News and reports

In June 2023, the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) published the local NHS Joint Forward Plan, describing how NHS organisations in the Black Country will work together with other partners, including Local Authorities and the community and voluntary sector, to arrange and provide services to meet the needs of local people.
The following five priority areas were set out in the plan:

Priority 1- Improving access and quality of services
Priority 2- Community where possible – hospital where necessary
Priority 3- Preventing ill health and tackling health inequalities
Priority 4- Giving people the best start in life
Priority 5- Best place to work.
With the second year approaching, the plan has been updated and a sixth priority - ‘fit for the future’ - has been added. This is to recognise that the Black Country health system needs to change the way it works to embrace the opportunities and meet the challenges it faces.

An estimated 1.9 million people living in private households in the UK (2.9% of the population) were experiencing self-reported Long Covid (symptoms continuing for more than four weeks after the first confirmed or suspected coronavirus (Covid-19) infection that were not explained by something else) as of 5 March 2023. Long Covid symptoms adversely affected the day-to-day activities of 1.5 million people (79% of those with self-reported Long Covid), with 381,000 (20%) reporting that their ability to undertake their day-to-day activities
had been “limited a lot”. Long Covid is an emerging phenomenon that is not yet fully understood.

The Dementia Needs Assessment is being developed by Walsall Council in partnership with the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB). The aim is to understand the needs of Walsall residents with Dementia and those caring, supporting or working with them.

A community survey is currently live for anyone who has contact with the public as part of their work or volunteering role in the community. Responses will help the Council and the ICB understand resident needs, whether services are meeting these needs, gaps in support, areas for improvement, and information, knowledge, and training needs.

The Council would like to hear from anyone who comes into contact or support people with dementia. For example, libraries, community services, places of worship, carers support and dementia care. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete and can be completed by going to the survey page for Dementia Needs Assessment 2023: Community Survey. Alternatively you can scan the barcode in the attached poster.

For more information or to request the survey in an alternative format, please
email MWwalsall@walsall.gov.uk.

Dear colleague,

​​Your local NHS is asking people for their comments about proposals to reduce differences in access to Healthcare services in the Black Country.

​​In July 2022, a change in the law created our new organisation, NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), to take over local healthcare planning from the former clinical commissioning group (CCG) serving the areas of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, and Wolverhampton.

​​Since the ICB establishment we have been reviewing our clinical policies. This includes:

reviewing the four existing CCG policies to harmonise them into one new position for the ICB
implementing new policies to take into account national clinical guidelines and best practice
While the majority of their clinical policies were similar, there were several clinical polices that had some differences. To address these differences, commissioning policies for treatments listed below are being reviewed to look at how they can be made the same for the places of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, and Wolverhampton

​Clinical experts have looked at the latest evidence and practice for all of these services, both nationally and locally, to ensure the local offer is high quality and safe.

The clinical policy review will be carried out in stages.

​​A public involvement exercise is now live to collect wider views and feedback from local people and staff to inform our final decision-making. 

Healthwatch Walsall wanted explore how Black and Asian women in Walsall truly feel during
their maternity journey. Do women feel as though they are listened to and valued as individuals? Do women feel they are treated with respect and compassion? These are major factors in the quality of treatment a patient feels they have received. Furthermore, we wanted to ask women if they felt their ethnic background influenced the treatment and care they received.

Gathering such patient experiences helps to give a small insight into the maternity journey for Black and Asian women in Walsall.

Read or download a copy.
One download is a PDF and the other in Microsft Word format.

Guidance, information and vaccination information.

Pop-up vaccination clinics have been set up during February half term to help ensure hildren are up to date with their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab.

All children are invited for their first MMR vaccine on the NHS when they turn one. The second dose is given when they reach three years and four months of age.

Having two doses of the vaccine provides the best protection against MMR and adults and older children can be vaccinated at any age if they have not been fully vaccinated before.

The clinics, which will be running everyday throughout the half term break, are open to all eligible children who are due or have missed a dose. Adults up to the age of 25 are also invited to come forward.

The pop-up clinics are being hosted at a range of locations across the Black Country. This is in
addition to existing pop-up clinics taking place this weekend:
Saturday 3 February:
• Vaccination van located outside Poundland in Walsall Town Centre, Lower Hall Lane, St Matthews Quarter, WS1 1PU, 9am-3pm. To book an appointment call 01922
902035
• Whitmore Reans Family Hub, Wolverhampton, WV1 4AL, 9.30am-2.30pm. To book an appointment call 01902 200077
Saturday 10 February:
• Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge, DY8 2AA, 10am-3pm. To book an appointment call 01384 431 712
• West Bromwich Central Family Hub, Off Claypit Lane, West Bromwich, B70 9EZ, 9am3pm. To book an appointment call 0121 592 1110

Monday 12 February:
• Tesco, Silver Street, Brownhills, Walsall, WS8 6DZ, 9am-3pm, To book an appointment call 01922 902035

To read and download a copy. Use the 'Downloads' button below.

Provider feedback
The below response was received and added.

We at The Willows were happy to welcome the Healthwatch team into the home.

Face to Face relatives meetings will recommence in February 2024, as recent Zoom meetings were not well attended. The Activities Co-ordinator will be inviting residents to a meeting very soon for discussions and recommendations.

We as a home acknowledge the report and look to make improvements for the well-being of our residents and staff.

Are you grieving the death of a loved one or struggling with the long-term effects of loss? Then join us for this six-session course, The Bereavement Journey, being run by the Brownhills & Willenhall and Walsall Methodist Circuits.

If this is you? Or a loved one? Get in touch. Tel: 0800 470 1660 or email: info@healthwatchwalsall.co.uk

Healthwatch Walsall was successful in a bid for a microgrant from the Black Country ICB to undertake engagement with the homeless and rough sleepers in the Borough of Walsall. The aim of the work was to ascertain the views around planned and urgent care.