Autumn 2009
You said - we did
In our summer 2009 special edition of Talkback, Calderdale NHS (formerly Calderdale Primary Care Trust) asked you your views on ‘Transforming Community Services’. This early engagement with the public on transforming community services was intended to inform the public that changes were taking place and to identify the level of influence the public would want on future commissioning arrangements in NHS Calderdale.
You said: you would like to be informed and in some instances involved in the commissioning of local services.
We did....listen to what residents said they would like and ensure NHS Calderdale priorities match the requirements of their customers.
The majority of people said they would like more information on how we commission our services. The aspect most people wanted to actively take part in is related to how our money is spent. The top 5 priorities the public think NHS Calderdale should take into account when providing public services are:
- Free parking
- Near good public transport networks
- Friendly and polite staff
- Being able to choose appointment times and visits to suit
- A clean and comfortable environment.
These priorities mirror the findings from other recent consultations and will be taken into account when proposals and suggestions are put forward to the Steering Group dealing with future commissioning arrangements.
To fully understand what should be taken into account when we are looking at buying services on your behalf a vast range of responses were given. All these comments have been collated into eight main themes which we will consider in our future plans, these being:
- Access and waiting times
In particular the length of time to get an appointment, the amount of time kept waiting and the response time. Telephone access is also an issue for some and relates to automated and non local numbers being used. - Staff and staff attitude
Comments around staff being well trained and skilled to do the job/enough time to perform duties well. - Equality and Diversity
Key themes included language used and spoken, disability access and more care for the elderly. - Better coordination of services
This related to continuity of staff and sharing information between services. Concerns also expressed that services based outside the local area may not meet local needs. - Value for money
Most comments wanted value for money but not at the expense of poor services. Cost and quality need to be balanced. - Involving people
Better information and communication on changes is needed so people can make informed decisions. - Transport and parking
Transport and cost of parking is a top priority for the public. - Quality
Quality of service required from clean buildings, welcoming staff to well monitored services.
Further feedback on these NHS issues will be given in future Newsletters.
In our summer 2008 edition of Talkback we asked you your views on, and experiences with, the ‘culture and entertainment’ facilities across the borough.
You said: which entertainment venues you visit in Calderdale, how often and which types of performance you most like to see. You also told us how satisfied you are with the shows and facilities at the Victoria Theatre.
We did.... the results from ‘Talkback’ have proved invaluable in updating our understanding of customers’ perceptions of the Victoria Theatre and have provided additional evidence to support our Development and Service Improvement Plans.
The Victoria Theatre operates in a very competitive market and it is essential that we are focused in our communications to attract our customers. Evidence-based strategies are at the core of our entire decision making, informed in part by the findings arising from usage and attitude surveys – including the results from Talkback.
Using Talkback, we were able to gauge the proportion of people who come to the Victoria Theatre compared to other venues in the surrounding areas, how often they visit the theatre, together with their choice of entertainment preferences. We were able to assess satisfaction ratings over a number of attributes underpinning the ‘theatre experience’ and respondents were given the opportunity to feedback suggestions to us about how we can improve our service. These suggestions will be looked at closely and incorporated into our plans to improve the service in a way that our customers would like to see it over the coming months.
In our spring 2008 edition of Talkback, we asked the panel their opinions on the ‘Partnership for Older People’s’ Project’ (POPP’s). This project was designed in conjunction with partner organisations and older people to focus on improving the health and well-being of people over fifty in Calderdale.
You said: only a relatively small number of panellists had heard of, or used, the services at the time of the survey. However a significant number said they would be interested in using them in the future.
We did..... incorporated the Talkback results with other work carried out to assess the service. Feedback was sought from people over fifty and practitioners in Calderdale.
The Calderdale Partnership for Older People’s project has been a great success. Over 3500 people over fifty have received a POPP’s service over the full two years of the programme. The Council and the Primary Care Trust have funded all of the projects and, whilst they are not known as the POPP’s pilots anymore, you will still see the individual services under their own titles, these being:
- Handyperson Service
- Home from Hospital
- Falls Prevention
- Health and Wellbeing of Carers
- Neighbourhood Schemes.
All these schemes are still providing support or activities in your area. We have already seen the many benefits of providing these types of support for people, to enable them to continue living active lives, in their own homes.
