Easy Read Greater Gwent Citizens Panel annual report What we did from 2016 to 2017 This is an easy read version of Greater Gwent Citizens Panel Annual Report 2016 2017 November 2017
How to use this document This is an easy read version. The words and their meanings are easy to read and understand. You may need help and support to read and understand this document. Ask someone you know to help you. Some words may be difficult to understand. These are in bold blue writing and have been explained in a box beneath the word. Where the document says we, this means Greater Gwent Citizens Panel. If you would like more copies of this document please contact: David Williams, Greater Gwent Health, Social Care and Well-being Partnership Phone: 0793 9003131 Email: citizenspanel@torfaen.gov.uk This document was made into easy read by Easy Read Wales using Photosymbols. Page 2
Contents Page Introduction 4 About the Gwent Citizen Panel 5 What we did from 2016 to 2017 8 Our plans for 2017 to 2018 10 What people say about the Citizens Panel 12 Hard words 14 Page 3
Introduction This report tells you about all the work we did from 2016 to 2017. This is our 2nd annual report. It covers: why the Panel was formed what we have done in the last year what we want to do next year. If you want more information about what we do please get in touch. You can email us at citizenspanel@torfaen.gov.uk. Page 4
About the Gwent Citizen Panel In 2016 Welsh Government made a new law called the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act. The aim of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act is to improve the health and well-being of: people who need care and support carers who need support. This law puts people at the centre of everything it does. We have set up a Citizens Panel to make sure that Welsh Government hears the views of people in Gwent who are affected by this law. The Citizens Panel is made up of people who live and work across Gwent and who have an interest in improving health and social services. Page 5
The Citizens Panel is made up of people from lots of groups in Gwent. It includes: Citizens who use health and social services. People who work in health and care services. People First and learning disability groups. Disabled people s groups. Parent s groups. Children and young people s groups. Older people s groups. Page 6
New members are always welcome! You do not have to work in health or social care to join the Citizens Panel. You just need to have an interest in improving health and care services in Gwent. Our meetings We meet every 6 weeks. Each meeting is in a different part of Gwent. This means we can make sure that people from all over Gwent can come. So far we have had meetings at: Malpas Court in Newport. Llanfoist Village Hall. The General Offices in Ebbw Vale. Ty Penallta in Caerphilly. The Council House in Old Cwmbran. We want to make it easy for people to share their views, so our meetings are informal. There is always tea and biscuits at our meetings. Page 7
What we did from 2016 to 2017 The Panel is still very new so we did a lot of work to organise things and improve how the Panel is run. We: wrote rules so everyone knows what they need to do selected a person to be our Chair their name is Chris Hodson selected a person to be our Vice Chair their name is Lorraine Morgan What we talked about at meetings We had lots of interesting and important presentations and talks at our meetings this year. Things we talked about included: Direct payments. Policing and crime. Page 8
Plans for supporting people with a learning disability. Plans for supporting people who have mental health problems. People with mental health problems need support with their thoughts or feelings. Plans for improving public transport. Carers. Dementia. Dementia is a condition that affects the brain. People have problems with memory and can be confused. Health and well-being. Keeping people safe from abuse. The new Dewis Cymru website. This is a new website that has lots of information and advice on health and well-being, and services in Wales that can help with this. Page 9
Our plans for 2017 to 2018 We think that members of the Citizens Panel have benefitted from being part of the group. We are really happy that the group allows members to: have respect for each other and listen to each other s views meet new people learn new things have a safe place where they can give their views about things whether they are good or bad. What matters to you? We want to make the Citizens Panel even better next year. We have listened to everyone s views and we are going to look at what matters to you. Page 10
We are going to make sure that people are able to talk about: their experiences of health and social care services what is important to them. 3 main aims for 2017 to 2018 We have 3 main aims for next year: 1. Make sure more young people attend our meetings and are able to speak up and give their views. 2. Make sure meetings are more inclusive and everyone can talk about what matters to them. We will do this by making sure different people get a chance to lead the meetings. 3. Get more citizens to come to meetings. We want more citizens who have an interest in improving health and social services in Wales. Remember you don t need to work in health or social care to join the Citizens Panel. The Citizens Panel is open to everyone who has an interest in health and social services. Page 11
What people say about the Citizens Panel The highlight of my year was the involvement of young people in our discussions at the Citizens Panel. In March students from King Henry VIII school in Abergavenny spoke to us about bullying in schools. They told us about how they are using a new programme to tackle bullying in schools. In April members of Caerphilly Youth Forum spoke about the 5 main issues that face young people. They also told us about their exciting new theatre about mental health. The play is about how we can improve the mental health of young people. Page 12
I am a carer for an adult child who has autism. Until recently, I also cared for my parents, who are both over 90 years old. I have recently retired as a health and social care worker. But I still volunteer with health and social care services. So I have had lots of experience of health and social care services. The Citizen Panel is one of the most useful and satisfying activities with which I have been involved in. Making sure citizens are involved in planning services and having a say is very important. And it means a lot to people who use health and social services. Our Citizen Panel has already changed things for the better for some people who use Gwent social care services. The Citizen Panel really does feel like we are making a difference and that citizens are really being listened to for who they are. I hope the Citizens Panel continues for a long time. Autism is the short name for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When people have autism we say they are autistic. Autism is a type of disability. People with autism may have difficulties with things like communication, being with other people, or how they think about activities and interests. Everyone who is autistic is different. Some people need more support. Some people need less support. Page 13
Hard words Autism Autism is the short name for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When people have autism we say they are autistic. Autism is a type of disability. People with Autism may have difficulties with things like communication, being with other people, or how they think about activities and interests. Everyone who is autistic is different. Some people need more support. Some people need less support. Dementia Dementia is a condition that affects the brain. People have problems with memory and can be confused. Mental health problems People with mental health problems need support with their thoughts or feelings. Page 14