A newly formed consortium comprising of the Pioneering Care Partnership (PCP), Durham Community Action (DCA), and Citizens Advice County Durham (CACD) has secured the contract to deliver Healthwatch County Durham.
Healthwatch County Durham is the independent consumer champion for health and social care. Healthwatch is responsible for gathering the opinions of local people and using feedback to influence the design and planning of health and social services in the area.
Carol Gaskarth, PCP Chief Executive said “We are thrilled to have won the contract to develop Healthwatch in County Durham. Partners will draw on their vast experience and knowledge of the area to successfully deliver a robust, highly visible, credible Healthwatch locally.
Giving people a voice to shape local health and social care services is very important. Those who use or access services and their carers are often best placed to describe and suggest improvements which will benefit others. Our aim is to work closely with the community and a range of organisations to build on the previous work undertaken.
To do this we need to recruit an independent voluntary Board to oversee the work of Healthwatch. We are keen to hear from people who have a good knowledge of local communities and a broad understanding of health and social care structures or services, including service users and carers.
If you are interested and have some time to spare please do get in touch.”
The voluntary board is responsible for ensuring Healthwatch County Durham operates in line with legislation and setting priorities based on local need. Board members should be able to dedicate 3-4 hours per week and be willing to represent Healthwatch at external meetings and events.
For more information on the role and selection process please contact PCP: Email enquiries@pcp.uk.net Telephone: 01325 321234