Have your say on how the NHS should change in Birmingham and Solihull
People keen to influence the future of the NHS in Birmingham and Solihull are being encouraged to make their views known in a series of events this month.
Independent health and care champions Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull are involved in the ‘What would you do?’ campaign to encourage people in the city to share their views about what changes to local NHS services should look like.
The Government is investing £20 billion a year in the NHS as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. Local organisations have now been asked to work out what changes will be made locally to help make the NHS better for local people.
The public are being asked for their views about how NHS services could be improved – for example mental health support, cancer services, learning disability, autism and dementia care. They will also be asked to share their ideas on how people can live healthier lives and what improvements they think could be made to help people access services quickly.
Andy Cave, Chief Executive of Healthwatch Birmingham said: “It is really important that people’s views are heard and are able to influence local plans. Healthwatch Birmingham will be engaging with people across the city to listen to their views, working with our partners and organisations in communities to ensure people can have their say about how services should improve.
We want to hear from as many people as possible to ensure the local plans reflect the needs of Birmingham. It is such a diverse city and we know some patients are facing inequalities and barriers accessing care. We want to hear about what works, what doesn’t – no matter how big or small the issue, we want to hear about it. Sharing your experience with us is quick and easy – and could make a big difference.”
Anthony Martlew, Interim Manager at Healthwatch Solihull, said: “We know that the NHS only works well when people’s views are listened to. This a huge opportunity for the residents of Solihull to help decide how our NHS services should improve and where investments should be made.
The Healthwatch Solihull team want to ensure that local people, groups and communities get their voices heard. We want to secure your views to make sure that local plans are shaped by local people. Tell us what works well, what doesn’t work and share your ideas about what could be done to improve local health services. Sharing your experience and opinion with us is quick and easy and could make a big difference to the future of your NHS provision.”
How to share views:
- Tell us what your local NHS can do to help you and your community stay well and provide better support by completing the national survey at: https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/what-would-you-do-general
- If you are living with cancer, mental health conditions, heart and lung diseases, long-term conditions, such as diabetes and arthritis, learning disabilities, autism, conditions such as dementia complete the specific national survey at: https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/tell-us-what-would-you-do
- People can share their views by contacting Healthwatch Birmingham directly at info@healthwatchbirmingham.co.uk or 0800 652 5278 / 0121 636 0990 and we can support people to complete the survey.
- For more details on What Would You Do? visit: https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/what-would-you-do
