How will the NHS reform affect your organisation

Natalie Maidment | 8:25 am, 18 January 2012

Yesterday I attended a workshop as part of Community Action on Health and Newcastle CVS’ research to find out how the VCS think the NHS reforms in Newcastle will affect them.

The discussion started promising as the results from the GP research was shared; 26 out of the 31 respondents said they believed the VCS does have a role to play however this was short lived when you start to examine this further. There are 200 GP’s in Newcastle and in reality those who took the time to complete the survey are those who are more likely to be engaged with the sector, if all 200 GP’s had completed it the balance would most definetely shift.

Each participant had a lot of tales and ideas to share and the more we talked the bigger the challenges looked. There seemed to be a theme that when organisations work with GP’s the work gets to a certain point and the momentum is lost. Lin from CAOH has a hard task in front of her to be able to produce a report from these sessions and produce some recommendations.

If you work in Newcastle and have missed these events there is still a chance to have your input by completing this survey at  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/nhsreformvcs by Friday 3rd February.

If you need the survey in an alternative format please do not hesitate to contact Lin@caoh.org.uk as a few of us in the room learnt yesterday that many people who are deaf leave school with a reading age of 9 and require information translating into BSL.

This project is one of the policy topics funded through the Policy and Representation Partnership; you can find out about the 5 others at http://www.vonne.org.uk/policy/partnership/policytopics/?flink=800

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Well, I didn’t see that coming…

Joanne Smithson | 9:52 pm, 4 January 2012

Did you?  So Andrew Lansley has decided that local HealthWatch should now come into effect in April 2013 and not this October as previously envisaged.  He’s also made it clear that Local Authorities are expected to continue to provide a Local Involvement Network (LINk) during 2012/13.

The official reason for this u-turn reflects “the need to align local Healthwatch closer to the establishment of other new bodies such as the Health and Wellbeing Boards”.

Unofficially, I’d suggest that most Local Authorities were a million miles away from where they needed to be.  And you can understand why.  Confusion from the Department of Health on the relationship between LINks and new Local HealthWatch, no money for the 75 Pathfinders announced earlier this year, and a delay in the set up of HealthWatch England, the body charged with providing leadership and support to Local Healthwatch organisations.

It’s good news that the three North East Pathfinders are finally going to receive some funding– but it’s disappointing that they’ve had to wait five months since the announcement in summer that they had Pathfinder status.

This new timetable gives local areas real space to innovate, collaborate and design a local HealthWatch that maximises involvement and ensures the voices of the public and patients really shape how local health services are run.  Let’s hope we use the time wisely.

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Big Society under the microscope

Joanne Smithson | 9:43 pm, 18 December 2011

I had a really enjoyable morning on Thursday with a group of students from the BSc (Hons) course in Community and Public Health at the University of Sunderland.  As part of their module on the Politics of Health, Programme Leader Caron Walker asked me to lead a session on the Big Society.

Where to start?  I’m in favour of many of the central themes of Big Society: the shift of power from Whitehall to Town Hall, enabling a wider group of people to play an active role in their local community, support for social enterprises and cooperatives.  All fine by me.  I just fail to see how the Government’s current plans add value to what was already in place.

In the North East we’ve seen millions of pounds wiped from budgets targeting grass roots activity in health, regeneration, wellbeing, sport, leisure, and community networks.  And early outcomes from the Work Programme, championed by the Government as the Big Society in Action, appear to display all of the hallmarks of Top-Down Big Government.

Interestingly, the day before my visit to Sunderland, the Government’s Public Administration Select Committee (PASC) concluded its enquiry on the Big Society.  Its findings make uncomfortable reading for the coalition:

  • The Big Society is hampered by the lack of a clear implementation plan, leading to public confusion about the polity agenda;
  • Government must address the barriers charities and voluntary groups experience in the contracting and commissioning system;
  • There should be greater clarity on the roles of charitable, private and public providers of public services.

 

We had quite a lot to discuss really!

Speaking with the students over coffee, it was inspiring to hear about their volunteering, their passion for health and social care and their hopes for the future.  It’s a great course, and as responsibility for public health moves from the NHS to Local Government, one that should go from strength to strength.

Posted in Big Society, Health and wellbeing, Support for sector | Comments (0)

Flash mob highlights homeless

Jo Curry | 11:31 am, 16 December 2011

Just got back from the flash mob organised by The Cyreneans. The aim was to highlight the fact that people are homeless all of the year round and not just at Christmas time. I was pleased to be joined by my two kids, who I think now appreciate how freezing cold and miserable you get sitting in the street for 10 minutes let alone all night. I guess its purely anecdotal, but when I walk along Grey Street and Pilgrim Street, there are far more people begging than I remember a year ago. The austerity measures are hitting home.
Happy Christmas – Jo x

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Rhetoric versus reality

Jo Whaley | 11:24 am, 6 December 2011

This last week I have been “Caring for our Future” the (now closing) Department of Health engagement around the future of adult social care across England. What has mostly struck me is the difference between the aspirations set out in the policy papers and the reality, on the ground, as experienced by provider organisations and the people they support. The papers look at ways to develop a high quality and personalised approach to care, delivered by a diverse and responsive care market. Yet the experience across the North East is that fewer people are able to access care, due to tightening of the Fair Access to Care criteria, budgets are being slashed- which reduces the ability of providers to invest in service development, and organisations and services are under threat of closure. Both NETS(work) – the North East third sector learning disability provider network and VONNE have fed this discrepancy into the engagement exercise- and will keep lobbying for improved services for the people the third sector supports across the North East. Come Spring, when the Adult Social Care White Paper is due to be published- it’ll be interesting to see if the rhetoric and the reality are any better matched.
Read VONNE and NETS(work) submissions to Caring for our Future: http://www.vonne.org.uk/policy/healthandwellbeing/consultations/index.php?flink=591

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Caring for our Future

Joanne Smithson | 10:33 pm, 2 December 2011

It’s somewhat fitting that my first blog for VONNE comes on a rather special day.   Many of you will be aware that the Department of Health has invited people who use care and support services, carers, local councils, care providers and the voluntary & community sector to shape priorities for improving care and support.

It’s an issue that affects us all – we all know someone who has needed a bit extra care or support to continue to lead a full and active life.  From aids and adaptations in our homes, to more complex packages of care, receiving the right support, when you need it, can make life worth living.  And when we get it wrong, the consequences can be tragic.

There are so many reasons why the way we provide care and support has to change.  Yes, it’s true that society is changing – within 20 years the number of 85s will double, and the number of people living with life-long disabilities is likely to grow true.  The funding models we use today simply won’t cope with the increased need.

But, more fundamentally, it’s because we all have to work harder, together, to provide high quality personalised services, based on individual choice.  And we need to make sure that the most vulnerable, who need care and support services the most are protected.

Well, the closing date for feedback was today – so sorry if I’ve got you fired up and ready to respond.  If you’d like to read more about the issues that the community and voluntary sector have raised, you can read submissions from VONNE, NETS(work) and Regional Voices on our website.

Let me know what you think.  Did my response on behalf of VONNE highlight the key issues?  What did I miss?

And if you are still berating yourself for not responding; I’m sure there’ll be another chance soon.  The Government will be publishing its White Paper in spring 2012, and much as I’d like to dream we’d get it right first time – I’m sensing a future “engagement opportunity”.

 

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The final countdown

Jane Cater | 10:41 am, 24 November 2011

Today is my last full day in the office and therefore my last blog. Although you may hear from me on here again on the 1st December should we be successful with our recent funding bid. Announcements are being made early next week so watch this space.

So I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked with me along my 6 and a half year journey at VONNE.  Its been an amazing learning experience and I have met some wonderful people.

I am taking away lots of happy memories and great friends.  I hope to cross paths with most of you in my next adventure. If you want to work with me in the future you can contact me on all the usual social media formats (fb, twitter, linkedin etc).

Au revoir!

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Day 8

Jane Cater | 11:41 am, 21 November 2011

More activity in the policy world today as the awaited Housing Strategy – Laying the Foundations – is launched. This includes  a £400million investment to create £16,000 new homes. Strategy is available on the DCLG website.

I particulary liked the suggestion by the National Housing Federation which offered an alternative approach to work with social housing providers to focus on affordable housing for people on low incomes. The recent housing and localism event we held in October highlighted the need for a cross sector approach to creating strong sustainable communities. We debated the ways this can happen through working with social housing providers and VCS and starting with an asset based strategy. See full report for details.

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Big Society – is it working?

Jane Cater | 4:26 pm, 18 November 2011

A full scale audit into the impact and outcomes of Big Society activity is underway and a report will be available early 2012. The sector has been invited to comment on the format of the consultation and how success is being measured , this opportunity is open until 28th November.

The audit will focus on the outcomes from the three key elements of Big Society were categorized as:

1.      community empowerment,

2.      opening up public services

3.      encouraging social action and capital

A partnership made up of three organisations will carry out the audit –  Civil Exchange,  Democratic Audit, and DHA.

The initial £28,000 funding for this is being provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Civil Exchange are hopeful this may become an annual survey.

For examples of Big Society in the region check out the case studies on the VONNE Big Society web page.

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Day 7

Jane Cater | 3:26 pm, 18 November 2011

I didn’t actually expect this to happen during the life of the Big Society project but this week the Localism bill received royal assent and is now an act. We have followed news of the bill on its journey through parliament and the various amendments made over the last eight months. The final act focuses on four main areas: a flexible local government, a shift in power to communities, simplification of the planning system, and reforming social housing sector.

Amendments made over the last few months to the early bill have led to some improvements to social housing. A loop hole in the licensing of multiple occupation houses was also catching some of the smaller mutual housing schemes that did not register as social landlords due to their size. The neighbourhood planning element of the act is now more explicit on distinguishing business from residential planning and encourages private sector engagement in the planning process through clear guidance. The issue of referendums was debated and has now been simplified in the act to reduce the need for costly or repetitive polls.

The Building Capacity for a Big Society project has run from April to November to consult with the sector on the impact of the localism bill, so the news this week that it is now in effect is a really nice way to tie things up. We held events on housing, volunteering, community rights and health and reports are available on the big society page of the VONNE website.  We saw firsthand at the Housing event how a local enterprising community in Wooler turned empty buildings into a thriving social business model to provide homes to local people. We also heard the warts and all story from Hartlepool People’s Centre on their experience on taking over a community asset from the council. The “rights” within the new Act are aimed at making this kind of venture simpler and it’s good to read that the six month moratorium is still in place to allow communities time to get their act together to bid/challenge/buy. The main points that I have gathered from the events have been that whilst the Localism Act brings many opportunities for local authorities to work with communities on what really matters to them, there are concerns in the sector around capacity, resources, and diversity issues.

“The time has come to disperse power more widely in Britain today” Coalition agreement May 2010.

 

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