We’re recruiting – join our board!
Could this be you?
- Are you passionate about improving local NHS and care services?
- Could you act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of your community and let us know about any changes needed to local health and social care services?
- Do you want to ensure Healthwatch Northumberland works in an inclusive and equitable way?
Great! We would like you think about joining our board.
You would be one of 15 board members who guide and oversee Healthwatch Northumberland’s work.
It is very important the people involved with Healthwatch Northumberland have experience of using health and social care services including as a carer. We are keen to hear how you could use what you know to help understand what is happening in our diverse communities.
How much time is involved?
The minimum commitment is four board meetings per year plus a review day. Meetings take place during the working day, and last approximately 2.5 hours. We meet in different places (we pay travel expenses) or online.
If you want to you can get more involved including helping us at community engagement events or with research. It would be up to you.
If you want to know more have a look at our information pack and or contact Derry Nugent, Project Co-ordinator on 07590 880016 or derryn@healthwatchnorthumberland.co.uk.
Please return completed application forms by 1 October 2021.
This vacancy has now closed.
Dementia diagnosis: what next?
Getting a dementia diagnosis can be a big shock, and it can be hard to know what to do next. Take a look at this guide to find out what support you should receive.
The essential information you should get after a dementia diagnosis
- Your type of dementia and how it will affect you.
- Any further tests, treatment, activities or therapies that might help you.
- Who will provide your care and how to contact them, including the professional who will coordinate your care.
- Support groups and charities that can help you.
- How dementia can affect your driving and what you need to do.
- How your employer should support you if you work (or are looking for work).
- Any research studies you could take part in.
This information should be explained to you and given to you in writing. You can also ask for it in a format you understand. If you don’t need this information straight away, you can ask for it later on.
What else should you talk about with your GP?
- Consent – Do you agree to services sharing information about you? Who can they share information with, and what are you willing for them to share?
- Information – Do you know who to contact for more advice if your needs change?
- Future contact – You may not need any help or further appointments now. If that is the case, would you like to be contacted again and if so, when?
Next step checklist
It’s not just health and care support you need to think about when diagnosed with dementia. To help you, Dementia UK has created a checklist to follow, which includes information on benefits and discussing plans and wishes with your family.
What support have you received?
Have you or loved one had a dementia diagnosis? We want to hear your experience of dementia care and support – good and bad. We have the power to make sure NHS leaders and other decision makers listen to and act on your feedback. So, if you’ve got a story to share, tell us!
Planning your care
Now
After your dementia diagnosis, your GP should direct you to services that can give you more information and support. You should also be given the name of a professional who will coordinate any care and support you might need.
The future
Thinking ahead can feel overwhelming, but planning care can help make sure people know your wishes for the future. When you’re ready for this, you should be offered support and information to discuss your options.
Support for carers
Anyone with caring responsibilities for a person with dementia is entitled to a Carers’ Assessment. Their local Authority will carry this out. The Assessment will look at the impact of caring for a person with dementia and what support is needed. Take a look at Dementia UK’s guidance on Carers’ Assessments for more information.
As a carer, it is essential to think about your health and wellbeing. It is a significant adjustment, so you should take a look at the options available to you. These can include:
- Training
- Support
- Advice
More information
The information on this page is from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guide for people with dementia and their family and carers. Take some time to read the guide in full to understand better the support available to people with dementia and their carers.
Visit our dementia health page for information on local services
Click and Connect: GP online services report
GP online services report
GP online services can cover a range of different functions, for example, booking appointments online, ordering repeat prescriptions and viewing medical records, test results and medicines. Many people find it more convenient to register for online services rather than having to rely on telephone or in person contact with their surgery. This has been magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic, due to social distancing restrictions.
We were contacted by someone who told us about the difficulties they had experienced trying to register for GP services online. They found the process complicated, particularly as they were asked to visit the practice in person with ID, in the middle of the pandemic. We decided to do some work to look at how people in Northumberland could register for online services at GP practices across the county.
What you told us: April to June 2021
Healthwatch Northumberland Feedback Report April to June 2021
Between April and June 2021, we received feedback from 63 individuals from talking to people at face-to-face engagement events, telephone calls, emails, our website, social media, and other sources. We signposted 20 of these people to services.
This quarter we received feedback and enquiries from:
- Telephone calls (42%)
- Emails (23%)
- Website (19%)
- Social media (12%)
- Engagement event (5%)
Each quarter we look at who we are hearing from across the county, including location, gender, age, and whether the respondent is sharing their own health and social care experience or speaking on behalf of a friend or relative.
We also look at the general sentiment of comments, with specific reference to the service type, for example whether that’s primary care (doctors, dentists, pharmacies), secondary care (hospital services), mental health or social care, as well as whether the feedback relates specifically to quality of the care or access to services.
Find out more about who we heard from and what we were told, below.
Annual Report 2020/21
Find out what we got up to in the last 12 months in our . Read about the highlights of our year including our work on care home visits and how we worked with others to get results.
There are also examples of how our Information and Signposting service helped individuals, and how our fabulous volunteers continued to support us and our communities through the pandemic.
There are lots of fantastic Northumberland photos inside too!
If you’d like to tell us about your experiences of care or have a query for our Signposting and Information Service, please get in touch.
View the Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report 2020/21
We’re back on the road! Find us in your area
We getting out and about again in communities across Northumberland this summer! We’ll be heading to the venues below with our Annual Survey, goodie bags and information and signposting service, so do stop by to say hello, pick up a survey and some freebies.
Find us at:
- Cafe @ Burn Lane, Hexham: Monday 21 June, 11.00am – 1.30pm
- Outside the Co-op, Prudhoe: Wednesday 23 June, 9.30am – 12.00pm
- Merton Road, Ponteland: Friday 25 June, 9.30am – 12.00pm
- Market Square, Haltwhistle: Monday 28 June, 11.00am – 1.30pm
- Outside Morrisons, Bedlington: Thursday 1 July, 9.30am – 12.00pm
- Ashington Market: Tuesday 6 July, 9.30am – 12.00pm
- Berwick Market: Wednesday 7 July: 10.00am – 12.30pm
- Outside Bellingham Library: Friday 9 July, 2.00pm – 4.00pm
- Morpeth Market: Wednesday 14 July, 9.30am – 12.00pm
- Outside Morrisons, Amble: Thursday 15 July, 9.30am – 12.00pm
- Outside Concordia Leisure Centre, Cramlington: Monday 19 July, 1.00pm – 3.30pm
- Outside The Cheviot Centre, Wooler: Thursday 22 July, 1.00pm – 3.00pm
- Blyth Market: Friday 23 July, 9.30am – 12.00pm
Our Annual Survey is a chance to tell us about the health and social care services you and your family have used over the last 12 months
With services working to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, your views have never been more important and can play a crucial role to help us identify and address issues that affect the quality of people’s care.
You can also help us decide where to focus our work in the year ahead.
If you can’t get to one of our events, you can tell us about your experiences at the online survey or you can get in touch to ask for a paper copy and freepost envelope. If you would like to complete the survey over the phone with one of our friendly team please call 03332 408468 or text 07413 385275 to arrange a call back.
Tell us your story – in our Annual Survey 2021
Our Annual Survey is a chance to tell us about the health and social care services you and your family have used over the last 12 months.
Your views and experiences continue to help professionals understand key local issues and how well services are working for you, your family and our communities.
With services working to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, your views have never been more important and can play a crucial role to help us identify and address issues that affect the quality of people’s care.
You can also help us decide where to focus our work in the year ahead.
You can tell us about your experiences at the online survey or you can get in touch to ask for a paper copy and freepost envelope. If you would like to complete the survey over the phone with one of our friendly team please call 03332 408468 or text 07413 385275 to arrange a call back. Closing date is 23 July 2021.
We will be back in towns across the county this summer with our first ‘live’ events since last spring. Come and say hello if you can – we’ll have copies of the survey, our information and signposting service and some goodie bags to give away. See where we’ll be over the next few weeks: Healthwatch Northumberland – back on the Road
This survey has now closed.
Spotlight on: Vision Northumberland
As part of our Spotlight on… series we are shining a light on Vision Northumberland, formerly Northumberland County Blind Association.
Vision Northumberland is a local charity based in Morpeth which provides advice and support services to blind and visually impaired people to enable them to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to live a fulfilled and independent life. It offers a home visiting service, clubs and support groups, telephone counselling, volunteer drivers to help clients get around, computer training, help with energy bills, low vision aids assessments and much more. Clients can also benefit from regular phone calls with the charity’s telephone support service, Client Connect (formerly Sightline).
Vision Northumberland’s volunteers based across the county have recently been honoured with The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The award recognises the vital support that the charity provided to the community in response to the pandemic by setting up a telephone befriending service with 91 volunteers making telephone calls. At the height of the pandemic over 600 visually impaired people were contacted to reduce isolation, loneliness and provide a lifeline during unprecedented times. Our very own Healthwatch staff team and volunteers were happy to be involved in this project.
You can get in touch by calling 01670 514316 or email info@visionnorthumberland.org.uk
GP data sharing
NHS Digital has recently announced plans to allow an NHS system to extract patient data from doctors’ surgeries in England. The new data-sharing system was due to start in July but has now been pushed back to 1 September.
If you DO NOT want your GP records to be shared, there are two ways to opt out:
- Stop your GP record data being shared anonymously with other NHS services for planning and development. This would prevent your data being used in the anonymous information local NHS service commissioners and decision makers use to plan services. You will need to complete the form called Type 1 Opt out form and return it to your GP practice before 1 September. Find the Type 1 Opt out form here.
- Agree to share your information with the NHS planners but NOT with external research organisations. You can do this online here, via the NHS App or by calling 0300 303 56 78.
Healthwatch England has joined forces with leading patient groups to respond to the Government’s plans around GP data sharing.
NHS Digital has recently announced plans to allow an NHS system to extract patient data from doctors’ surgeries in England. The new data-sharing system was due to start in July but has now been pushed back to 1 September.
Responding to the announcement today by Jo Churchill, Minister for Primary Care, on the Government’s plans around GP data, Healthwatch England has released the following statement with other patient groups – National Voices, the Patients Association and the Richmond Group of Charities.
“We welcome today’s move by the Government to extend the deadline for the GP data opt-out and allow NHS Digital and colleagues across the NHS, particularly those in primary care, to have the time and space to engage properly with patients and the wider public on these plans.
“In previous engagement work the public have told us that they are in favour of the NHS using their data for medical research if they understand how this information will be used and can opt out if they so wish. However, ongoing public support for this depends on complete transparency and clear communication from the NHS when things change.
“Over the next few months we need to see a proper nationwide campaign on this, reaching out to people so they can make an informed choice about how their own individual medical records are used to support research. This is a complex issue, and so we will all be working with the NHS to help build awareness and understanding.”
You can help make health and care services better by sharing your experiences and ideas.
Healthwatch Northumberland
We are your local health and social care champion. We’re here to make sure your views on NHS and social care services in Northumberland are heard.
