1. Healthwatch Central West London is changing!

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    Over the last nine years, Healthwatch Central West London (CWL) has delivered the Healthwatch function across Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. As with most publicly funded contracts, these are put out to tender by the Local Authority on a regular basis, and potential providers are invited to apply.

  2. Listening to what’s important to young care leavers

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    Following an email exchange with the group lead, our Youth Engagement Manager, attended Westminster Council’s ‘Tuesday Group’ in March to run an engagement workshop that would start discussions with young care leavers.

  3. How you can influence decisions about the range, shape, and quality of services provided by your GP practice

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    If you are a patient or carer in any of the wards across Westminster or Kensington & Chelsea and are registered to a local GP, then the good news is you can join your GP practice Patient Participation Group (PPG).

  4. Young Healthwatch: 2022 Projects

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    From collaborating with local schools to auditing GP websites, discover how Young Healthwatch is exploring and representing the needs of young people in Kensington & Chelsea.

  5. Accessing digital healthcare: how well are digital health tools working?

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    We have published a new report, ‘Accessing Healthcare Digitally’. The report sets out the findings from our recent community engagement on the accessibility of digital healthcare tools. It also contains a comprehensive set of recommendations for service providers, designed to ensure that digital healthcare tools become as accessible and user-friendly as possible.

  6. Thank you to everyone who came to our Annual Meeting

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    On Tuesday 7th December, we held our 2021 Annual Meeting.
    We brought together over 60 members, volunteers, staff, local colleagues, community partners, and members of the public to showcase our work and plan our priorities for the coming year.

  7. How we’re collaborating with Imperial College London to raise awareness of local health inequalities

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    Last month we were delighted to continue our relationship with Imperial College London by hosting four third-year medical students for a workshop on health inequalities and the work of local Healthwatch.

  8. Consulting with the Filipino Community in collaboration with Sport4Health

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    Over the past two years, collaborating with local groups has become an essential part of our work through our Small Grants Programme. It enables us to connect with people from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds and minority groups.

  9. Our Impact: new booklet available

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    Alongside this year’s Annual report, we have created an A5 booklet that shares the impact of our work, with a focus on tackling health inequalities and improving local services.

  10. We are piloting an exciting new student engagement project with the North West London Schools Research Network

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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.

  11. How we adapted to the pandemic: reflections from two members of our team

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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.

  12. Have you used mental health services recently? We want to hear from you…

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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.

  13. Catch up on our work: Annual Report 2020-21

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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.

  14. Our statement in response to the NHS consultation on the future of the Integrated Care Systems

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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

  15. Thank you to everyone who attended our virtual Annual Meeting

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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.

  16. Disability Confident Employer

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    We are pleased to announce that we are an accredited Disability Confident Employer.

  17. We’re on a mission to reach residents who are not online

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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.

  18. Our 2020 Annual Report has landed

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    Our Annual Report is here!

  19. Small Grants awarded to five organisations

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    In January, we launched our first ever small grants project.

  20. Join us as a Community Listener Volunteer

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    Help to improve local health and social care services and record what people say about the services they use.

  21. Have you had trouble attending a podiatry appointment in Westminster?

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    Have you used podiatry services recently in Westminster? Did you have trouble attending the appointment? Share your experience to help improve access - it only takes a few minutes

  22. CNWL Acute Mental Health Consultation Events

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    As part of the Acute Mental Health Public Consultation, CNWL NHS Trust are running a series of public events in Westminster, asking local people’s views about proposed changes to local acute mental health services.

  23. Recent change to online support for adults experiencing mental health difficulties

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    Closure of Qwell mental health service on the 31st March, 2024

  24. Cost-of-living crisis impacts people’s access to health and care

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    Our new data suggests that people are increasingly avoiding booking NHS appointments or taking up prescriptions because of the cost-of-living crisis. Find out more about the support available to help you cover NHS treatment costs

  25. Consultation on the future of acute mental health services for adult residents of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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    A public consultation evaluation report on the proposed changes to acute mental health services for residents in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea has recently been published. We have summarised the main findings below.

  26. Join the Patient and Carer Advisory Group about Waiting Lists

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    The North West London Networked Data Lab are looking for patients and carers to join their Patient and Carer Advisory Group

  27. An update on COVID-19 vaccinations for children

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    The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. It gives you the best protection against COVID-19. Although COVID-19 is often mild in children, it can make some children unwell.

  28. Vaccination: now offered to 12-15 year olds in schools

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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.

  29. What have we learnt from our recent COVID-19 engagement work with LEGS?

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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.

  30. What have we learnt from recent engagement work on COVID-19?

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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.

  31. Your experience matters: how have you been affected by the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak?

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    This week we have launched an updated version of our survey Coronavirus: Your Experience Matters.

  32. Improving public health messaging: what we have learnt from recent engagement work

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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.

  33. How the pandemic is changing the training we offer

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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.

  34. Learning lessons from the lock down: how we use technology

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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.

  35. The latest update documents from our COVID-19 engagement

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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).

  36. PPGs are responding to Coronavirus outbreak

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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.

  37. How do you feel about visiting GP surgeries, as lockdown eases?

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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.

  38. Most vulnerable to be offered Covid-19 booster jab this spring

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    A booster jab is to be offered this spring to those most at risk becoming serious ill from Covid-19. In England, these vaccinations will begin in April.

  39. NHS launches seasonal COVID-19 vaccination programme this month

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    The NHS national booking system (NBS) is now open for eligible people to book their spring COVID-19 booster for free, from 22 April until 30 June 2024