Want to help improve Health and Social Care services but don’t know how to do it? This is your chance!
Being part of the volunteer team at Healthwatch Ealing – the independent consumer champion created to gather and represent the views of patient and the public – you will play a role at both local and national level to make sure that people experiences of health and social care are taken into account.
Service evaluations are an integral part of our activity, placing as they do, service users, patients and care home residents at the heart of assessing quality of service delivery. Effective observation of service provision and evidence based reporting of the quality of care delivered in various settings is a powerful means of influencing standards.
“Enter and View” is the opportunity for Authorised Representative to:
• Go into health and social care premises to see and hear for themselves how services are provided
• Observe the nature and quality of services (observation involves all the senses)
• Collect the views of service users (patients and residents) at the point of service delivery
• Collect the views of carers and relatives of service users
• Collate evidence-based findings
• Report findings and associated recommendations (good or bad) to providers and commissioners, Care Quality Commission, and any other relevant partners
• Develop insights and recommendations across multiple visits, to inform strategic decision making at local and national levels
What are the tasks?
• Attend training to become an Authorised Representative
• Undertake 2 monthly visits to services as part of E and V Team
• Undertake surveys with patients during visits and write up results to feed into reporting
• Participate in bi-monthly planning group meetings
This role can be fit to suit your free time
• The number of site visits will depend on availability of the volunteer – as agreed with Healthwatch Ealing staff. It’s important to have in mind that the duration of each visit is of approximately 2 hours
• Planning group sessions are approximately 2 hours every two months in Southall, according to availability
Is this your first time as a volunteer? Yes? No? It doesn’t matter. We can offer a full training and support as needed
To volunteer with us you must be:
• Aged 18 or over –if you’re under 18, there may be other opportunities available
• Committed to our values: Inclusive / Influential / Independent / Credible / Collaborative
• Tactful and diplomatic and sympathetic to others’ situation
• Possessing observational skills coupled with a desire to raise the quality of services
• Show consideration, sensitivity and respect to all, irrespective of background, culture, ethnicity, age, gender or presenting issues
• Adhere to confidentiality rules
• Confident and have an enthusiastic manner
• Flexible attitude
• Dress appropriately, with a friendly approachable manner and good verbal communication and listening skills
• Basic IT literacy
Desirable criteria:
• Fluency in additional Languages
• To be a resident of the Borough of Ealing
Benefits to being a volunteer at Healthwatch Ealing?
• Supporting the improvement of local services for the entire community
• Skill development to enable take up of others related opportunities, such as Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE)
• Availability of mentoring from experienced Enter and View representatives
• Building knowledge and experience of Health and Social Care (H and SC) sector
• Recognition of your performance on our website, social media and on events
• And a certificate – if you want one
• References can be provided to those volunteering for a minimum of 3 months
Expenses
We value our volunteers and want to ensure that there are no barriers to volunteer involvement. All out-of-pocket expenses, if required, will be reimbursed including expenses for travel, and meals (if appropriate) and other pre-authorised expenses.