B&NES resident Roger urges people to have their say about changes to the NHS

Roger is encouraging others to speak out as part of What Would You do? campaign led by independent health and social care champions Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset, Healthwatch Swindon and Healthwatch Wiltshire.

What would you do? aims to encourage people in B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire to share their views about how extra money from the Government should be spent on local NHS services.

The Government is investing £20 billion a year in the NHS as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. Local organisations are now being asked to explore how services could work better for people.

Roger said:

“I welcome the inclusion of prevention and self-care within the NHS Long Term Plan as a way of tackling the difference between the healthy life expectancy for men and women versus the overall life expectancy of the aging population. People can be helped to prevent many long term conditions such as diabetes.”

Roger Tippings is a lead volunteer for Quality and Enter and View for Healthwatch B&NES. Roger himself is registered blind and is passionate that the NHS should implement the Accessible Information Standard.

Share your views

Now is the time to share your ideas and experiences to help make local services better for everyone in B&NES.

Give your feedback in this online survey: www.healthwatch.co.uk/what-would-you-do-general

We are particularly keen to hear your views on how services could be improved for older people and how you think GP surgeries can work more closely with other services, such as hospitals, pharmacies, mental health and social care, to improve care for people with long term conditions.

You can also tell us more about how care could be improved for people with long term conditions. If you have experience of cancer, heart and lung diseases, mental health, dementia, learning disability, autism, or a long term condition such as diabetes or arthritis, please go to www.healthwatch.co.uk/tell-us-what-would-you-do  to tell us what you think. All responses are anonymous.

Alex Francis, Manager at Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset, said:

“The NHS is under ever increasing demand. This extra Government funding provides a real opportunity for services to be improved both now and for the future.”

“It is really important that the NHS understands what people need. Through these short surveys you can tell us what is important to you and your family, and influence local NHS services for the next decade.  It’s your NHS, so make sure you have your say!”