let us down. Our Board comprises nine voluntary members who bring with them a clear vision of how we should fulfill our statutory functions. They give us their time, energy and enthusiasm by attending regular quarterly board meetings to ensure our work remains compliant, focused and on track with the Healthwatch England Quality Statements. We are most fortunate that many members of our Board have a hands-on approach and have joined with the core team in project planning and supporting engagement events. Our volunteers and sessional staff bring with them a tapestry of life experiences and these both reflect and shape our work in a uniquely Cumbrian way thank you to you all. Finance Income Funding received from local authority to deliver local Healthwatch statutory activities. Additional income. Total income x x x Expenditure Operational costs Staffing costs Office costs Total expenditure x x x x Balance brought forward x 17

18 Contact us People First Independent Advocacy is contracted by Cumbria County Council to deliver the statutory functions of a local Healthwatch. To get in touch the contact details for our registered main office are provided below. Healthwatch Cumbria, Best Life Building, 4-8 Oxford Street, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 2AH Phone number: info@healthwatchcumbria.co.uk Website: Facebook:@healthwatchcumbria We will be making this annual report publicly available in July 2018 by publishing it on our website and sharing it with Healthwatch England, CQC, NHS England, Clinical Commissioning Group/s, Overview and Scrutiny Committee/s, and our local authority. We confirm that we are using the Healthwatch Trademark (which covers the logo and Healthwatch brand) when undertaking work on our statutory activities as covered by the licence agreement. If you require this report in an alternative format please contact us at the address above. Copyright Healthwatch Cumbria

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20 Annual Report Healthwatch Cumbria, Best Life Building, 4-8 Oxford Street, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 2AH healthwatchcumbria.co.uk Copyright Healthwatch Cumbria 2018 We re Listening