Healthwatch City of London January Newsletter
Chat from Chair
Welcome to our January newsletter, I hope that you all had a good holiday season and a Happy New Year to you all.
We are excited to start the New Year off with our upcoming events, including new Patient Panels, we have three planned including topics on Deaf awareness, Safeguarding and essential CPR training. More information on these events is down below.
Our much talked about Enter and View at St Bartholomew’s Hospital is now in the final planning stages. The Enter and View will focus on the administrative side of the Cardiology department, this decision is based on feedback that we have received from you. We know many of you have had issues and we are keen to help remedy these with you and Barts Health. If you would like to get involved in the Enter and View or would like to provide feedback about your own experience at St Bartholomew’s Hospital regarding their communications and administration, please email info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk
As some of you will be more aware and many of you not, The Neaman Practice conduct quarterly Patient Participation Groups (PPG) to engage patients with the Practice. The PPG meetings are made up of volunteer patients, the practice manager, and the GPs at the practice. The Neaman Practice have been conducting these meetings over the past few years to understand how they can improve their services and to hear what patients have to say about their experience. Regrettably, these haven’t always been well advertised or very well attended, as a result there is an open invitation to anyone who would like to join, the meetings are held every three months online, more details are down below.
We look forward to continuing our work in 2024 and look forward to seeing you at our local events. Don’t forget to tell us what you would like to know more about and tell us about your experiences of Health and Social Care in the City of London.
Gail
Gail Beer, Chair, Healthwatch City of London
Your upcoming Patient Panels
Patient Panel into Deaf Awareness
Our first Patient Panel this year will be on Deaf Awareness and the ‘do’s and don’t’s’ of communicating with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
In the UK, 20 percent of adults are affected by deafness, hearing loss or tinnitus yet 59 percent of people do not feel confident talking to someone who is hard of hearing or deaf and 10 percent of people would actively avoid communication all together. This creates increases in feelings of loneliness and exclusion amongst those who are deaf or are hard of hearing, impacting peoples mental and social health and wellbeing. Increasing the communities awareness of how best to communicate with people who are deaf or hard of hearing is critical in reducing the stigma that people experience.
If you live and work with people who are affected by hearing loss, understanding how to best communicate is essential. We will be joined by Jane Richardson, a qualified speech and language therapist who has worked for ten years in community teams for adults with learning disabilities in Newham and Hackney. Join us on Thursday 25, January at 10:30am to 11:30am at the Portsoken Community Centre.
Patient Panel into Safeguarding
In February, we will be holding a Patient Panel into Safeguarding. Safeguarding consists of measures that are used to protect individuals’ health and wellbeing and human rights, in order to live a life that is free from harm and abuse. Safeguarding applies to all members of our community, however it does target those who are most vulnerable or susceptible to abuse, such as children and those who are elderly.
We will be joined by Dr Adi Cooper, the chair of the City and Hackney Safeguarding Adults Board and members from the City of London Corporation, who will walk you through what safeguarding is and how you are able to promote this and identify issues and how to let the right people know about concerns. You will also have the opportunity to directly ask questions about safeguarding, such as how safeguarding can impact you and those important to you.
Join us on Friday, 9 February from 10am to 11:30am at the Golden Lane Community Centre, to register please visit Learn about safeguarding and how to identify and report concerns Tickets, Fri 9 Feb 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
If you are interested in suggesting a topic for a Patient Panel that relates to Health and Social Care in the City of London, please email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.uk.org
We need your ideas and thoughts to make it relevant to our community.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training
We know that CPR can be the difference between life and death. The London Ambulance Service (LAS) goal is to make London a city of lifesavers by ensuring that every person has the ability to use CPR and a defibrillator in critical situations. We are holding a CPR training session in collaboration with the LAS.
The training will be a 2.5 hour training at the Portsoken Community Centre from 10am to 12:30pm on Friday, 8 March. The training will tackle the difference between a cardiac arrest and a heart attack, the chain of survival, adult basic life support (CPR), how you can deal with unconscious people and the how to utilise the recovery position, how to use a defibrillator and how to deal with choking.
Spaces are limited so registration is essential, to register visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cpr-training-with-the-london-ambulance-s…
If spaces are booked out, please email us at info@healthwatchcityoflondon.org.uk to join the waiting list.
Help review the health and wellbeing of children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities
City and Hackney’s Public Health team are reviewing the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND). They are looking for feedback from Parents/carers of children and young people with SEND. Your feedback will help the Public Health and Team and health, education and social care teams understand their health wellbeing needs in order to offer and plan services more effectively that prioritise and suit the needs of children and young people with SEND in City and Hackney. You can complete the survey here
The deadline for completing the survey is 31st January, 2024.
Join the Neaman Practice Patient Participation Group PPG
The Neaman Practice hosts quarterly PPG meetings to engage patients of the practice to get involved and help make change within the practice. If you are interested in getting involved and having the opportunity to hear directly from the Practice and having your voice heard, you can join the next one on Monday, 11 March from 2:30pm to 3:30pm at The Neaman Practice.
For more information about the PPG meetings, visit https://www.theneamanpractice.nhs.uk/about-us/have-your-say/patient-participation-group/
You can sign up for the meetings here https://www.theneamanpractice.nhs.uk/about-us/contact/signing-up-for-pa…
Activities in the City
Join Ramblers Square Mile Health Walks for short, local and accessible walks.
In January Ramblers will be holding two walks in the City, the first one on Sunday 7 January at 10am, meet at Liverpool St Station for a walk to Shoreditch and back to Liverpool St Station. On Thursday, 18 January at 2pm, meet and walk from Guildhall Yard to Brick Lane and back to Guildhall Yard.
For all Square Mile Health Walks, please arrive a few minutes early to complete your registration.
For more information on Ramblers and how walking can make a difference to your health, visit https://www.ramblers.org.uk/
Join Musicali-Tea for some Tea, Tales and Tunes
Musicali-Tea will be running a Tea, Tales and Tunes session every Thursday from 12pm to 2pm, from January 11, where you can meet other people in your neighbourhood, hear a talk from a city guide and enjoy a relaxed interactive musical performance from a professional musician each week.
There will be refreshments provided, including sandwiches. Places are free, however booking is essential as places are limited. For more information, please visit
Events at Holy Sepulchre London — Holy Sepulchre London (hsl.church)
