The involvement team from the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) has been out and about meeting community groups, organisations, and residents to help make sure local people’s voices are heard.
The involvement team plays an important role in improving health and care in the Black Country by listening to the views and experiences of people, patients, and communities to help shape future decisions about services.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the team have been unable to spend time in the local community over the last two years which has meant important conversations have had to take place online.
To help re-establish relationships and build better connections within the local community, the team has been busy reaching out to charity and community groups in the area to arrange co-location days, offering to meet on their terms to promote honest and open conversations.
Over the past few months, local organisations including Just Straight Talk, Dudley Voices for Choice and the Beacon Centre for the Blind, have hosted the involvement team for a co-location day with their teams.
The co-location days have provided an opportunity for the involvement team to see first-hand the different services on offer, exchange learnings, and most importantly, understand what really matters to the people these organisations support.
Just Straight Talk is a community interest company based in Dudley and Sandwell, supporting people to overcome their barriers to education, training and employment, empowering them to build better lives.
Kate Beale, Project Manager at Just Straight Talk, said: “Meeting with the team and bringing some of our participants along to speak directly from the heart around their journeys, struggles and achievements with Just Straight Talk has not only allowed for the type of genuine feedback that is vitally missing between organisations like us and statutory bodies, but it has also highlighted the value of the work we do in the third sector and how vital building relationships like this is for ensuring we can continue to get funding in the future.
“It was really refreshing to have a whole team leave their office and come spend some time on the ground seeing how decisions they make impact upon the wider community. It’s time for a change, and we are so glad to be involved so early on in bringing the ICB and our participants together to provide real life experiences and examples of the modern health struggle.”
In June, the team visited Dudley Voices for Choice, a user-led charitable organisation that supports people with learning disabilities and autism to speak up for themselves.
Sarah Offley, Chief Officer for Dudley Voices for Choice, said: “We had a great day with the involvement team which involved having some very frank and honest conversations with our tenants and visitors, over a cup of tea and piece of cake.
“Recognising that the best way to understand a place is to go and visit it, is the biggest plus for us. Having the involvement team come and work alongside us for the day and see all the work we are doing was fantastic. It also helps strengthen their knowledge of our community and offers an alternative non-statutory way of working.”
Most recently, the involvement team visited the Beacon Centre for the Blind in Wolverhampton. The charity was established in 1875 to support people with sight loss to live fuller, more independent lives. The Beacon Centre offers a range of health and wellbeing services including digital and assistive technology training, cooking independently, low vision advice, sports and social activities, and much more.
Becky Green, Engagement and Lifestyle Manager for the Beacon Centre for the Blind, said: “A key part of Beacon’s strategy is around building connections with partners so we really enjoyed welcoming the involvement team from the ICB to our centre to share how we support people with sight loss and explore all the ways we can work together.
“Beacon has a huge range of support services available for visually impaired people and it is essential to meet partners to ensure awareness of support available is raised, so no-one ever feels alone on their sight loss journey. It is also important that the voice of our members is heard, and the path to inclusivity is progressed.
“We are also happy to welcome visits from organisations and groups who want to hear more about what we do and how we can work together, and we look forward to developing our partnership with the ICB even further in the future.”
Stephen Terry, Head of Involvement for the NHS Black Country ICB, said: “Being hosted by organisations and having honest conversations is an important principle in our new approach to working together with our people and communities.
“The co-location days have been a huge success and inviting hosts to set the agenda and shape what they’d like to get out of the experience has been key. The conversations that emerged have been really insightful and authentic, showing how important it is to meet people on their terms to help break down barriers, so we can find out what really matters to people.
“Our hope for these co-location days is that we can work closely with organisations already supporting those facing the greatest levels of inequality in the Black Country, use this insight to help shape future priorities for the ICB, and for the conversations to be recognised by all healthcare partners as the natural starting point for meaningful change, rather than a barrier to action.”
To find out more about the Black Country ICB Involvement team, or to get involved and have your say on local healthcare, click here.
If you run an organisation or group and would like to invite the team to visit, you can find contact details on the website.
