Healthwatch Solihull Steering Group

Terms of Reference

Overview

Healthwatch is the local consumer champion for health and social care. It has a number of statutory duties and powers laid out in law. Healthwatch is commissioned by the local Council (Solihull MBC) and has a key role to play in public involvement and improvement in health and social care services.

Healthwatch Solihull Steering Group is responsible for setting the agenda for Healthwatch activity, informed by feedback and requests from local people and organisations representing local people with the aim of making positive changes in health and social care.

The Steering Group is responsible for receiving evidence and findings from Healthwatch activity and deciding on how to best ensure these findings are fully considered by decision makers (commissioners and service providers) to ensure improvements.

The purpose of the Group is to ensure independence, impartiality, transparency and accountability. This includes ensuring that the views and interests of all local people are heard and respected, and that no single individual or organisation has undue influence of the activities or outputs of Healthwatch Solihull. This includes those organisations involved in delivering Healthwatch functions.

Purpose

  1. To decide on the priorities for local Healthwatch action and have oversight of the Healthwatch action plan
  2. To receive reports & results of Healthwatch activity confirm the action(s) to be taken- options include:

·  Recommend investigation or special review from Care Quality Commission

·  Request Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board to consider Healthwatch findings/evidence

·  Request Heath and Wellbeing Board to consider Healthwatch findings/evidence

·  Request further Healthwatch investigation, including enter & view

·  Report findings to other local Healthwatch

·  Report findings to Healthwatch England

  1. To ensure Healthwatch findings are reported to relevant services, commissioners and the public, including content of the Healthwatch annual report
  2. To authorise and oversee enter and view activity
  3. To hold commissioners and service providers to account for agreed actions in response to Healthwatch evidence/findings
  4. To support the promotion of active involvement and engagement of local people and to safeguard the independence and impartiality of Healthwatch
  5. To consider requests for investigation from local stakeholders
  6. To decide upon Healthwatch representation on other local boards/committees

giving due regard to guidance from Healthwatch England.

Reports to

·  The Steering Group will forward written records of its decisions to the Board of Solihull Sustain and SMBC (as commissioners of Healthwatch)

·  The Steering Group will liaise as necessary regarding human resources, financial or legal matters to with the board of Colebridge Trust

·  The Steering Group will contribute to update reports to Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board as requested

Receives Reports From

·  Healthwatch representatives from Health & Wellbeing Board, and any other boards/committees that Healthwatch sit on, will report back to the Steering Group

·  Healthwatch officers will submit reports, the outcomes of surveys and collated feedback to the Steering Group for consideration

Membership

The membership of the Steering Group should

·  be representative of the population of Solihull

·  include a diverse range of interests

·  include volunteers and lay members

·  include representatives of organisations delivering Healthwatch functions

·  include Solihull Sustain as the accountable provider of Healthwatch functions

·  include representatives of organisations that commission health and social care services in the borough

In particular the membership of the Steering Group should comprise

·  Local people (people living in the borough who are not associated with, or representing either a statutory, private, voluntary or community organisation involved in health or social care (x6). One of these will be the Chair. One or more of these may be young people.

·  Representatives from voluntary and community organisations not involved in delivering Healthwatch functions (x4)

·  Current Solihull Healthwatch volunteers (x2)

·  Representatives from organisations currently delivering Healthwatch functions (non-voting) (x5)

·  Representative from Solihull Sustain (accountable body)(non-voting) (x1)

·  Solihull MBC (non-voting) (x2)

·  Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (non-voting) (x2)

Non-voting members have this status to ensure decision-making rests with people/organisations who are independent from statutory authorities and/or organisations involved in delivering Healthwatch functions.

Responsibilities of Steering Group Members

·  Act in accordance with Healthwatch Policies and Procedures

·  Follow the Nolan principles of public life

·  Declare any interests

·  Follow their role description

·  Perform their role in a positive and constructive manner

·  Attend Steering Group meetings on a regular basis

·  Treat all information relating to individuals gained as a Steering Group member in the strictest confidence and not disclose this information unless, or before, it is made public

Declarations of Interest

All Steering Group members must complete, and then keep updated, a declaration of interests form to ensure transparency.

Voting Steering Group members should withdraw from any discussions about matters for which they have a direct interest. Non-voting Steering Members should withdraw from any discussions about matters for which they have a direct interest if requested to do so from the Chair and should only participate in discussion when invited to do so from the Chair.

Meetings

·  Steering Group meetings will take place on a bi-monthly basis

·  A Steering Group meeting will be quorate if more than 4 voting members are present

·  Meetings should take place, as far as possible, in public

·  Meetings, or parts of meetings, may sometimes be held in private if information about individual patients or service users is to be discussed.

Time Commitment

·  Bi monthly meetings of up to 2 hours

·  Preparation prior to meetings – review reports or other Healthwatch documents

·  Occasional liaison with operational team members between meetings

Expenses

Steering Group members will not be paid, but they will be eligible to claim reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred in carrying out their duties. Expenses should be claimed within 3 months of the activity.

Chair

The Chair of the Steering Group should be independent and impartial. The Chair should ensure all voices of Steering Group members have an equal hearing; that discussions are appropriately thorough; and that clear decisions are made and recorded.

The Chair should take responsibility for setting the agenda for Steering Group members (with support from officers of HW) and ensuring accurate written records of decisions are circulated to Steering Group members and other interested parties, as appropriate. See also Steering Group Chair Role Description.