Local Healthwatch collects feedback, shapes services and provides advice, guidance and direction about Health and Social Care services. The Ark currently holds the contracts to provide this service in Bracknell Forest and in the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. These contracts come to an end in June 2020.

Local Healthwatch will now be commissioned (arranged and paid for) by Slough council on behalf of East Berkshire: - Bracknell Forest, Windsor & Maidenhead and Slough.

We will be entering a bid as we want to be considered to provide the service from the 1st July 2020.

We want to know what you think is important for a Local Healthwatch service by answering this quick survey.

Could you spare some of your time to help?

Healthwatch Bracknell Forest collects people’s views about local Health and Social Care services and shares these anonymously with providers, commissioners and decision makers to help shape services.

We are recruiting members of the public to join the team of volunteers who help promote and carry out our activities and functions. Do you like talking to people, could you help us visit local health and social care services, such as GP surgeries and care homes?

Why you?

You know your neighbourhood; you have relatives, friends, neighbours, colleagues and a whole network of contacts who you could ask for their ideas about how to improve services for everyone. You are the local experts!

Expenses

Reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred will be reimbursed subject to approval, these could for example include, bus fare, train fare or petrol for your vehicle.

Time commitment

The role can be as little or as much as you like, you may come on a visit to a care home for a few hours every few months or help us collect people’s views more regularly. The choice is yours.

What skills do you need?

You do not need to know anything about the current health and social care system, training will be provided dependant on the role and time you can spare.

Why volunteer?

You may have a number of skills that you have developed throughout your life which you can help us with or you may want to develop new skills such as;

• Creative and critical thinking
• Listening
• Collaboration with others
• Communication
• Teamwork

Due to the nature of the volunteering role you will be required to undertake an Enhanced DBS check, training as a minimum will include Safeguarding Adults, Equality and Diversity, Confidentiality and Data Protection.

Joining the Healthwatch BF team will give you a great opportunity to help make a real difference to delivering service improvements and benefits for your communities.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further or to request an application form.

Telephone: 01344 266 911, E-mail enquiries@healthwatchbracknellforest.co.uk website www.healthwatchbracknellforest.co.uk

Healthwatch Bracknell Forest is run by a Project Management Board which is made up of representatives from the consortium organisations. There is also public representatives on this board who are elected or co-opted annually.

In 2016 we held elections for public representatives 3 nominations were received, we asked members of the public for objections to these nominations, none were received and these members became our public representatives at our public meeting held on 12 April 2016 till 31 March 2017.

Due to the government elections and the restrictions this places on local Healthwatch and charities, and a significant decrease in future funding, going forward public representation will be co-opted, should you wish to be considered please let us know.

Healthwatch Voices is a network for community and voluntary sector organisations to share their experiences and issues with health and social care services in Bracknell Forest. The information collected forms part of our overall work plan and is fed back to providers and commissioners of both health and social care services.

Healthwatch Voices Aims to:

• Represent and input the views of local people, including young people, the elderly and harder to reach people in the community
• Provide constructive comments and feedback of issues raised
• Discuss and raise priorities and issues that you would like Healthwatch Bracknell Forest to action
• Distribute and gather information
• Help shape and develop information being gathered and have direct input into health and social care priorities for all in Bracknell Forest

To join the mailing list please signup your organistaion here.

What is a JSNA?

The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is the means by which Public Health assess the current and future health healthcare and wellbeing needs of the local population in Bracknell Forest. It is an assessment of local, current and future health and social care needs that could be met by local authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), the NHS and other partners. It will inform Bracknell Forests’ Joint Health and Wellbeing Board, which has a duty and responsibility to identify key priorities to improve the Health and Wellbeing for people living in Bracknell Forest. The Health and Wellbeing Board produces a health and wellbeing strategy which is based on the needs identified within a JSNA.

See the JSNA website for more details.

The General Osteopathic Council work with the public and osteopathic profession to promote patient safety by registering qualified professionals, and setting, maintaining and developing standards of osteopathic practice and conduct. 

• Would you like to be involved in developing information for patients and the public?
• Are you interested in standards of osteopathic practice?

The Patient and Public Partnership Group enables them to work more closely with patients to improve their services, better protect the public, and provide patients and the public with the information they need about osteopathic practice.

A scam is any unwanted e-mail, letter, telephone call or visitor who make false promises if they are given money in some way. Some examples are:

• fake lotteries, prize draws or sweepstakes
• clairvoyants (someone who says they can tell you your future), computer scams and romance scams

The criminals try and trick people with flashy, important looking documents or websites and are very convincing! They will always ask for money in some way: either a money payment, or to post something or make an expensive phone call. Doorstep Scams are also crimes carried out by bogus callers and rogue traders who call, often uninvited, at people's home pretending to be official businesses.

Scams affect the lives of millions of people across the UK! People who are scammed often experience loneliness, shame and social isolation.

If you access this link, scroll down and select the first blue circled called ‘Friends – find our more’, it will allow you to access a really useful and interactive short online learning module (the green rectangle). It is good fun and informative at the same time so please spread the word, spread your awareness and make people safer!

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is collaborating with St George’s University of London with a research study involving carers of individuals with psychosis. The study is called Carers for People with Psychosis e-support (COPE-support) and aims to find out if this online resource improves carer’s well-being and how well they cope with caring’. COPe-support provides peer support, information on psychosis and ways for carers to look after themselves. You can see further information at http://cope-support.org/get-involved/

The Government has asked the NHS to develop a plan to help prevent poor health and improve the support you receive. They’ll give the NHS more money to help make this happen.

Healthwatch England are having a national discussion about what you want to see when the NHS turns 80, 90 and 100. Tell them what you think about these three topics:

• Your health and care needs
• Roles, responsibilities and relationship
• Role of technology

They’ll tell those in charge what you think to help make change happen.

Project ASSENT, at the University of East Anglia, aims to make it easier for people with communication and/or understanding difficulties to be included safely in research. This will improve healthcare and treatment for these individuals.

The project is now conducting their interviews (conversations) and are very keen to give people with mental health conditions a voice.

People with dementia or memory problems, their carers and anyone who is interested can sign up. You can also sign up for someone else, providing that you have their consent.

Registering is the first step in becoming involved in supporting vital research studies across the nation.

Visit the join dementia research site to find out more.