HWLincs December 2024 newsletter
Happy holidays from HWLincs!
As 2024 draws to a close, here’s a round-up of our latest news.
HWLincs VOICE Conference 2025
Designed to bring together organisations and charities, the HWLincs VOICE Conference will host national speakers, local health and social care figures and tailored workshops to help forge a future of close collaboration and learning.
The VOICE Conference is for anyone working in the health and care sector, public engagement or a representative of a community or group. It takes place on Wednesday 12 February 2025 at Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln and is free to attend.
Booking is open now so secure your place as space is limited.
Click here to find out more and book your ticket.
Merry Christmas from HWLincs!
The team, trustees and volunteers were full of Christmas cheer during our festive fun day just before Christmas.
Highlights included a magic show from Healthwatch Lincolnshire Contract Manager and a quiz set by Involvement Officer Oonagh Quinn.
Attendees were also invited to bring along food to donate to Boston Food Bank.
HWLincs Chair Michele Duggan said: “As the year draws to a close, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their efforts and support.
“The success of our organisation is built on the contribution of our employees and volunteers and over this past year we have seen many successes thanks in no small part to the dedication of our people. As we enter 2025 we look forward to navigating the challenges ahead.
“Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
HWLincs Christmas and New Year office hours
HWLincs will be closed for the holiday season from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day, so we’ll be back on Thursday, January 2 and will reply to emails and calls then.
While we’re away, read on to find out what we’ve been up to.
HWLincs Annual Report published
The HWLincs Annual Report for 2023/24 is available to read.
The report covers the diverse range of work the charity undertook in this period and explains our ‘contract ready’ strategy that successfully secured the renewal of our Healthwatch Lincolnshire delivery for Lincolnshire County Council.
Click here to read the report.
Reports revealed at YourVoice@Healthwatch
The most recent YourVoice@Healthwatch event saw a double drop of annual reports, with presentations given for both the HWLincs Annual Report and the Healthwatch Lincolnshire summary.
Held at Jakeman’s Community Stadium in Boston, YourVoice@Healthwatch also hosted discussions with more than 50 people about how health and social care services can better engage with the people they serve.
The lively round-table discussions covered hospital admissions and discharge, access to GPs, specialist rehabilitation services, carers, social care and much more.
Find out more about the event and watch the Healthwatch Lincolnshire Annual Report presentation here.
Childhood immunisations – LAST CHANCE
This is a last call to complete or share our childhood vaccination survey, which closes early January.
HWLincs recently launched a survey with Lincolnshire County Council Public Health to find out the views of people who have chosen not to vaccinate their age 0-5 children.
The survey is available online or in person on request, and people can register to speak to us in English, Bulgarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Polish and Romanian.
Find out more about the project here.
New fathers, farmers, military families and veterans wanted for mental health survey
Healthwatch Lincolnshire has launched its mental health survey.
The latest project from Healthwatch Lincolnshire takes a mental health focus and wants to hear from groups of people who are currently underrepresented or unheard in healthcare discussions.
By finding out the experiences of new fathers, farmers, farm workers, food factory staff and the families of military personnel and veterans, Healthwatch Lincolnshire can amplify their voices and pinpoint then address their specific needs.
It should take 5-15 minutes to complete and can be completed online here.
If you are a professional working to support people and their mental health, we also want to hear your views around what is working well with services and the current challenges you face. Please share your views via the survey for professionals.
Pelvic health survey
People who have been pregnant or had a baby in Lincolnshire in the past two years can share their experiences of the pelvic health care they received and help to shape the future of care in the county.
HWLincs is working with Better Births Lincolnshire and NHS Lincolnshire ICB to collect people’s experiences of pelvic health around pregnancy. The feedback will directly inform the new Perinatal Pelvic Health service.
Neurological health research project findings webinar
The third Healthwatch Lincolnshire campaign of 2024 focused on neurological health.
We wanted to hear from people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke, migraine, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy as well as conditions with neurological components such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia and functional neurological disorder (FND).
In Lincolnshire, headache disorders are one of the top causes of years lived with disability for children and young people and those aged 20 – 64. Also, a low prevalence of some neurological conditions means Lincolnshire patients receive care out of county. We wanted to better understand experiences of accessing health and care services for neurological conditions in Lincolnshire.
In total 375 people shared their views through our survey.
Respondents most commonly shared their experiences with the following conditions:
• 39% Fibromyalgia
• 13% Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS)
• 11% Multiple sclerosis People also shared their experiences of epilepsy, migraines, chronic pain and more…
The following aspects of care were highlighted as currently working well:
• Specialist care (for those able to access it)
Overall, when asked how care and management for neurological conditions could be improved in Lincolnshire, the following was highlighted:
• Local support groups with those with living/lived experience
• Localised clinics with specialists
• Provision of more information around causes of conditions, prognosis, and management. This included holistic support to complement medication
• Enhance knowledge about neurological conditions amongst professionals
Proud to support Armed Forces
HWLincs is proud to be signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant, showing our support and commitment to our Armed Forces and their families.
The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served in the armed forces, and their families, are treated fairly.
It is a pledge that together we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect in the communities, economy and society they serve with their lives.
The Covenant supports serving personnel, service leavers, veterans, and their families, and is fulfilled by the different groups that have committed to making a difference.
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