Bradford Residents to Influence Running of Health and Care Services

The Local Involvement Network (LINk) will bring together all the different networks, groups and people in the district so that they can express their views. It will feed information about service users’ needs and experiences to health and social care providers so that things can be changed for the better.

The LINk will be hosted by Keighley Voluntary Services, which has been awarded a contract by Bradford Council for three years. It will build on the work of the former Community Health Councils and Patient and Public Involvement forums.

‘We are tremendously excited to have been awarded this contract,’ says Keighley Voluntary Services chief officer Caroline Schwaller. ‘We now look forward to working with the council, the tPCT and other partners including voluntary and community organisations and networks, to make sure users’ voices in health and social care are heard and acted upon.’

‘I am very pleased that we are able to take advantage of local expertise to set up this new project,’ says Councillor Dale Smith, executive member for adult services. ‘This means that the district of Bradford can get off to a flying start and I look forward to the LINk bringing issues to our health and social care improvement committees in the near future.’

Members of the LINk will have the legal power to visit hospitals, nursing and residential homes and will also be able to refer issues to the council’s improvement committees. They will look at all health and social care services that are funded by taxpayers, regardless of whether they are provided by the NHS, Bradford Council, a private company, a voluntary organisation or a charity. Information will be passed on to those responsible for commissioning, delivering or checking up on this provision.

For further information, please contact Nick Farrar, social services manager, on 01274 437996 or Caroline Schwaller, Keighley Voluntary Services, Chief Executive on 01535 665258.