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We undertook a survey with people who have used the UTC at Walsall Manor Hospital. -
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To observe the physical environment of the practice. To listen to and capture the experiences of service delivery from patients, relatives and carers. There was no specific intelligence prior to the announced visit.
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Healthwatch Walsall Advisory Board (HAB) Meeting held on Friday 6 August 2021 02:15 p.m. Virtual online digital platform Zoom -
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Your monthly catch-up on health and social care experiences, topics, and themes, and useful information. -
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An insight into how one diabetic patient manages their condition and lives a packed life. -
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The beginning of May is upon us and where is the year going? It’s great that we are now out and about in the Borough, being able to meet up
with new and old faces again and as we continue with our engagement program, we look forward to meeting more of you to hear about your health and social care experiences. -
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Our Autumn newsletter has just dropped.
With useful information and support opportunities. -
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Your monthly catch-up on health and social care experiences, topics, and themes, and useful information. -
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Between 20 September 2022 and 10 November 2022, carried out an unannounced inspection of three of the acute services provided by this trust as part of our continual checks on the safety and quality of healthcare services. We also inspected the well-led key question for the trust overall.
To see our mention go to page 19 about half way down the page. -
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On the 3rd of February Healthwatch Walsall saw the return of our First Friday Focus. Members of the public joined us to discuss their experiences of Health and Social Care services in Walsall and tell us what they think. -
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Diabetes UK, the UK’s leading national charity for people living with and affected by diabetes, has teamed up with Healthcare Professionals to provide advice in English, Urdu and Sylheti, to support you in making the right decision about whether or not to fast in this holy month.
Our advice is culturally tailored, acknowledging the difficult decision that thousands of Muslims have to make about whether they should fast, and the impact of this if they are living with a long term condition such as diabetes.
Also included is advice on small changes that you can make to your food throughout Ramadan and beyond, to help you and your family have a healthier Ramadan.
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Your monthly catch-up on health and social care experiences, topics, and themes, and useful information. -
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Your monthly catch-up on health and social care experiences, topics, and themes, and useful information. -
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On the 3rd of March Healthwatch Walsalls, First Friday Focus meeting was around bereavement services. Download a summary of that meeting. -
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COMMUNITY OUTREACH LEAD - £24,000 PER ANNUM
37 HOURS PER WEEK, FIXED TERM TO END MAY 2024
Healthwatch Walsall is the local health and social care champion for the people of Walsall. We make sure that NHS leaders and other decision makers hear peoples’ voices about the services and care they receive. We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic, experienced and self-motivated individual to be our Community Outreach Lead in Walsall. The individual will work flexibly from both the home base and the Healthwatch Walsall office, with the need to travel extensively across the Borough. The successful individual will work closely with the Healthwatch Walsall team to ensure that the views of Walsall people from all communities about NHS services, children’s and adults social care are captured and recorded. The role entails meeting people, often going to where people are naturally around in their day to day lives and striking up conversations to find about peoples experiences. If you are comfortable doing that then this is the role for you. -
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October is World Menopause Month, and October 18th celebrated as World Menopause Awareness Day, with the focus this year on cardiovascular health. Established in 2009 by the International Menopause Society in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), World Menopause Month aims to raise awareness of the menopause and the possible associated health issues, whilst promoting support options available to improve the health and wellbeing of those navigating the menopause transition.
To show our support to colleagues experiencing menopause, Healthwatch Walsall , delivered by Engaging Communities Solutions (ECS), is a signatory of the Workplace Menopause pledge:
World Menopause Day 2023
World Menopause Day is held each year on 18 October to raise awareness, break the stigma and highlight the support available for improving health and wellbeing for those experiencing menopause.
Menopause is not just a gender or age issue; it is an organisational issue which can impact colleagues both directly or indirectly. Awareness around this topic is key to reducing the stigma attached to menopause and encouraging people to talk more openly about it
The theme for World Menopause Day 2023 is cardiovascular disease. The link between reproductive factors and cardiovascular disease is another important aspect of menopause that women need to be aware of.
Researchers have recently discovered that a woman's reproductive experiences (including menstruation, pregnancy, any breast cancer treatments, and menopause) can affect the chances of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. Awareness of this can help determine an individual's risk.
The International Menopause Society has a range of resources available to support this year’s theme, available in different languages.
At Healthwatch Walsall, we are proud to be a signatory of the Workplace Menopause Pledge, showing that we will provide support, information and resources to our colleagues experiencing menopause.
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A team from the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been leading on a unique project to help improve healthcare for Black African and Caribbean communities in the Black Country.
Using funding from the West Midlands Cancer Alliance, the Involvement Team has worked with partners from across the Black Country to understand the barriers Black African and Caribbean women face when attending breast screening appointments and raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. As part of the project, eight local voluntary and community sector organisations were
commissioned to host conversations with local women in the community to help identify firsthand the barriers and stigmas in attending screening appointments or presenting at GPs with early symptoms.
The insight gathered from these groups was used to co-design solutions and interventions over a course of three workshops, led by Dr Martin Bollard, Head of Nursing in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Wolverhampton.
This includes an infographic which tells their stories, which can be found on the Black Country ICB website here, and a video of a local mother and daughter having a myth busting conversation, which can be viewed on YouTube here.
Marie-Claire Kofi is Chief Executive Officer of Plasma of Hope, a charity that provides supports for people living with sickle cell disease across the West Midlands and is one of the organisations that took part in the project.
She said: “When I heard about the project, I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved as it’s an important topic that has a huge impact on our community and we simply don’t talk about it enough. We hosted a number of sessions with the women and families that our organisation supports to discuss breast cancer, and we got a lot of different perspectives. Some assumed that only people over a certain age get breast cancer, and many didn’t know how to properly check their breasts.
“A key theme we spotted was that families didn’t want to talk about cancer, as they believed talking about it meant you were more likely to get it as you are welcoming it in. As a black woman, I can resonate with this, as I was also brought up not to talk about certain things. Because of the culture we come from, where topics like health issues aren’t discussed, there’s a real lack of awareness within the black community.
“Not talking about breast cancer doesn’t make the problem go away, so it was great to have these important conversations and help people understand and recognise the changes and
what to look out for and dispel some of the myths around breast cancer.”
Althea Wint is the founder and director of THIA, a not-for-profit organisation supporting the wellbeing of children and their families in the Black Country and Birmingham that also took part in the project. She said: “We held a number of interactive workshops in the community which took place over a week. The turnout was fantastic – we had more than 50 women attend, as well as men too who wanted to find out how they could support their partners, family members and friends when it comes to breast cancer.
“The biggest barriers that we found from the women we spoke to were around feeling ashamed of their bodies, not knowing how to examine themselves, the fear of not knowing where to go or what was next and a fear of not being taken seriously by their doctor. This project is something that is also very personal to me. I had a breast cancer scare and I have had close friends and family affected by breast cancer.
“I think representation is really important as well when it comes to making people feel comfortable and engaged. Something that worked really well at our sessions was having an example of a black breast to demonstrate how to check your breasts for lumps. It might seem small and unimportant, but being able to show women a breast they could relate to and identify with, rather than a white one, made such a difference. I have been working with the screening team to identify a diverse black breast cancer model for future sessions.”
A number of the organisations who hosted the sessions have since taken part in Cancer Champion training. Hosted by the NHS Black Country ICB, the training program is designed in partnership with Cancer Research UK and gives participants the knowledge and confidence to have conversations in their community about cancer prevention, the importance of screeningand early diagnosis.
Dr Martin Bollard, Head of Nursing in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at the University of Wolverhampton, has been leading the project and said: “I am delighted to have had the opportunity to work alongside the Black Country ICB and the wonderful, female, black African and Caribbean community leaders, representing hundreds of women across the Black Country.
In a short space of time, we have captured the narrative on breast cancer screening from hundreds of women and shaped that ‘lived experience’ into products to share with others.
“This is helping to demystify some of the cultural taboos on breast cancer and raise awareness of the importance of early breast cancer diagnosis for this group of women. It’s been an absolute privilege being part of this project and I look forward to mobilising more knowledge on this important topic over the months ahead.”
Three of the organisations who have been involved in the project will be also attending the Black Women and Breast Cancer 5th Annual Conference, which takes place in London on Saturday 21 October, to raise awareness of the Black Breasts Matter project and the insights that have been gathered in the Black Country.
Diane Wake, Cancer Lead for the Black Country Integrated Care System, said: “This is an important piece of work which has helped identify some of the barriers that Black African and Caribbean women face when attending breast screening and GP appointments in the Black Country.
“We know lives are saved when cancers are caught early, and I would urge anyone who has received a breast screening invitation – even if you received the invite weeks or months ago – to make an appointment – it could save your life.
“This month is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so I’d like to take this opportunity to remind women of all ages of the importance of being breast aware. This means getting to know how your breasts look and feel at different times, so you know what’s normal for you and telling your doctor straight away if you notice any unusual changes.”
Under the NHS Breast Screening Programme eligible women will receive their invite for breast cancer screening every three years between the ages of 50 and 71. Women should look out for their invite letter and follow the instructions to book an appointment. If you think you’ve missed your breast screening appointment, or you have not been invited by the time you are 53, you should contact your local breast screening service. You can find your local breast screening service on the NHS website here.
For more information on breast screening, please visit the NHS Black Country ICB website.
You can also find more information on the Black Breasts Matter project on the NHS Black Country ICB website. -
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Important information. -
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Parents and carers of children in the Black Country are being reminded of the importance of routine childhood vaccinations.
Childhood vaccinations are safe and effective and are essential for the prevention of several serious diseases.
In the UK, the childhood vaccination programme is highly successful and has resulted in many common and sometimes fatal diseases, such as measles and polio, becoming rare. These infectious diseases, however, have not gone away.
The following vaccines are routinely offered to all children aged 2 months to 16 years:
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine: Protects against HPV, a common sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cervical, anal, and other types of cancers. The vaccine is recommended for both boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 13.
• DTP Vaccine: Provides protection against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). These diseases can cause severe complications and even death. The DTP vaccine is typically administered in several doses throughout childhood.
• MMR Vaccine: Protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. Measles, in particular, is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications. The MMR vaccine is usually given in two doses, with the first dose administered around the age of 12-15 months and the second dose between 4-6 years.
• Meningitis Vaccine: Guards against meningococcal disease, a severe infection that can cause meningitis and blood poisoning. The vaccine is recommended for adolescents and young adults, particularly those starting university or college.
Dr Fiona Rose, local GP and Clinical Director for Quality and Safety for the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB), said: “Routine vaccinations play a huge part in protecting you, your child, and the community against a range of unpleasant and often serious childhood diseases. -
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Read or download a copy.
We asked the Practice Manager to send any comments about the Enter and Visit that was undertaken and this is what they said.
‘Thanks again to the Healthwatch Team for undertaking the Enter and View visit. The team was accommodating prior to the visit and also attentive to details during conversations with the practice team during the visit. It was beneficial to gain the insights and experience of the Healthwatch Team from the visit and the resulting report. I would also like to thank Tom for his advice and guidance.’ -
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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.
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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. -
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Do you struggle to speak to your doctor about your medical concerns? You’re not alone. Take a look at our top tips to make the most out of your GP appointment.