Month: February 2015

Last week at Healthwatch Camden 

Enter and Viewing is an important part of the way Healthwatch’s work.We need deaf people (BSL users) to visit and report on premises where health and social care services are used by residents, for example, hospitals, GP Practices and care homes.

Local planning of health and social care services should include people from all communities and ages. Too many people across the country feel excluded.One of our core principles is to champion equality. We want equal access, treatment and outcomes for all communities in our local area. So get involved and have your say.  

Healthwatch Camden wants to reduce inequalities in health and social care services. We’re aware that black, minority ethnic and faith communities can face particular difficulties in accessing health and social care services.That’s why we’re working with local community groups to organise focus group discussions in mother tongue with a wide range of different BME people who live in the borough.

We’re organising focus groups with BME communities in Camden to help us identify the themes and challenges they face in accessing health and social care services.Some of the focus groups are in mother tongue so that we don’t exclude anyone – every voice counts.We know that the health outcomes for Camden’s BME residents is relatively poor compared to other communities. The feedback we get from our focus groups will let us know where further research and action is needed.

 Volunteers are our lifeblood. They help us to find out what local people think and want in terms of health and social care in Camden.So in mid-January we attended the Volunteer’s Fair at the Arlington Centre, to see if we could entice more local people to volunteer for us. A volunteer’s Fair is a community hub where organisations can engage with local people interested in volunteering.