Health services

Tender description

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 requires local authorities with social care responsibilities to commission Healthwatch as the main public and patient engagement mechanism for health and social care service users. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 also requires local authorities to commission an independent NHS complaints advocacy service to ensure that independent advocacy skills are used to provide practical support and direction to patients and clients, in order to assist them in finding a resolution to their complaint about health and care services. An effective local Healthwatch has a key role to play in ensuring that service users and the public are at the heart of service delivery. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 requires local authorities with social care responsibilities to commission Healthwatch as the main public and patient engagement mechanism for health and social care service users. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 also requires local authorities to commission an independent NHS complaints advocacy service to ensure that independent advocacy skills are used to provide practical support and direction to patients and clients, in order to assist them in finding a resolution to their complaint about health and care services. An effective local Healthwatch has a key role to play in ensuring that service users and the public are at the heart of service delivery. By representing the views and experiences of local people, including children and young people and by helping communities to exercise greater choice over the services they receive, Healthwatch Lewisham can help to ensure that services meet the needs of local people, including children and young people and remain both high-quality and fit-for-purpose. Healthwatch Lewisham will be expected to build upon all the existing mechanisms for engaging with users of health and social care services. It will need to be accessible to all and establish productive relationships with service providers and a range of community and voluntary sector organisations.