Commissioning Surrey Healthwatch

Update to the Health & Wellbeing Board6th September 2012

Today’s presentation1) 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

ObjectivesTo 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 & EngagementSILC 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 stepsDeveloping 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 4 th 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 stepsLegal 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?