We’re recruiting to a brand new online health and care membership scheme across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.
As a member, you can be involved as little or as much as you like in helping to shape your health and care services. Here are some of the things members can do:
o Have your say about your local NHS services.
From time to time, there are proposals to change the way NHS services are offered. Usually this is at a local hospital but sometimes it can be other health care settings. When the change is to a local area, such as Rotherham or Doncaster, people living in those areas are asked for their views to inform local decision makers. Sometimes the change is across all five areas in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw (Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield) and in those situations, everyone across the region can have their say. By becoming a member, we will let you know about all changes, whether they are local to you or across the region.
o Tell us what your health and care priorities are
Working with partners, staff and the public, the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System develops a vision and a plan for what health and care should look like across the region. This was last done in 2019 and you can see here how SYB people helped to shape the priorities for the region. This is the link to the final plan. There are easy read and summary versions of the plan here too.
o Shape communications and engagement campaigns
There are times when we need your help to check our plans for communicating and engaging with people across SYB. This could be an awareness campaign for accessing NHS services, asking for views on services or experiences. For example, this campaign has been built on what people said we should do and say.
o Share your experience of health and care (good and poor) to influence service improvements
Not all service changes mean an overhaul of them. Some changes are small and they are based on what people say about their experience, whether that’s as a patient, carer, family member or friend. Health care providers make these sorts of small changes all the time, so that the service is improved. We want to hear about your experiences when changes are being proposed and when you simply want to pass on your feedback.
o Be part of a community that’s making a difference
You’ll be joining a community of 3,000 people who all want to make their health and care services better. We’ll connect you through regular newsletters and share all opportunities to get involved. It’s up to you how much you participate.
We’re recruiting people from all communities of all ages, whatever your faith or religion or if you have none, across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw. We’re especially keen to hear from people who are Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, LGBTQ+, pregnant, or who are disabled. You don’t need to be a current patient or have used services but we welcome those who have.
Sign up by completing the online form here (this link will take you to a different site)
o Listening Ear bereavement service wants to hear from BAME communities
Launched in April in the year, the Listening Ear South Yorkshire bereavement service is in place to help people who have lost loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic, whether from the virus or otherwise.
Since launching in April, almost 500 appointments have been accessed by people from across Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield with overwhelmingly positive feedback.
However feedback has also shown that people from BAME communities are less likely to access the service, therefore we’ve launched a short survey to ask people from those communities how the service could better meet their needs.
Please take 5 minutes to answer our anonymous survey here https://re-url.uk/WQ8R
The service is a free to call on 0800 048 5224, email: helpline@listening-ear.co.uk or via the website: www.listening-ear.co.uk/refer. During appointments, people are able to talk to a trained therapist who offers emotional health and wellbeing support and practical support. The helpline is staffed by professional mental health counsellors who use counselling based skills, however it isn’t a counselling service.
There are a lot of workstreams, all looking at different areas of services (see below for more details). If you would like us to keep in touch about any of them, please email helloworkingtogether@nhs.net with:
- Your name
- Your email (or postal address)
- Your contact telephone number
- The workstream(s) areas you are interested in
Where there are current opportunities to have your say it is outlined below.
- Our workstreams are:
Allied Health Professions
Cancer Alliance
Digital and IT
Elective care and diagnostics
Healthy lives, living well and prevention
Hospital services
Maternity and children’s
Medicines optimisation
Mental Health and Learning Disabilities
Pathology services
Primary care
Social prescribing
Support services and estates
Urgent and emergency care
Workforce
