A group of healthcare charities led by Leonard Cheshire Disability have been awarded £231,000 by the Department of Health to increase the influence they have on healthcare services in England.
The project will be taken forward by 13 organisations, dubbed Team (Together Everyone Achieves More), to help them boost patient involvement and influence and improve access to healthcare for vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups. They hope eventually to spread the work to 150 voluntary sector organisations over the next two years.
The work will focus on four areas: healthcare-associated infections, patient safety, patient privacy and dignity and patient engagement. Activities will include training workshops and the production and distribution of guidance, support tools and information packs for patients, public service commissioners and providers.
The funding will come from the Department of Health’s Innovation, Excellence and Service Development Fund which is part of the £19.13m Voluntary Sector Investment Fund.
Clare Pelham, chief executive of Leonard Cheshire Disability, said the project would “ensure the needs of disabled people are moved higher up the healthcare agenda”, increasing their ability to influence services and ensure services are suitable for them.
The project also aims to provide a strong foundation for HealthWatch, the new independent consumer champion for users of health and social care services in England, which is due to be set up next year.
The other 12 Team partners are:
- MRSA Action UK
- St John Ambulance
- C. difficile Support
- Changes 12 Steps to Mental Health
- Gender Identity Research and Education Society
- Kidney Alliance
- Muslim Council of Britain
- National Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance
- National Concern for Healthcare Infection
- National Pensioners’ Convention
- PEM Friends
- Spinal Injuries Association
