WCC - Local Healthwatch Services in Warwickshire - AWARD

Warwickshire County Council wish to commission a single provider to deliver a Local Healthwatch Service within Warwickshire.

The local Healthwatch Service within Warwickshire will be the independent consumer champion for the public to promote better outcomes in health and in social care - locally via Local Healthwatch organisations and nationally via Healthwatch England.

The local Healthwatch service in Warwickshire will be representative of the diverse communities it serves. It will provide intelligence - including evidence from people's views and experiences - to influence the policy, planning, commissioning and delivery of publicly-funded health and social care services. It will also provide information to help people access and make choices about services as well as provide signposting to those who wish to make a complaint about NHS services.

The local Healthwatch service in Warwickshire will be a robust and credible player in the local health and social care economy by demonstrating that it has the appropriate level of skills and competencies required to deliver its statutory functions. It will gain the trust of the general public as well as other health and social care stakeholder groups and organisations by being responsive, acting on concerns when things go wrong and being able to constructively challenge health and social care commissioners and providers.

The seven key functions of the local Healthwatch Service are:

1. Gather views and experiences of patients and the public
2. Make these views known, both locally and nationally as appropriate
3. Promote and support involvement in commissioning of health services and provision of care services
4. Recommend investigation or special review of services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
5. Provide advice and information about access to services and support for making informed choices
6. Make known the views and experiences of people to other local Healthwatch organisations and Healthwatch England and provide a steer to help it carry out its role as a national champion
7. Access and refer customers to NHS Complaints Advocacy Services