annual report 2014-15

Healthwatch YorkAnnual Report 2014-15

2 | Healthwatch York | Annual Report 2014-15

We’d like to say a very big thank you to everyone we’ve worked with during the past year – our volunteers, partners, stakeholders and everyone who has told us about their experiences of health and social care services in York.

We’d especially like to acknowledge the following:

+ Our former colleague Philip Tebble who will always be a Healthwatch York team member in our eyes.

+ Our student volunteers Emma Hersey and Gabi Gorin who contributed so much to our work.

+ Our colleagues in neighbouring local Healthwatch organisations – North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire, with whom we enjoy a close working relationship.

+ Neil Walbran and his colleagues from Healthwatch Manchester who visited us so we could share and learn from each other.

The family of Sheila Jackson, one of our volunteers who passed away recently, who kindly agreed we could publish details of the fantastic work Sheila did for us over the past year.

We are very grateful for all Sheila did for us – we’re a better organisation for having known her and we miss her more than we can say.

Healthwatch York staff team:Barbara, Carol, Helen, Siân

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Annual Report 2014-15 | Healthwatch York | 3

Contents

4. Welcome to Healthwatch York’s second Annual Report

This report highlights some of the work we have done in our very busy second year.

5. About Healthwatch York Healthwatch York puts people at

the heart of health and social care services.

6. Listening to people and understanding their experiences

When we hear about people’s experiences we use them to help make services better.

8. Listening to children and young people

At fairs and community events the Healthwatch York stand always has an activity designed to appeal to children and young people.

9. Helping people get what they need from local health and social care services

When you need health or social care services, finding out what support and advice is available and working out which organisation does what can be a challenge.

10. Our Commnity Champions Reaching people whose voices

are heard less often and building relationships with local communities

12. Making a difference All our reports are formally presented

to the Health and Wellbeing Board

13. Giving care home residents a voice

Healthwatch York volunteers visit care homes and talk to residents about what life is like in the home.

14. Supporting people with mental health issues

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing in York guide was published in January.

15. Making services accessible for Deaf people

The issues Deaf people face when they access health and social care services.

16. Future plans We’re looking forward to another

year of helping your views make a difference to health and social care services in York.

17. How we involve local people in our decisions

Local people decide what we should work on and our volunteers are involved in everything we do.

18. How we spent our money

19. Our partners Our Partner Programme works

with voluntary and community organisations in York in a way which benefits everyone.

20. Contact us


This report highlights some of the work we have done in our very busy second year, how we help people get what they need from local services and how our work has made a real difference to the health and social care system in York.

We began our second year by winning the Healthwatch Network award for media and communications for our work in highlighting the problems faced by Deaf people accessing local health and social care services.

Now, at the end of our second year, we can really see the changes which have taken place because of our work.

A major focus of our work this year has been to provide information and advice to help people make choices and access the services they need. Our volunteer Community Champions have established regular

Healthwatch York information hubs at community venues, providing information about local services, support groups and activities.

Based on what you told us we produced reports on Discrimination against Disabled People and Loneliness and presented these to the Health and Wellbeing Board in York. We have already started to see changes to local services as a result of this work, confirming that your feedback can help improve services. With the launch of our online feedback centre this year we’ve provided another way for you to tell us about your experiences.

However you choose to get in touch with us, we’ll share all the information you give us with service providers and commissioners to help make sure that decisions about local services are the best for everyone.

I’m really proud of everything we have achieved this year and we have received many positive comments about our work. All the respondents to the independent evaluation of our second year agreed that Healthwatch York has made a positive difference to health and social care services in York and is doing a good job for local residents, service users and patients.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this year so productive, particularly our hard working staff team and our volunteers who have given up many hours of their time and played an invaluable part in our work. I’d also like to thank everyone who has contacted us and shared their stories. I believe that during the past year we have been able to prove that if you tell us about your experiences, we can use them to make services better.

John ClarkChair, Healthwatch York

Welcome to Healthwatch York’s second Annual Report

Thank you to everyone who has helped make this year so productive.


Healthwatch was set up by the Government in April 2013 to help put people at the heart of health and social care services. A local Healthwatch has been set up in every area of England.

What does Healthwatch York do?Healthwatch York puts people at the heart of health and social care services. We believe that the best person to make decisions about your care is you. We want to make sure your voice is heard in the design, delivery and review of local services.

Healthwatch York can help you and your family get the best out of local health and social care services by:

+ Giving you information about local services to make sure you know how to find the help you need

+ Signposting you to independent complaints advocacy if you need support to complain about a service you’ve received

+ Listening to your views about local services and making sure these are taken into account when services are planned and delivered. We want to hear what you think works well and what doesn’t

+ Working with commissioners and providers of services to make sure that the issues we raise are responded to and have an impact on the way local services are delivered

Pictured above, left to right: Siân Balsom, Philip Tebble, Carol Pack, Helen Patching, Barbara Hilton.

About Healthwatch York

We gather information from local people and pass issues, concerns and compliments to:

+ Service providers, such as hospitals+ Healthwatch England, our national body+ City of York Council, who commission

(buy) and provide care services+ NHS commissioners and quality assurers+ The Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Who are we?+ Staff - in 2014/15 our staff team was

equivalent to 2.6 full time members of staff.

+ Volunteers - we want Healthwatch York to represent and include our local community. We currently have over 30 volunteers in a variety of different roles.

People can also be involved with Healthwatch York and contribute to our activities by:

+ Signing up to our mailing list+ Taking part in our focus groups and

consultations

We believe that everyone’s views matter – we are committed to helping you make York better.

Healthwatch York in numbers:


We have a number of ways of finding out what people think:

+ People phone, email, write, use the feedback centre on our website or call into the Healthwatch York office

+ We go to local groups and organisations to tell people about Healthwatch York and find out about people’s experiences.

+ We use social media (Twitter and Facebook) to find out what people are saying about the issues that matter to them.

+ Our volunteer Community Champions talk to people at community venues across York to find out about their experiences.

+ We carry out paper and online surveys.

+ Our volunteers regularly accompany City of York Council staff on consultation visits to local care homes and sheltered housing

+ We hold focus groups and workshops

Listening to people and understanding their experiences

We’re here to find out what local people of all ages and backgrounds think about health and social care services. When we hear about people’s experiences we use them to help make services better.

Pictured above: Healthwatch York Mental Health Conference November 2014.

3,274 people engaged with at public events during the past year

280 items of feedback recorded during 2014-15

1,300 Twitter followers

109 people completed online surveys during 2014-15

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Finding out what patients think about discharge from hospitalMore than 75% of the people who responded to Healthwatch York’s 2014 work plan survey wanted us to look at discharge from hospital.

Their concerns included:

+ Planning for patients leaving hospital so that they could get home as soon as possible

+ Involving patients and carers in planning discharge from hospital

+ Planning care for when patients get home

As part of our work on this topic we used our ‘Enter and View’ powers to visit York Hospital‘s discharge lounge. Healthwatch York staff and trained volunteers spent a day in the discharge lounge speaking to patients, family members, carers and staff to find out about their experience of being discharged from hospital.

Carol Pack, Healthwatch York Information officer said “An Enter and View visit is one of the ways we can find out about people’s experiences by talking to people when they are using a service to find out how they feel about it.”

After the visit we produced a report with a number of recommendations for York Hospital including reducing reliance on family and friends for transport home and improving communication with patients.

As a result of our report York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has produced an action plan. Key points of the plan include finding out about patient’s preferences for transport home and reviewing key communication messages between staff and patients prior to discharge.

Our Enter and View report is available in the publications section of our website:

www.healthwatchyork.co.uk/our-work/hw-york-publications/

What happens to your feedback?We send all feedback to the organisations that deliver health and social care services in York.

This makes sure they have a clear picture of how it feels to use their services and how services could be changed to improve people’s experiences in the future.

We received this patient feedback via Healthwatch York online feedback centre:

My GP surgery has merged with a bigger practice.

When I was invited for a routine health check recently I wasn’t told that this would be at a different surgery because of the practice merger.

When I did get to the other surgery the receptionist assumed I knew my way around the building and didn’t direct me to where I needed to go, even though I had never been to that surgery before.”Patient feedback via Healthwatch York online feedback centre

We passed the feedback on to Karen Tew, Managing Partner Jorvik Gillygate Practice, who responded:

I have discussed this with our Management Team and we will review our systems for inviting patients to attend for reviews to ensure the location is clearly stated in the invitation letter. These comments will also be discussed with our Reception team to raise awareness.”Karen Tew, Managing Partner Jorvik Gillygate Practice

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Listening to children and young people

At fairs and community events the Healthwatch York stand always has an activity designed to appeal to children and young people.

Whether it’s making a ‘feel good flag’ to illustrate what makes them happy, or ‘turning over a new leaf’ to make a healthy living pledge, local children and young people respond with enthusiasm.

Our partner programme members CANDI (a group for parents of disabled children) helps us understand the issues children and young people face in health and social care. When parents of babies with hydrocephalus told us their concerns, we reported these to York Hospital, which made changes to its services as a result.

York Carers Centre invited us to events to hear about the issues young carers face. This included a Parliamentary outreach event with a local MP and the premiere of Tiny Treasures, a drama created by local young carers group Young Carers Revolution.

We presented a report to The City of York YorkOK Board (children’s trust board)

updating the members on our involvement with children and young people outlining the children and young people’s feedback about local services.

Our new online feedback centre allows people to review services via a computer, tablet or mobile phone, which we hope children and young people will find an attractive and accessible way of letting us know what they think about services.

Pictured above: Turning over a new leaf at Haxby Carnival 2014. Below: Healthwatch York Community Champion Fiona Benson at Lidgett Grove Community Cafe.


Healthwatch York is here to help and we do this in a number of ways:

+ You don’t have to come to us - we go to places where you are; Our Community Champions help local people find support and advice.

+ We use our very popular magazine-style newsletter to provide information for people about services available to them.

+ People can contact the staff team at the Healthwatch York office if they need advice or information. This can be by phone, email, social media or in person.

Helping people get what they need from local health and social care servicesWhen you need health or social care services, finding out what support and advice is available and working out which organisation does what can be a challenge.

You don’t have to come to us - we go to places where you areWe regularly attend council community events, annual fairs and carnivals and from June 2014 we established regular information hubs at community venues across York.

Barbara Hilton, Healthwatch York Volunteer & Project Development Officer said: “Our Community Champions enable York residents get the best out of local health and social care services; they provide advice and support about health, social care and wellbeing and give out information about local organisations and support groups.

The friendly interactions our Community Champions have with the people they meet are just as, and quite often, more important than the information and advice they provide.”

Chris Hodgson, one of our Community Champions added: “If you need someone to listen, a Healthwatch York volunteer is always there for you. We give people our time.”

Our popular quarterly magazine is sent to over 600 individuals and nearly 400 organisations.Copies are also distributed at community events and venues. Every issue of the magazine features articles about a range of local organisations, support groups and activities such as Fighting Eating Disorders, York Mind, York Independent Living Network,York LGBT Forum and City of York Council’s Sport and Active Leisure activities.

We have also highlighted services available at local community pharmacies and featured new services such as the Acute Liaison Psychiatric Service (ALPS) at York Hospital.

Our Community Champions don’t know the answers to all the questions people ask, but they know the organisations who do!

More about our Community Champions on pages 10 and 11 ¶


Healthwatch York is here to help you get the information you need about local services and we want to help as many people as we can.

We have information hubs throughout York, at a wide variety of venues such as Spurriergate Centre and Sainsbury’s supermarket. This helps us reach people whose voices are heard less often as well as building relationships with local communities.

Community Champion Louise Sangwine said: “We get to know and become part of our local communities.”

A number of community cafes are organised at various venues across the city to help combat loneliness and we have set up regular information hubs at many of them.

Anna Harrison, organiser of the Lidgett Grove Community Cafe said “The Healthwatch York stand allows people to access information and advice in a friendly and non

threatening environment, with very approachable and knowledgeable volunteers.

For some of our customers this may be the only way they have access to such information, so it is a very important part of what we do and we’re proud of our links with Healthwatch York.”

Elspeth Barraclough, Treasurer of the New Earswick Less Loneliness Initiative (NELLI) agreed “Having the Healthwatch York stand certainly adds an extra dimension and interest to our community cafe.”

If our Community Champions don’t know the answers to questions people ask, they know where they can find the information and refer people to organisations including:

+ York Advocacy+ Citizens Advice Bureau

York+ First Call 50+ signposting

service for people aged 50 or over

+ York Family Information Service

+ York Carers Centre

Community Champions also give out information about local support groups, as well as information about helping people stay healthy such as exercising, stopping smoking or joining a social group.

Richard Whittaker, manager at St Sampson’s Centre for the over 60s says: “Healthwatch

The stand is a very important part of what we do and we’re proud of our links with Healthwatch York.

Our Commnity Champions -helping people get the best from local services

Healthwatch York in numbers:

102 information sessions held in 2014/15


Bringing information togetherThis year we revised and updated our very popular directory of Health and Social Care Services in York. The directory brings information about local services together in one place for the first time. It is used by GP practices, pharmacies, care homes and City of York Council staff to signpost customers to support.

Another vital source of information and advice produced by Healthwatch York this year is our Guide to Mental Health and Wellbeing in York. We produced the guide because people told us they needed information and advice to help them look after their mental wellbeing and find organisations which could help them.

You can find out more about this guide, and how it has become an essential resource throughout the city in our case study on page 14.

Making sure people get the information they needWhen a concerned woman phoned Healthwatch York asking for advice about care homes in York for a family member, she told us that despite contacting both Age UK York and City of York Council she felt she had not received the information she needed.

We sent her a range of relevant leaflets and booklets, our Health & Social Care Directory and details of relevant local websites. We also contacted the Adult Social Care Team at the City of York Council to express concern that the woman had felt she was “going round in circles”, being passed around different Council departments.

An Adult Social Care Manager responded to our concern promptly and we arranged for her to contact the woman to understand what had happened and to improve the situation for her and her family.

As a result of Healthwatch York raising this issue:+ City of York Council were able

to identify some problems in communication between internal departments and have now reviewed and improved the pathway for Sheltered Housing extra Care. The Council have told us that both departments are now clear about the pathway and the communication with customers who request information.

+ A Quality Assurance exercise has also been suggested for the Housing Department to make sure that communication with customers is getting the right result. The Council hope that this, together with the Adult Social Care Team’s ongoing work to encourage feedback from customers, will result in a positive outcome for future customers.

CASe STuDY York is an invaluable addition to the services provided at St Sampson’s Centre.

Many of our customers have benefited from their advice, and others have commented that the presence of Healthwatch York gives them peace of mind if they were to ever need sign posting, or advice to health and social care organisations in the city.”


Producing reports and making recommendationsWe have signed up to an agreement about how Healthwatch York relates to both the Health and Wellbeing Board and the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

All our reports are formally presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board and at the following meeting the progress made against our recommendations is discussed.

+ As a result of our report on Discrimination Against Disabled People York Hospital’s Access to Services Group is reviewing the accessibility of its A&E department for people who find waiting difficult because of their condition. Safer York Partnership is looking at ways to address concerns on hate crime reporting.

+ Our report Loneliness: a modern epidemic and the search for a cure highlighted a number of initiatives which were taking place in the City. The primary recommendation in the report was to set up a working group to pro-actively address loneliness in York. As a result of our report City of York Council set up a city-wide loneliness and isolation task group. York’s Health and Wellbeing Board are also considering available tools to help further work to address loneliness.

+ Providers and commissioners locally and nationally have been influenced by the recommendations in our report highlighting the issues Deaf people face when they access health and social care services.

You can find out more in our case study on page 15.

Bringing organisations togetherThe independent evaluation of Healthwatch York’s second year identified bringing organisations together to work on challenges and increase access to information as one of our key successes.

Our mental health conference was organised to bring commissioners, providers and users of mental health services together in a neutral space for the first time.

It was a unique opportunity to share information about services, raise issues of concern and communicate messages about change.

Chris Butler, Chief Executive, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said: “Healthwatch York are enabling dialogue between institutional providers and communities. They have helped us to be more responsive and accountable to the people we serve.”

Influencing change nationallyDuring the past year we have made the case for change with national bodies and we are confident that our work with them will bring about change.

NHS England found our report on the conduct of PLACE assessments at local providers very helpful. Their Head of Patient Experience said: “I and my colleagues at the Department of Health and HSCIC would be interested to discuss the report with you to hear whether the concerns remain following the 2015 assessments and to discuss improvements to future rounds of PLACE assessments.”

During 2014-15:+ All providers and

commissioners responded to our requests for information

+ We made no recommendations to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

+ We have shared reports and issues with Healthwatch England

Making a difference


Giving care home residents a voiceWhen Healthwatch York volunteers accompany City of York Council staff on consultation and observation visits to care homes they talk to residents about what life is like in the home.

Care home residents may not often get the chance to have their say, but our volunteers ask them what they think about the things that matter to them, including the staff, food and activities at the home. Volunteer Sheila Jackson said: “There’s no pressure and we have time to talk to the residents. If they want to reminisce I can listen to them. Most residents like to have a natter!”

The way we work in partnership with the Council is welcomed and appreciated by care home staff. Sheila added: “Care home managers and staff make us very welcome – they’re open and honest and nothing is hidden from us.”

One care home manager said: “Thank you to the Healthwatch York team who visited us,

carers have commented that you approached the residents with kindness and compassion and that feedback from residents and relatives was sought in a manner sensitive to each person.”

The volunteers can report any issues of concern directly to the manager at the end of the visit so they can be resolved straight away. Feedback from the visit is used to enhance the Council’s report on the home, giving a real understanding of how it feels to live there and whether any changes could be made to improve residents’ experience.

City of York Council’s Commissioning and Contracts manager Gary Brittain said: “Through joint consultation work we have a greater depth of information and understanding of how people

experience life in a residential care home. Healthwatch York also bring their own set of skills and expertise to the consultation which has proved invaluable to the process.”

30 care homes visited in 2014/15

CASe STuDY

Pictured above: Sheila Jackson talking to care home residents. Below: Care home assessors Laura Branigan and Jackie Chapman.

In numbers:


Everyone who responded to Healthwatch York’s survey about people’s experiences of mental health services felt that getting help earlier would have resulted in better health outcomes for them.

One of Healthwatch York’s volunteers, Louise, a Healthwatch York volunteer and former mental health service user agreed: ‘I’ve spoken to so many people who faced the same challenges I did’. Louise felt that a guide with information and advice to help people look after their mental wellbeing and find organisations that offer advice, help, support and social activities was part of the solution.

Louise took on the job and with John. (Louise and John pictured above) another Healthwatch York volunteer, researched and complied the guide using experience and feedback from others to answer the questions people regularly ask.

Our staff team provided practical support and encouragement for Louise and John. After months of dedicated hard work the guide was published in January 2015. The 43 page guide – Mental Health and Wellbeing in York

- is available in electronic and paper formats and it provides comprehensive information in an accessible and easy to follow format.

Siân Balsom, Healthwatch York manager said: “Now, no one needs to wait or struggle to find the right help – they just need to look at the guide.”

The guide has been applauded by all the key stakeholders in York and most importantly by people living with mental health issues, their families and carers.

Siân added: ‘One person told us that they hadn’t known where to turn and had used the guide to get immediate support, which meant they were now having regular contact with the Community Mental health Team.’

Supporting people with mental health issues

CASe STuDY

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Guide is excellent. I’d like it to be available to staff as well as students.” Lead Counsellor, York College

This was exactly what we needed when my son was having serious mental health problems. We couldn’t find any information anywhere and this was exactly what we wanted. Fantastic that someone has done it now!” Parent of a 17 year old

This is a great resource, that I hope will improve access to support and early intervention. I made sure that it was brought to the attention of senior managers in the Trust.” - Steve Wright, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

We are most impressed with your guide and would like to emulate it.” - Director, Healthwatch County Durham

Feedback…

Girl Interrupted @Girl_Interrupt_ 9:30pm - 6 Mar 2015

@david3012 @yorkpress Fabulously well done Louise, creation of #MentalHealth Guide was her labour of love :)

twitter feed twitter feedtwitter feed twitter feed


Making services accessible for Deaf people

CASe STuDY

Healthwatch York’s report highlighting the issues Deaf people face when they access health and social care services made a number of recommendations about improving services.

The report generated a lot of interest and local and national media attention. So, one year on what difference has the report made and has anything changed?

As a result of the report, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust developed an access action plan, designed for anyone who has access requirements, not just Deaf people. York Hospital’s Fairness Forum, which is responsible for making sure the plan is carried out, has invited representatives from the Deaf community to join them to make sure changes are happening.

City of York Council met with members of the Deaf community to discuss making it easier for Deaf people to access council services. They are also making council meetings more accessible for Deaf people by providing British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters on request at any Council meeting. Representatives from the

Deaf community have been invited to join the Equalities Advisory Group. This group advises the Council on how its new policies and strategies will affect communities in York.

We also heard about local changes from the wife of a Deaf patient: “When my husband went to the GP he asked for a BSL interpreter. When the GP refused my husband presented the Healthwatch York report and said ‘I’m allowed to have an interpreter’. After that an interpreter was provided.”

Siân Balsom, Healthwatch York manager said: “We are so pleased to see that real changes are taking place as result of our work. We’d like to say a very big thank you to the members of the Deaf community who told us their stories and shared their experiences with us.”

We haven’t just made a difference locally. NHS England, the national organisation which oversees

the NHS, found our report very helpful. We were able to provide them with a lot of information about the issues Deaf people face. They used this in developing an information standard for accessible information. The standard will make sure that disabled people receive information in formats they can understand, and receive appropriate support to help them communicate.

Kevin Holton, Deputy Director, Patient Experience, NHS England, said: “NHS England undertook a work programme exploring the experiences Deaf people have in accessing translation services in primary care and accessing the NHS complaints system. Healthwatch York engaged in this work by collating and sharing patients experiences with us.”

From April 2016 all health and social care organisations will have to follow this information standard. For more information visit:

www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patients/accessibleinfo-2

A very big thank you to the members of the Deaf community who told us their stories and shared their experiences.


Future plans

We want to hear much more from you in 2015/16. When we’re out and about at community venues we’ll be finding out what you think about services and using our online feedback centre to encourage more people to leave reviews of the services they use.

You’ve already told us what you want us to work on this year. We are looking at A&E and alternatives so we can understand people’s reasons for using A&E. You also told us we should look at access to GP services and we will be finding out more about issues with making appointments, communication and practice mergers. When you bring us other issues that need investigating, we’ll add these to our work plan during the course of the year.

To make sure we can carry out as much work as possible we are looking at ways of generating income, in addition to our funding from City of York Council. We have already secured funding from Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) to carry out a project exploring the experiences of people living with dementia. We also want to keep providing you

with the information you need. We will be looking for sponsors and advertisers to help us fund the second issue of our Mental Health Guide, our magazine style newsletter and other publications.

We will continue to use our place on York’s Health and Wellbeing Board and our advisory seat on NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group’s Governing Body on behalf of York residents.

Rachel Potts, Chief Operating Officer, NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group said: “Representation from Healthwatch York provides the formal patient, service user and public representation to strategic commissioning processes in the Vale of York.”

Siân Balsom, Healthwatch York manager says: “We look forward to repaying your trust when you share your stories

with us. We are only two years old but we have now started to see the changes your voices have made and we hope that seeing these changes will inspire and encourage more of you to share your experiences. We are grateful to everyone who takes the time to contact us, whatever else is going on in their lives. As a carer at one of our focus groups said: “I’m too busy to be here, but if I’m not, who will be?”

Healthwatch York pledges to keep listening and acting to deserve the faith you show in us.”

We’re looking forward to another year of helping your views make a difference to health and social care services in York.

Pictured above: Healthwatch York celebrating two successful years.


How does Healthwatch York decide what to work on?You tell us! Every year we carry out a survey which we send to everyone on our mailing list, give to people we talk to at community events and make available to download from our website. Our work plan is built from this survey and from the feedback people give us throughout the year.

What does the Healthwatch York leadership group do?Our leadership group supports the staff team to deliver the Healthwatch York contract. Their feedback and advice is a vital part of our decision making process. They meet every two months and the meetings are open to the public.

Who is on the leadership group?The group consists of the Healthwatch York Manager, York CVS Deputy Chief Executive and six volunteers. During 2014/15 our leadership group volunteer members were:

+ John Clark (Chair)+ Lesley Pratt (Vice chair)+ Graham Collett+ Lizzy Ferguson+ Sam Lee+ Virginia Hatton

How does Healthwatch York involve other local organisations?Voluntary and community organisations in York can join our partner programme. Our partners, volunteers and key stakeholders are all invited to the Healthwatch York Assembly, which is held quarterly. The Assembly provides an opportunity to debate key issues in health and social care and raise matters of concern or interest.

How are volunteers involved with the work of Healthwatch York?We have created a number of different volunteer roles and we try to make sure everyone is in the role or roles that suits them best. Volunteers are kept up to date with meetings and bulletins every month. Following the external evaluation of our first year, all our volunteers were invited to join staff at a development day to consider how we should implement the recommendations from the report.

What do our volunteers say?

The volunteering is flexible which suits my lifestyle and I am made to feel valuable by the staff team. Healthwatch York is as good as it gets if you’re looking for an organisation to volunteer with.” Kay Watkins, Community Champion

I enjoy getting out and about. I love meeting people and sharing all the information I’ve found out over the years.” Fiona Benson, Community Champion and Care Home Assessor

The training is excellent and enjoyable.” Judith Saunders, Care Home Assessor

You gain a lot of knowledge from listening to what people tell you and you feel you can do something about things. It’s amazing what has been achieved in a short space of time.” Jackie Chapman, Community Champion and Care Home Assessor

How we involve local people in our decisions


How we spent our money1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015

Staff costs £72,871Volunteer expenses & training £1,781Payments to partners £1,516Meeting & events costs £6,901Promotion & marketing £12,440Management charges £30,084Legal & professional costs £1,767Office & equipment costs £4,352VAT £3,104Depreciation £3,997

Summary

expenditure

Staff Staff salaries £70,742 Staff expenses £783 Staff training and development £1,346 £72,871

Volunteer expenses and training £1,781

Payments to partners £1,516

Meeting and events costs 2 £6,901

Promotion and marketing 3 Design, printing and publishing £8,688 Publicity and promotional materials £3,752 £12,440

York CVS management charges £30,084

Legal and professional costs 4 £1,767

Office and equipment costs Purpose built cupboards £300 Freepost address £217 Website and feedback centre 5 £2,603 Computer purchase/maintenance £1,232 £4,352

VAT £3,104

Depreciation £3,997

Total expenditure £138,813

Income

City of York Council contract £140,000 Donations 1 £417 Total income £140,417

NB: these are unaudited figures. They have not yet been confirmed by York CVS accountants.

1 Donations were received from North Yorkshire and York Neurological Alliance and Hartrigg Oaks retirement village.

2 Meeting and event costs include Priory Street Centre room hire (including equipment and refreshments), British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters and external room hire.

3 Design, print and publishing costs cover our quarterly newsletters, annual report, flyers and posters. Promotional materials include branded pens and stress balls.

4 Legal and professional costs were paid for an external evaluation of Healthwatch York.

5 Costs for website and feedback centre include the purchase of BrowseAloud software to make the website more accessible.


Healthwatch York recognises the valuable contribution that other agencies, particularly voluntary and community sector organisations, make to putting people at the heart of our health and social care services in York.

We have set up the Healthwatch York Partner Programme so that we can work with voluntary and community organisations in York in a way which benefits everyone. These organisations were part of our Partner Programme during 2014/15:

+ AgeUK York+ Alzheimer’s Society York+ CANDI (Children and Inclusion)+ Citizens Advice Bureau York+ Get Cycling + IDAS (Independent domestic abuse service)+ ILS (Independent Living Scheme)+ MS Society - York & District Branch+ Myaware+ National Osteoporosis Society: York Support Group+ North Yorkshire &York Neurological Alliance+ OCAY (Older Citizens Advocacy York)+ Priory Street Nursery+ Royal Voluntary Service - Leeds & York Hub+ St Nick’s+ Stroke Association York+ Volunteering York+ Wilberforce Trust+ YILN (York Independent Living Network)+ YOPA (York Older Peoples Assembly)+ York Advocacy+ York Carers’ Centre+ York Carers’ Forum+ York & District Pain Management Support Group+ York Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group+ York Wheels+ YUMI (York Unifying Multicultural Initiative)

Our Partners

© Healthwatch York 2015

Front cover images: Community Champions Kay Watkins and Fiona Benson at St Sampson’s Centre.

Care home assessor Laura Branigan

Turning over a new leaf at Poppleton Sports Day

This Annual Report is available to download from the Healthwatch York website:

www.healthwatchyork.co.uk

Paper copies are available from the Healthwatch York office and local libraries.

If you would like this Annual Report in any other format, please contact the Healthwatch York OfficeWe use the Healthwatch Trademark (which covers the logo and Healthwatch brand) when undertaking work on our statutory activities as covered by the licence agreement.

Contact us:

York CVSHealthwatch York is a project at York CVS. York CVS works with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in York.

York CVS aims to help these groups do their best for their communities, and people who take part in their activities or use their services.

proud to be part of

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annual report 2014-15

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