Healthwatch, NHS Complaints and Safeguarding Advocacy Service

This is a Contract Award Notice. West Berkshire Council requires delivery of a Healthwatch, NHS complaints and Safeguarding Advocacy Services for service users within the West Berkshire District Council Area.

Healthwatch, NHS complaints and Safeguarding Advocacy Services in West Berkshire will establish an effective operating model and governance to operate through the following service lines:

Provision of information and advice - Provision of information and non-clinical advice to people about accessing health and social care services and choice in relation aspects of those services.

Community engagement - Promotion of and support for the active engagement of people in the commissioning, provision and monitoring of local health care and social care services by obtaining the views of people about their needs for and experiences of local services and ensuring that they are enabled to be involved in these.

Evidence, research and influencing - Provision of effective systems and processes, including research and analysis capability, to establish evidence, provide reports and make recommendations (and challenge service providers where necessary) about how those services could or should be improved, both for use locally to inform the Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNA) and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy and all providers and commissioners as well as nationally through its Annual Report to Local Healthwatch England.

Independent NHS complaints advocacy - Provision of the independent NHS complaints advocacy service for West Berkshire, providing advocacy and assistance for individuals making or intending to make an NHS complaint (which includes complaints to the Health Service Ombudsman).

Safeguarding Advocacy- To arrange, where appropriate, for an independent advocate to represent and support an adult who is the subject of a safeguarding enquiry or Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) where the adult has 'substantial difficulty' in being involved in the process and where there is no other suitable person to represent and support them.