In a bid to improve patient care in the borough, Harrow CCG is planning to review how it commissions the talking therapies service (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme, IAPT) and will be holding engagement events to ensure all stakeholder views are included through consultation.

Harrow CCG is committed to developing services of high quality which support patients that feel low, stressed, anxious or depressed. In order for us to achieve this we would like to hear your views on the current service, so come along to the following focus group and help to shape the new talking therapies service.

Date: Friday, 29^th January 2016  - Time: 10.00am-12.00pm -  Venue: Harrow CCG, The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow, HA1 3AW

Spaces are limited so where possible please confirm your attendance by email: Lenniedick@nhs.net.

If you are unable to make this date, please let me know as additional focus groups will be held in February and March. This is a joint procurement between Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon and is an integral part of on-going commissioning priorities to meet the current and future need for talking therapies.

Regards

Lennie Dick

Head of Commissioning for Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Carers

Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group

Tel: 0208 966 1166

Email: Lenniedick@nhs.net

INVITATION TO: ALL RESIDENTS IN HARROW

Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is the GP-led organisation responsible for planning and buying many of the health services needed by the residents of Harrow, so come along to hear about our plans and priorities.
You will also be given the opportunity to feedback and to have your say on what health services you want to see provided in 2016/17.

To register your attendance or for more information: email: harrowccg@nhs.net or call 020 8966 1168.

CQC is the independent regulator of all health and care services in England. They register, monitor and inspect services to make sure they provide safe, effective, compassionate, high quality care and they encourage them to improve. Please see Inspection Poster and Listening Events Poster

CQC's inspection of London North West Healthcare NHS Trust starts on 20th October. The Trust mainly covers the London boroughs of Ealing, Brent and Harrow. The Trust also looks after:

• Central Middlesex Hospital
• Community services across Brent, Ealing and Harrow, including Clayponds Rehabilitation Hospital,
• Meadow House Hospice, Denham Unit and Willesden Centre
• Ealing Hospital
• Northwick Park Hospital
• St Mark’s Hospital  

It’s a comprehensive inspection so will cover all services, including the below:

• Urgent and emergency services
• Medical care (including older people’s care)
• Surgery
• Critical care
• Maternity and gynecology
• Services for children and young people
• End of life care
• Outpatients and diagnostic imaging

People can share their experiences in confidence by telephone: 03000 616161 or by e-mail telus@cqc.org.uk or contacting Healthwatch Harrow by e-mail info@healthwatchharrow.co.uk or call us on 0203 432 2889.  More....

The CQC would like to invite you to their public listening event on Wednesday14th October at Stonebridge Centre, NW10 from 6pm to 8pm, to meet their inspectors and share your experience of the services and care provided in the last year - for more details please click attachment below.

CQC is the independent regulator of all health and care services in England. They register, monitor and inspect services to make sure they provide safe, effective, compassionate, high quality care and they encourage them to improve. Please see Inspection Poster and Listening Events Poster

CQC's inspection of London North West Healthcare NHS Trust starts on 20th October. The Trust mainly covers the London boroughs of Ealing, Brent and Harrow. The Trust also looks after:

• Central Middlesex Hospital
• Community services across Brent, Ealing and Harrow, including Clayponds Rehabilitation Hospital,
• Meadow House Hospice, Denham Unit and Willesden Centre
• Ealing Hospital
• Northwick Park Hospital
• St Mark’s Hospital  

It’s a comprehensive inspection so will cover all services, including the below:

• Urgent and emergency services
• Medical care (including older people’s care)
• Surgery
• Critical care
• Maternity and gynecology
• Services for children and young people
• End of life care
• Outpatients and diagnostic imaging

People can share their experiences in confidence by telephone: 03000 616161 or by e-mail telus@cqc.org.uk or contacting Healthwatch Harrow by e-mail info@healthwatchharrow.co.uk or call us on 0203 432 2889.  More....

The CQC would like to invite you to their public listening event on Monday 12th October from 6pm to 8pm at the Ealing Town Hall,  to meet their inspectors and share your experience of the services and care provided in the last year - for more details please click attachment below.

Subsequently another public listening event has been arranged for Wednesday 14th October at Stonebridge Centre, NW10 from 6pm to 8pm - for more details please click attachment below.

Alzheimer’s Society will be out and about in your area to help people worried about their memory or affected by dementia. If you’re worried about your memory, have been diagnosed with dementia or care for someone with dementia, visit our stall for information about dementia and services available in your local area.

Alzheimer’s Society will be out and about in your area to help people worried about their memory or affected by dementia. If you’re worried about your memory, have been diagnosed with dementia or care for someone with dementia, visit our stall for information about dementia and services available in your local area.

A Meeting of Minds: Creating a shared vision for health and wellbeing in Harrow.

You are invited to an interactive half day event to:

 Understand what makes Harrow a healthy place to live,
 Discuss where we could do more to improve health and wellbeing,
 Help shape the refreshed Harrow Health and Wellbeing strategy,
 Consider how to make a difference to Harrow residents mental health and wellbeing.
 There will be an opportunity for you to take part in a “Your Voice Counts: Question and Answer” session, hosted by Healthwatch Harrow.

Time:
12.15 - arrival, registration, refreshments and networking
13.00 - start
17.00 - close

Book your free place here

Questions about dementia?

Talk to us – we’re here to help

Drop by our Dementia Community Roadshow for information about dementia and support in your area.

Mind in Harrow would like to invite you to a FREE pan-London conference (please see attached):

Improving access to Crisis Mental Health Services: for Minority Ethnic and Refugee Communities

on

Wednesday 25th February 2015, 10am - 4:30pm

at

356 Holloway Road, London, N7 6PA

(Buffet lunch included)

This exciting conference will include 

• An overview of the the culturally specific learnings from year 1 of the 'Olole Isbedel' Campaign; an innovating campaign highlighting the Somali community's experience of multiple disadvantage which is inextricably linked to overrepresentation in the criminal justice system (http://www.mindinharrow.org.uk/somali-hayaan-project-moving-to-a-better-place.asp#.VJBkA9KsXp0)
• An exploration of mental health crisis care and its link with the criminal justice system
• Learnings from local evidence national research and guidance; specifically drawing on the Department of Health's Crisis Care Concordat and Lord Bradley's Report recommendations

This conference is aimed at: health and social care professionals, NHS Trust Diversity leads, commissioners of mental health services, Somali/black African and other community organisations supporting refugees and asylum seekers, those working in or with the CJS and other interested parties.

 This conference is funded by Trust for London.

 RSVP by the 18th of February 2015 to Josie Hinton, Conference Coordinator, j.hinton@mindinharrow.org.uk or 0208 515 7877 

Please see attached statement from Councillor Sachin Shah and Councillor Sue Anderson.

Please note that the consultation meeting booked for 7^th January 2015 has been rescheduled and will now take place on Monday 19^th January. Please contact community.development@harrow.gov.uk to confirm your attendance.

In the Take Part consultation on the overall Council budget proposals, Harrow Council proposed some wide ranging cuts to voluntary sector funding to help meet the £25million funding gap for 2015-16. However, following feedback from the Take Part consultation, these proposals have been amended.

Feedback from the Take Part consultation is available to view here: www.harrow.gov.uk/takepart
The amended saving proposal is a reduction of £550,000 of funding to the voluntary and community sector in 2015-2016. Our more detailed consultation on the budget proposals commenced with a meeting with voluntary organisations on 25th November 2014. At this meeting we explained that these funding reductions would be looked at holistically across Council departments.

In recent weeks, voluntary sector representatives have asked for further clarification and requested more specific information about the proposals. The Council understands the need for specific information so that organisations and service users can understand the potential impact on services. In light of this we can now clarify that it is proposed that the £550,000 saving will be sought from two specific Council budget areas;

1.  A reduction of £270,000 to the Council’s discretionary grant funding budget of £600,000. This includes both the three-year Outcomes Based Grants (OBG) and annual Small Grant programmes.
2.  A reduction of £280,000 from the Adults budget of £1,079m that supports the delivery of services to older people and people with disabilities.

Voluntary organisations and service users will now be consulted on these specific proposals as well as on the wider picture for the sector. A consultation survey will be available from 5th January 2015. To ensure that we give sufficient time to receive feedback from you and your service users the consultation deadline will be extended to Friday 13th February 2015.

A number of voluntary organisations, who would have been due to receive funding in 2015-16, have put forward a proposal for an extension to their agreements at current funding levels to June 2015. This would be to assist them in planning for the implementation of any proposals that emerge from the consultation and the Council’s funding decisions. The Council understands the need for voluntary and community sector organisations to be able to plan their services accordingly and is considering how best to accommodate this request within our budgets. We will confirm a decision on this early in the New Year. We will ensure that no organisation has less than three months in which to implement any decisions on funding.

Councillor Sachin Shah - Portfolio Holder for Finance and Major Contracts                                                    Councillor Sue Anderson - Portfolio Holder Community, Culture and  and Resident Engagement

Healthwatch Delivery Board Meeting in Public - 8th December 2014

NHS Harrow CCG warmly invites you to drop in and feedback on what you think of our draft plans for health services in 2015-16.

• Date: Thursday 16th October, 2014
• Time: 2.00 – 4.00pm
• Venue: 4th Floor, The Heights, 59-65 Lowlands Road, Harrow on the Hill, HA1 3AW
• Discuss with our experienced staff about the services that we commission for Harrow patients.

Delivery Board Meeting in Public

Delivery Board Meeting in Public

On behalf of the Healthwatch Harrow Delivery board we are pleased to announce that we will be holding our first delivery board meeting in public on

• 20^th June 2014
• Venue : The Savoy Court Community Centre, 49 Savoy Court, North Harrow. HA2 6BU
• Time : 10-12pm

 
There will be an opportunity for members of the public to pose questions to the board during the open section of the board meeting, one of the agenda items will be the delivery boards workplan for 2014-2015
 
Ash Verma
Interim Chairman
On behalf of the Healthwatch Harrow delivery board

It is a time of great change in Health and Social Services in the borough. Public input in the nature and implementation of these changes is essential.

Healthwatch Harrow in conjunction with the London Borough of Harrow/Public Health Team and NHS Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group are having the 1st ever Healthy Harrow Day.

We would very much like to warmly welcome everyone to attend this informative and enjoyable day.

The aim of the Harrow Healthy Day is to promote local Health and Social Care services that are available across the borough to those who require them. The day also hopes to help Health and Social care providers design local services that meet current and future demands and needs. We envisage that the Healthy Harrow day encourages, informs and inspires Harrow residents to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

The Healthy Harrow day will support you to make healthy choices giving encouragement to make the small changes, and eventually make all the difference to your future health. It is great that we are all living longer than ever- let’s be alive and well!

The day also aims to make people aware of the decisions that are being made on everyone’s behalf to re-design the services we may need to stay healthy. These services are precious to all of us whether we use them regularly or not. There will be representation from many of those providing services in Harrow. Harrow is no longer a sleepy place at the end of the metropolitan line, but a vibrant multicultural borough leading for others to follow.

As mentioned the event will include exhibits from many service providers and charities and you will be encouraged to engage, interact and discuss matters affecting you and services which matter to you.

The public receives so many health messages almost daily that often people are left with more questions than answers; Healthy Harrow day may answer some of these questions. For example what is dementia? How do I manage my diabetes? What is enough exercise? Do I really need to go to the hospital? Knowledge (to quote a cliché) is power and so armed with the knowledge people need; they can hopefully make the right choices

The day will conclude with homage to Thursday night’s BBC ‘Question Time’ …all be it on a Wednesday. Questions will be posed to a panel that consists of the Chair of the local CCG Board and many other high profile leaders of our local Hospital and Social care services. To ensure order and impartiality our Healthwatch Chair will take on the coveted David Dimbleby role and mediate the panel. So please think of some pertinent questions ahead of time and submit them to Healthwatch. We really do want you to have your say!

When we buy a house we do our homework. We view the house, we do a local search; for good schools, easy access to our jobs, we get a survey done. We check and recheck our finances and liaise with estate agents and banks. We maintain our home and improve it and we petition profusely if anything, for example a motorway is to be built nearby or a neighbour is going to build an extension obscuring our view or something similar. We insure our homes, heat and love them. We take very good care of them. Our home is important to us and our family.

Your body is your first home and you should treat it the same; maintain it, protect it, invest in it…have a say in anything that has an influence on its future health. Not just for you, but for everyone that cares for you too.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the Healthy Harrow Day! 

Learn and share your experiences - Presentation by: Shailia Kumar- Health Improvement Specialist of St. Mark's Hospital, Harrow

Healthwatch Harrow is all about collecting and using local voices to influence the delivery and design of local services; not just for people who use them now, but also anyone who might need to use them in the future. To have the biggest impact, we need to work closely with a range of groups to gather the views of local people and identify issues, and also to get those views heard.