The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produces guidance on the most effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease and ill health, and provide social care support. Their guidance is based on research evidence and takes into account the views of people working in or using relevant services, and other stakeholder groups. They are currently looking for Black, Asian and other minority ethnic group community leaders and their advocates (usually referred to as ‘lay members’ at NICE) to join the committee which will be developing their quality standard on promoting health and preventing mortality for Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups. See recruitment advert for details [...]

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete our recent survey helping us to decide what we will concentrate on over the next 12 months.  The results were as follow: The quality of hospital discharges - 43.48% Access to mental health services - 43.48% Experience of people living in care homes - 33.33% Differing methods of accessing GP services - 33.33% Quality of domiciliary care provided in the community - 30.43% Young peoples' experiences of health and wellbeing - 28.99% The involvement of carers in someone's support/treatment - 21.74% Other (please specify) - 20.29% Impact on housing on health and wellbeing - 17.39% Barriers [...]

Healthwatch Portsmouth is now running drop-in sessions at the Citizens Advice office 2-3 Ark Royal House, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, PO1 2GF. Members of the Healthwatch team will be there from 9.30 - 4.30 Tuesdays and Thursdays.  During the drop-ins we can: offer you information and advice about local services Advise or support you with an NHS complaint Listen to your views on local health and social care services and more importantly make those views known. Let you know our latest projects and how you can get involved.

The 2017 Patient’s Choice Award  is for members of the public to thank a Portsmouth Hospitals employee or team who have made a real difference to their or a relative’s healthcare.  Do you know a member of staff who has made a real difference to yours or a relative’s healthcare? Do you know an individual or team who have gone the extra mile to provide you with an exceptional service? Do you know an individual or team who have gone beyond the call of duty to show outstanding compassion and deliver excellent safety and quality of care? Winners and highly commended will be selected by a panel and will be [...]

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is consulting on a further set of proposals which will help shape the next phase of regulation for health and social care across the country.  For the next eight weeks anyone with an interest is encouraged to have their say. The proposals include:  • Changes to the regulation of primary medical services and adult social care services, including the frequency and intensity of its inspections and how CQC monitors providers and gathers its intelligence. • Improvements to the structure of registration and CQC’s definition of ‘registered providers’. • How CQC will monitor, inspect and rate new models of care and large or complex [...]

Do you know or are you a carer of someone with dementia? Bournemouth University is looking for people to get involved with a piece of research around Dementia and Tai Chi. The research team are happy to come out and deliver workshops explaining the project to the groups or individuals The study is being conducted by Bournemouth University research team led by Dr Samuel Nyman. Portsmouth City has been selected to be a part of the study. The study is approved by the NHS research ethics committee and it is a trial to test whether Tai Chi (an ancient gentle form of exercise) can improve the health and wellbeing of [...]

Congratulations to Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust On Tuesday 16 May 2017, MES (Membership Engagement Services), awarded the Trust “ Engagement Champion of the Year”. The award was in recognition of the Trusts commitment to actively involve patients, families, carers and members of the local community on the design, delivery and monitoring of our services. The judging panel which included the Head of Patient Experience at NHSI said the trust showed a bold and creative approach and has advanced beyond the boundaries of what engagement in health has previously achieved.

Gemma McKenna is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton working on a study concerning people’s experiences of urgent and emergency care. She is really keen to recruit interviewees from the Portsmouth area. Please see attached some further information. Can you help? She needs: Participants: She is looking for people aged 18-25, from East European backgrounds, and aged 70 plus, or a carer for one of these groups From: Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire or Oxfordshire and have used one or more of the following services: GP out-of-hours Minor injuries units NHS walk-in centres NHS 111 telephone service Ambulance service Hospital emergency department Gemma will do the interview at your [...]

some services are responding positively to unprecedented challenges but others must move away from out-dated care that leaves people ‘helpless and powerless’ The Care Quality Commission (CQC) today (20th July 2017) publishes the findings of its comprehensive inspection programme of all specialist mental health services, giving the most complete picture ever of the quality of mental health provision for people in England. Inspectors found many examples of excellent care – but they also found too much poor care and far too much variation in both quality and access across different services. This is particularly concerning given the increasing demand for mental health services, meaning that more people risk receiving [...]