May 2011 e-news

Hello from the Somerset LINk!

It's been a while since our last Friday News - not an intentional 'pause' but we have been jolly busy recruiting some new volunteers for this year - and of course, enjoying the rather large number of spring Bank Holidays recently!

We've decided to make our Friday news rather more predictable and so will endeavour to send out one a month - so here's May's news from the Somerset LINk...

Welcome to our new volunteers!

Following our March Selection Event, we're pleased to welcome volunteers for our two new groups for this coming year: Our Stewardship Group, who will oversee the governance of the LINk, and our Priorities Panel, who will help set the work plan of the LINk. Our new volunteers are:

Anyone who is interesting in joining either group is welcome to get in touch with us and find out more.

Our Public Event on 6 April 2011: LINk to the Future!

Thanks to everyone who attended our public event at the Bridgwater Rugby Club on the 6th April - we enjoyed hearing from speakers from Musgrove Park, the Somerset Partnership, Somerset Community Health and the Patients Association. And we enjoyed some terrifying fried food over lunch. If you'd like copies of any of the presentations from this event, please let us know and we'll be happy to email them to you.

Thursday 19th May: Disability Somerset's Independent Living Exhibition:

Disability Somerset are running an Independent Living Exhibition on Thursday 19th May at the Sedgemoor Auction Centre (just off junction 24 of the M5, near North Petherton), which is being billed as "A great opportunity for disabled people, carers, older people and professionals to view the wealth of equipment, information and support available to enhance quality of life." And as an added bonus, you can come and listen to Lucy from the LINk and Jo Purvis, NHS Somerset JSNA Manager, talking about the importance of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for voluntary and user-led organisations - hoorah! To find out more, visit our event page here.

Dates for your diary:

Our new Stewardship Group have already got their diaries out and put together a list of dates for meetings for the next year. Stewardship Group meetings are held in public, which means that anyone can attend - but pleased let us know beforehand so that we can make sure we have enough copies of papers and biscuits at the ready:

• Tuesday 31st May 2011, 11am - Stewardship Group meeting at the Somerset LINk office in Hambridge.
• Wednesday 15 June 2011, 6.30pm - Somerset LINk AGM at The Monk's Yard, Horton Cross Farm, Illminster, TA19 9PT.
• Tuesday 28th June 2011, 11am - Stewardship Group meeting at the Somerset LINk office in Hambridge.
• Tuesday 26th July 2011, 11am Stewardship Group meeting followed by 1pm-3pm Public Event at the Frome Community Hospital, Frome.
• Tuesday 23rd August 2011, 11am - Stewardship Group meeting, venue to be confirmed.
• Tuesday 27th September 2011, 11am - Stewardship Group meeting, venue to be confirmed.

Patient Representative Wanted!

The way that health services are commissioned is rapidly changing from the responsibility of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) to the responsibility of GPs in Commissioning Consortia (GPCC). In Somerset, an interim board is being set up (iGPCC) and the LINk has a position for a Patient Representative on the iGPCC Board (or the iGPCCB - are you keeping up?). This is a really important role and the work will require a commitment to attend the iGPPC Board Meetings, which will be twice a month, as well as reporting back to the LINk.

For more information, please email Lucy at the LINk on lucy.nicholls@helpandcare.org.uk or download the (draft) Patient Representative Role Description here.

Minehead Patient Representative Wanted!

A new Health Forum is being set up in West Somerset by NHS Somerset, as a chance for patients and health service providers to get together and listen to each other. These meetings will be quarterly and the first meeting will be on Tuesday 17 May at 6.30pm at Minehead Hospital. If you are interested in attending as the LINk Patient Representative, please get in touch and we can send you more information.

And finally . . . .

Find out more about the Listening Exercise: The government is 'pausing' the progress of the Health & Social Care Bill in order to carry out a 'listening exercise' in order to gather more views about the proposed 'NHS Reforms'. You can find out more about the Listening Exercise at healthandcare.dh.gov.uk/listening-exercise-how-to-get-involved.

There is also a public event for voluntary and community groups in Exeter on 26th May, organised by the South West Forum. Find out more at www.southwestforum.org.uk/nhs-future-forum.

That's all from us for now, but we promise to write again in June.... in the meantime, drop us a line if you have any questions about our work or any views on health and social services in Somerset!