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In January, Healthwatch Central West London (HWCWL) launched its first ever small grants project.
The project asked local organisations who work with groups who are often under-represented in public discussions about health and social care to apply for the £500 grant, by telling us how they would gather their communities’ experiences of health and social care to support our ongoing local engagement and research. -
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We are pleased to share our latest report, Insights from BAME Communities in Central West London 2020, which presents the views of 73 individuals from BAME communities, who we held focus groups with, in partnership with BME Health Forum, last year. -
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Your Experience Matters
In April this year, we launched Your Experience Matters, our most comprehensive survey to date, in which we asked residents to share their experiences of the COVID-19 outbreak. -
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Our Annual Report is here!
This year has been more remarkable than most when it comes to public health, as we continue to develop our approach in order to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Annual Report, as always, is an opportunity for us to share our highlights from the past year, and showcase the work of our wonderful staff and volunteers. -
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The pre-booking process, using the NHS’s triage line, will allow A&E departments to be managed more efficiently and reduce waiting times. The NHS is to pilot a “call first” model of Accident & Emergency which could be rolled out across the country, health chiefs have said, as reported in The Telegraph. -
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Join a series of online workshops facilitated by The Fandangoe Kid, a Hackney-based print artist, to explore challenges and issues facing young people. The workshops will experiment with typography, layouts and graphic elements, alongside mixed media and collage, to make bold and engaging statements, to gather a collective voice in response to essential questions concerning young people. Full details, schedule and registration via Thrive LDN’s website. -
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The latest results from Young Healthwatch’s ongoing survey with young people in London is here: YHW Mental Health Survey Final.
When we first began reaching out to young people in 2019 (between the ages of 14 and 25) who were living, working or studying in Westminster, we wanted them to tell us about the health and social care issues that mattered the most to them.
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We want to speak to local users of NHS mental health services in Central North West London about how local care can address their protected characteristics. -
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The Patients Association is currently carrying out a survey to find out how patients feel about visiting GP surgeries as lockdown eases.
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During the Coronavirus outbreak, many PPGs suspended their activities allowing practice staff to focus on health emergency. However, most proactive PPGs continued working and were creative in their approach. -
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The most important part of our work is listening to local experiences of health and social care. It influences the information we publish, the resources we produce, and the recommendations that we share with local NHS providers. We want to reach more people who do not have digital access: this means email, social media, and even this website you’re looking at right now.
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We have been asking you to tell us how COVID-19 has affected you and your loved ones.
We all know by now that there is much more to the impact of this pandemic than catching COVID-19 (Coronavirus). -
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We have surveyed people about how they have been affected by COVID-19. We wanted to highlight the experiences of those who responded to our survey who identified as being from a minority ethnic group. -
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We are pleased to announce that we are an accredited Disability Confident Employer.
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As we adapt to living with COVID-19 long-term, technology has become increasingly central to how many of us communicate. With opportunities for face-to-face interaction limited, technology like video calling software has provided somewhat of an alternative. From doctors’ appointments to family catch-ups, how we communicate, receive information, and interact with others has changed considerably. -
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The way we carry out our work has changed substantially over the past eight months. We are not in the office anymore and have not been since March. We are not even all in the same country at the moment – with some of us working remotely as far away as Greece! This has meant we have had to change and adapt normal working practices. Lots of our in-person engagement work has had to be moved online, and we meet as a team, virtually, more regularly to help us all keep in touch. -
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At the moment, awareness of public health messaging is particularly important. A key part of our role at Healthwatch Central West London is raising awareness of Government and NHS public health messaging and working to ensure these messages are available to everybody. -
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This week we have launched an updated version of our survey Coronavirus: Your Experience Matters.
When the pandemic took hold earlier this year, we wanted to hear local people’s views and experiences. We ran focus groups and interview sessions with local groups and launched our first survey to give people the opportunity to talk to us about their experiences. -
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We have published a COVID-19 insight report in collaboration with Breathe Easy Westminster. The report highlights the impact of COVID-19 on those living with a long-term respiratory condition. -
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Last week we were excited to host our first virtual Annual Meeting.
We brought together over 80 Healthwatch Central West London members, stakeholders, volunteers, staff, trustees, external colleagues and local people to present our annual report and showcase our work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though we could not meet in person, we had a fantastic turnout, and it was great to see so many familiar faces. -
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Healthwatch Central West London has today published a response to NHS England’s consultation on the future of Integrated Care Systems
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We are looking for young people between the ages of 16-25 to respond to their consultation on local mental health services. -
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Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea have shared an update for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) on the support available during the current lockdown.
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The Grenfell Community Assembly is holding its next virtual meeting on Monday 25 January, at 18:00.
The Assembly, which is run by Kensington & Chelsea, offers a forum for the Grenfell community to come together and discuss important issues.
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We have published a COVID-19 insight report in collaboration with LEGS. The report highlights the impact of COVID-19 on those who have had a stroke or who are living with a neurological condition.
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In January 2020, we launched our Small Grants Programme – a first of its kind project for our organisation. We wanted to reach people in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea who find it hardest to be heard in conversations about health and social care. We awarded the recipients of our grant £500 to complete engagement with groups from these communities. -
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We are committed to equality, inclusion, and fairness. We are opposed to all forms of racism, discrimination, and prejudice.
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The NHS is currently following a digital first strategy. From GP appointments to physiotherapy, many services are being moved online. Accessing services online is often called ‘digital health’. -
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The theme of this year’s report is ‘Then and Now’. It’s been designed to highlight how our work in 2020-21 has helped local patients, residents, and carers engage with changes to health and social care provision during the pandemic.
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On Saturday 10 July, the Voice Exchange project will be hosting their next virtual drop-in session. This is an open discussion where you can share your thoughts and suggestions about local mental health services in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. -
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As the NHS moves more services online, we have been speaking to local patients, residents, and carers about how well digital tools work for them -
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It has now been over a year since the first nationwide lockdown in the UK. While the UK was facing its biggest public health emergency in a generation, established working practices and patient engagement approaches had to be altered and new ideas had to be put in place. With our office closed, and some of our colleagues working virtually from as far away as Greece and Bulgaria, we had to adapt quickly. In this piece, two members of our team reflect on the last year and what they have learnt. -
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On Monday 19th July, the UK Government lifted most COVID-19 restrictions in England. This has been called ‘Freedom Day’ by some people. So, what has changed, and how will this affect hospitals, GP practices, and other health services in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea? -
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We were delighted to work with the Garway Medical Practice Patient Participation Group (PPG) earlier this month to help Garaway patients to understand the issues surrounding General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR). -
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For the past 8 months, we have been carrying out public engagement in collaboration with a range of grassroots partnerships to understand how people have been using health services and healthcare support ‘online’. Using health services in this way is becoming known as Digital Healthcare*. -
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In our first ‘in-person’ event after lockdown restrictions eased, we brought together people who receive home care, relatives, unpaid carers, and workers from Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea Councils for a workshop on improving local home care services. -
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Imagine a project that not only facilitates conversation and idea-sharing between Healthwatch branches across the country, it also plays an important part in removing barriers that may prevent engagement work with minority ethnic groups and other minority groups…
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Healthwatch Central West London will collaborate with the North West London Schools Research Network to pilot a new student engagement project in schools across North West London. -
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Our work is focused on giving local people a voice in health and care; however, we also like to share when our work gets mentioned internationally… -
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The vaccine is now being offered to all 12 to 15-year-olds and the NHS will be delivering the vaccination through schools. Schools are contacted with students of this age to arrange a date to vaccinate their students. -
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We’ve been hearing from a number of care home residents in Westminster and RBKC about the difficulties they have when trying to access dental care. This got us thinking about how dental care is managed in care homes. -
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Healthwatch Hillingdon have launched a survey to find out how local people in North West London have found contacting their GP practice online.