The development of Local Healthwatch in Kent Part one: key findings

Summary of Key Findings
Detailed contributions from participants are provided in part two of the report.
This section provides a broad overview of the key findings and messages
from stakeholders.
Vision for a successful K LHW
Participants demonstrated a good general awareness of the proposals for
Healthwatch at local and national level. Many identified the need for more
detailed briefings on the content of the policy documents emerging from the
Department of Health and all wished to be kept up to date on the progress of
the K LHW.
Many participants commented on the value of the statement of readiness
process. They found that opportunities to participate in the interviews, groups
and workshops provided a reflective space to explore their own views and
positions on Healthwatch in more depth. Several participants commented that
engaging in a structured exercise helped to provide a focus to their emerging
views on K LHW. This opportunity enabled them to value the experience,
strengths and assets already available in Kent and to have a voice early on in
the process of developing K LHW before key decisions are finalised.
Healthwatch is welcomed by the vast majority of participants both in its local
and national forms. It is seen as a positive development of existing patient,
public and service user engagement work across Kent. Four aspects of the
Healthwatch proposals are particularly welcomed by participants:
• The vision of ‘no decision about me, without me’
• The concept of a consumer champion
• The focus on the needs and voice of diverse and different groups across
the community
• The ability to coordinate data on public experiences and opinions and
present it in an informed way
Participants were able to contribute many different elements to a vision
for what a successful K LHW looks like. Part two of the report lists these
elements in full. Most issues were complimentary to a wider vision and often
described similar themes in different language or from different perspectives.
The key areas of consensus for the vision were:
• K LHW must champion the service user and patient perspective in a
constructive way. It must be their voice and be an effective advocate for
their interests
• K LHW will need to be credible with three groups - the wider public, people
who use its services and with organisational stakeholders (in particular
commissioners and decision makers)
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The development of Local Healthwatch in Kent: assessing readiness for Local Healthwatch