Developing Healthwatch in Wigan
From April 2013 Healthwatch will be the new independent local champion for people who use health and adult social care services in the borough. It will be the job of HealthWatch to help make sure local people's views are heard, so that services can be better designed around the people who use them. There will be a local Healthwatch in every area.
Wigan's Healthwatch will work together with Healthwatch England, a new committee that will tell the government what people are saying about health and social care. Local Healthwatch will have a seat on Wigan's Health and Wellbeing Board, which makes decisions about these services locally.
Healthwatch in Wigan will have five functions:
- Gather views and understand the experiences of people who use health and social care services
- Make these views and experiences known and feed them back to the Care Quality Commission and local commissioners of services
- Promote and support the involvement of local people in decisions about health and care services
- Recommend investigations and special reviews of services through Healthwatch England or the Care Quality Commission
- Provide advice and information about accessing services and making informed choices.
Healthwatch will also be able to refer people to an independent person to support them to make a complaint if needed.
Healthwatch will build on the good work that has happened already through Wigan's Local Involvement Network (LinK), Health and Care Together. The Council and its partners want to get views from local people about what Healthwatch should look like and how we can make sure it is really able to influence decisions.
Give us your views
We have produced a survey that is mainly for people who don't know a lot about health and care services or Healthwatch. To give us your views, please complete the survey here.
To request a paper copy of the survey or let us know you want to get involved in developing Healthwatch, please contact Health and Care Together. (external link)
If you would like more information the care services that might be available for you, take a look at My Life, My Choices. (external link)
To request this information in EasyRead and other formats, please contact Health and Care Together. (external link)
