Autumn 2014 Issue

Children’s

Competition

Derriford

PLUS:

Upcoming Events

Why Men’s Health Matters

Hospital

Outpatient

Consultation

What is Healthwatch Plymouth?

Healthwatch Plymouth is an independent consumer champion

for health and social care services.

Healthwatch plays a role at both national and local level to

make sure that the views of the public and people who use

health and social care services are taken into account.

Welcome to the autumn issue of Plymouth Voices. As the weather turns distinctly more typical

for this time of year and we begin to prepare for the winter, the autumn also signals many new

opportunities for Healthwatch in Plymouth.

This month will see opportunities for local people to share their views at the Advisory Forum

and a new pop up shop venture in Plympton. At city wide drop-ins and events, Healthwatch

Plymouth is also about to ‘pilot’ a new information gathering tool which will allow local people

to see feedback about local services in a confidential and appropriate way.

We look forward to meeting with many of you over the coming months.

Karen

Healthwatch Plymouth Manager

Upcoming Events

Location: Ridgeway, Plympton

Opening times: 09:00-16:00

Healthwatch Plymouth will

have a pop up shop in

Plympton this November and

December. So far, we have

confirmed the following dates:

22nd November

28th November

12th December

19th December

We welcome anyone in the

area to drop in and give

feedback about their

experience of local health and

social care services. We will

also be offering free healthy

refreshment samples along

with our usual Healthwatch

Plymouth freebies so pop in

and say hello!

Advisory Forum Pop up shop Carers Rights Day

Date: 13th November 2014

Time: 09:30—15:30

Location: Devonport Guildhall

Healthwatch Plymouth’s first

Advisory Forum will provide

local people with the

opportunity to raise concerns

about health or social care

services.

09:30 Teas and coffees

10:00 Open Forum

11:10 Health Topic

12:30 Lunch

13:15 Care Topic

14:45 Open Forum

Please note that if you wish to

attend, you will need to book

your place. To do this call our

free phone number on 0800

923 0039.

Date: 28th November 2014

Time: 9:30-14:30

Location: Plymouth Guildhall

If you care for a friend or

relative, join us and other

local organisations to learn

about your rights and

entitlements as a carer.

There are workshops

covering various issues

including:

Carers assessments

Benefits entitlements

Advocacy

Carers health and

wellbeing

A free lunch is also provided.

To book your place, please

contact The Carers Hub by

calling 01752 201890 or

email

chp@plymouthguild.org.uk

New Drop-In!

At Healthwatch Plymouth we are always thinking about new ways to

get out into the community and listen to your feedback. We will

therefore be trialling a new drop-in this month. Healthwatch

Plymouth will be outside Morrisons supermarket in Plymstock on

Wednesday 12th November between 10:00-12:00. We are looking

forward to chatting to customers about local health and social care

services.

New staff members

Healthwatch Plymouth News

Tony has been appointed

as Healthwatch Plymouth

Co-ordinator and oversees

the delivery of our work

plan.

Lisa, our new Drop-In

Worker, has already been

busy assisting with drop-ins

and various events across

the city. Lisa is currently

planning on some focused

consultation with young

carers.

Recent Events

We are pleased to introduce two new member of

staff. Tony and Lisa joined the Healthwatch

Plymouth team in September.

Below: Some of our of volunteers at our stall in Pannier Market.

In addition to our scheduled drop-ins,

Healthwatch Plymouth has been busy

consulting with people through

different ways since the last issue of

Plymouth Voices.

We had a stall at Disability Awareness

Day in Plymouth City Centre where we

gathered lots of feedback about local

services and signposted people to

other organisations.

Our Chief Engagement Officer, Ally,

delivered a talk on Healthwatch

Plymouth to the Breathe Easy

Plymouth group during one of their

monthly meetings.

More recently, Healthwatch Plymouth

had a stall at the Parents and Carers

SEND conference which proved a

valuable event for both collecting

feedback and networking. We also

conducted a consultation about

Derriford Hospital Outpatient

Departments.

Children’s competition!

Healthwatch Plymouth will be launching a kids’ club for

children aged 7-11 to become Healthwatchers.

Healthwatchers will receive a fun membership pack when

they join and give us their feedback after they use a

health or social care service (e.g. a doctor or dentist).

The experiences of children are very important to ensure

that services are meeting their needs.

We need a logo for this club which represents what the

club is about. This can include the Healthwatch Plymouth

logo, or the colours in the logo. The main thing is that it

has a health and/or social care theme and includes the

word ‘Healthwatchers’. These logos can be made by

hand or on a computer.

Entries can be scanned and emailed into us at info@healthwatchplymouth.co.uk or posted to

us at the following address:

Healthwatch Plymouth, Unit 37, HQ Building, Union Street, Plymouth, PL1 3HQ

Please make sure you include your name, age, and address with your entry. The closing date

for entries is Wednesday 31st December 2014.

Healthwatch Plymouth News

Work Plan Update

Healthwatch Plymouth has a number of projects currently underway and our work

plan, agreed by the Steering Group, reflects the varying areas we are focused on.

Area Work Plan

Adult Health Dental– NHS treatment and charges

Out of Hours GP service tender

Derriford Hospital meal service review

Adult Social Care Collaborative project with Plymouth City Council Quality Assurance Improvement Team– Care

Home visiting, experience gathering and report writing

Better care fund

Children Health Children and Young Peoples Mental Health project (including eating disorder services)

Place of Safety

Children Social Care Extensive mapping exercise

Better care fund

Your Voice Counts

Following growing attention from both local

and national media about waiting times,

and an interest from pat ient

representatives, Healthwatch Plymouth

Steering Group agreed that a short, focused

consultation would enable us to create a

snapshot of current opinions.

Healthwatch Plymouth carried out a 10-day

consultation with Derriford Hospital

Outpatient service users between 29th

September and 10th October. We went to

various outpatient departments, asking

patients and visitors a series of questions

surrounding their journey through the

outpatient care pathway.

In total we consulted 858 people to find out

how long patients had waited for an

appointment, the amount of choice around

appointment booking and how patients

would like their follow-up appointments to

be carried out.

Both a full report and a summary report

about the consultation will be completed

by the end of November. These reports

will be sent to Plymouth Hospitals NHS

Trust, NEW Devon CCG, Healthwatch

England and NHS England. Additionally,

reports will be provided for staff in the

Outpatients departments and made

available on our website.

Are you small enough to make a BIG impact?

Healthwatch Plymouth has launched the second round of Small

Grants. The scheme aims to support and encourage small local groups

to consult with their own communities, so that their feedback can

influence health and social care services. Grants will be a one-off

payment of values between £250-£2000 per application.

If you have an idea for a project that requires funding, follow the

information below and email us.

The deadline for grant applications is Friday 28th November 2014.

Does your community group have a turnover of less

than £30,000 per annum?

Do you have an organisational

bank account that requires

two signatures?

Healthwatch Plymouth Small Grants Scheme

Still tell us, as we could

choose to work with you

in a different way.

Write or email, telling us:

WHO your Community Interest group is

WHAT your project idea is

WHERE your project might happen

WHEN your project might take place

WHY you think your project is important

HOW much your project will cost (include a breakdown)

YES

YES

NO

Whether you are passionate about local health and social care services, are

looking to gain some work experience or you enjoy engaging with the public,

Healthwatch Plymouth offers many opportunities for volunteers.

We have a brilliant team of volunteers with a range of different skills, so

whatever role you think you can play, Healthwatch Plymouth would love to hear

from you!

Volunteering is a two-way process, and you will receive ongoing support and

relevant training to help you in your role.

Anyone interested in volunteering for Healthwatch Plymouth should contact our

Volunteer Coordinator by email at volunteering@healthwatchplymouth.co.uk

Can you help us?

Gather views about local services from the public

Participate in community events

Help to support a schedule of drop-ins

Volunteering with Healthwatch Plymouth

Engagement Volunteers

Needed

If the answer is yes,

keep reading...

Sources for statistics

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics/ http://www.devon.gov.uk/mens_health.pdf

http://uk.movember.com/mens-health

80% of those dependent on alcohol

are male

One man dies every hour

from prostate cancer

Research has found that men in the UK are often

more reluctant than women to access health care

services, even if they are experiencing symptoms

of a condition. At Healthwatch Plymouth, only

1/3 comments we receive about health and care

services are given to us by men, reflecting these

trends.

Men visit their GP 20% less frequently than

women. Additionally, men are also less likely to

have regular dental check-ups. The good news is

that there are many great organisations working

hard for men’s health by providing information

on accessing services, reducing stigma

surrounding mental health and offering healthy

lifestyle tips.

Men– let your voice be heard. Whether you have

positive or negative feedback, or struggle to

access a service, Healthwatch Plymouth want to

hear from you. Please see the contact details on

the following page.

The average life

expectancy

for men is

four years

less than that

for women

82.6 78.7

...and by 2025, just over 10% of men will have

a healthy body mass index.

Men are 3 times more likely to commit

suicide than women

67% of men are

either overweight or obese...

Only 1/3 of the comments we

receive about health and social care

services are from men

How to contact us

Talk to us confidentially…

Shape YOUR health

and social care services.

Hospital

Health Centre

Doctor

Dentist

Optician

Pharmacy

Care Home

And others...

Ways to contact us

0800 923 0039 (FREE from landlines)

01752 202407 (included in mobile minutes)

07533 432 200

info@healthwatchplymouth.co.uk

Drop-in and visit us at our

various drop-ins

(see schedule below)

Unit 37, HQ Building, Union Street,

Plymouth PL1 3HQ

www.healthwatchplymouth.co.uk

@HealthwatchPlym

Healthwatch Plymouth

Updated May 2014

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Mornings 9.30-11.30am

HQ Building,

Stonehouse

10-12

(every other week)

Derriford

Hospital

10-12noon

(2nd of month)

Plymstock Library

9.30-11.30am

HQ Building,

Stonehouse

10-12noon

(1st of month)

Cumberland

Centre

10-12noon

(1st of month)

The Life Centre

Afternoons 1.30-3.00pm

(1st of month)

Oasis Café,

Stonehouse

1-3pm

(4th of month)

Mount Gould

Care Centre

2-4pm

(2nd of month)

Central Library