City LINk arrives!
Health Care, Social Care… Do you care?
Do you want to make health or social services better in the City
of London? If you’re interested in anything from combating
superbugs to making care better for people with learning
disabilities, there’s a new way to get involved to improve the
services we all use.
It is backed by national law, and gives you the chance to
highlight what’s being done well and what needs improvement in the
City of London.
What is the City of London LINk?
City of London LINk (Local Involvement Network) is a way for
people who use services in the City to speak to people who run
them. The LINk is an independent network, directed solely by its
members. Any individual or group interested in health or social
services can join. Being a part of the LINk is flexible so you
don’t need to commit to attending any number of meetings. You can
simply keep informed via post or email and be as involved as you
want to.
There is a LINk in every local authority in England and Wales.
They are funded by the Department of Health, through local
designated funds allocated to each local authority.
LINks replace “Patient Public Involvement Forum” as the primary
way for the public to shape health and social care services. City
of London LINk has statutory powers, including the right to inspect
premises and ask for specific information and responses.
How will the LINk work?
The Network will be the ears of the community, listening to
people’s views about health and social care issues. Once these
views have been gathered the LINk will decide which ones need
taking forward. It will then set its own agenda and through using
its powers, work in partnership with the health and social care
providers to improve services.
Who Supports the LINk?
City.Comm (the council for voluntary services in the City of
London) supports the City of London LINk. Our role is to raise
awareness of the LINk, support the development of governance
arrangements, build relationships with the statutory partners and
support the network’s work.
How is the LINk developing?
We have established a group of local residents, service users,
voluntary groups and service providers to help establish City of
London LINk. This group of people is called the LINk Development
Group.. Its main role is lay the foundations for the LINk by
informing preparations for how it will work to improve services.
This group will disband once a group of members (Steering Group) is
elected to run the network- this is likely to happen in May 2009.
Until then we are really keen to get as many people involved as
possible.
If you are interested in joining others to help pave the way for
the LINk or to help the organisation itself run in future, please
get in touch. Contact details can be found at the end of the
article.
The network is gearing up to start work in the coming weeks and
will be driven by its members’ so now is a great time to make your
voice heard. You can make a difference to the community by sharing
your ideas on any aspect of health or social care. By getting
involved now, you could help improve the services that we all
use.
How can it make a difference?
The last few years really show what can be achieved when
London’s patients and community groups work together. As a direct
result of local people’s work there is, for example, now an
additional dentist and better information in Westminster and
appointments are arranged better at hospitals around the capital.
As patients we all benefit from improvements like this.
How to find out more:
Please contact Jennifer Purcell ( jpurcell@citycomm.org.uk ),
020 7535 0496, City of London LINk, 37 Chapel St, London, NW1 5DP)
if you would like to join the LINk or receive more information.
Visit http://www.cityoflondonlink.org.uk for
further information about how the LINk is developing and to find
out about key health and social care issues in the City of
London.
The Community Health fair on 1st July 2009
City Event
Flyer 362Kb
City Event
Poster 89Kb