As a social enterprise, ECS has embraced volunteerism as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. ECS encourages employees to volunteer in local communities, focusing on initiatives related to health and social care, wellbeing, tacking social isolation and loneliness, environmental sustainability and building community cohesion. To enable this, all employees are encouraged to use two paid days off each year in order to volunteer in their community. Our hope as an employer is that our commitment to volunteerism not only improves lives but helps to ensure we remain a socially responsible employer.

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A vital part of the remit of local Healthwatch is to carry out Enter and View visits. All Healthwatch delivered by ECS conduct a range of both announced and unannounced visits to health and social care premises in their local area to find out how they are being run and make recommendations where there are areas for improvement.

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The NHS has released the first survey of Dental working patterns since the pandemic. This release covers a number of metrics about the hours worked by dentists and the time spent on NHS work as well as the results of large scale survey questions on motivation. We have looked at some of the key results compared to previous years. Whilst the survey is UK-wide we have focused on English figures.

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Our e-bulletin brings you the latest local health and social care news around Halton, what's happening at Healthwatch, and how you can get involved. When subscribing to receive our monthly e-bulletin you are giving consent for your email address to be stored on the Healthwatch Halton database.

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ECS has achieved Cyber Essentials Plus Accreditation for the second year running, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to cyber security. The growing threat of cyber-related crime is quickly becoming a major concern for most organisations and business leaders. With regular reports of high-profile businesses falling victim to cybercrime across the globe, it’s the responsibility of every organisation to ensure they adequately protect themselves and their customers.

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We are now recruiting people to join the Participant Panel. Members of the panel are people who would like to take part in focus groups or interviews about different subjects and contribute to service improvements or new developments mostly in relation to health and social care services and other public services.

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Pat began her NHS career as a biomedical scientist working in Manchester before moving abroad to the Middle East where she retrained in communications.  Over the following 18 years Pat worked for some of the world’s biggest healthcare and consumer brands as well as with a number of governments and high-profile Middle Eastern companies.  She returned to the UK in 2002 with her family and resumed her NHS career in which she continues to work, serving the past seven years with Warrington and Halton Hospital.  She lives in Warrington .

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As this year draws to a close, we can reflect and give thanks to everyone who has given their valuable time to volunteer, everyone who has shared their health and social care experiences with us and our staff and stakeholders who have acted on the feedback we have received to help improve our health and social care services. From everyone at ECS, we would like to say thank you for the continued support and contributions throughout the year that enable us to create positive change as a patient champion for local people. 

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We are delighted to welcome Lydia Hughes as Chair to the Healthwatch Halton Board. Engaging Communities has delivered Healthwatch Halton for over 5 years and we recently secured our contract for a further 5 years. Having been led by Kath Parker, our outgoing Chair who has made an outstanding contribution, we are keen to ensure we continue the great work, engagement and maximise the impact we have locally. I want to thank Kath Parker for her time, commitment and dedication as outgoing Chair and to welcome Lydia who officially joined the board on 1 December. 

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We’re delighted to have successfully renewed our Cyber Essentials certification. Cyber Essentials is an important certification for us given the rate at which crime related to cyber-related activities is increasing and as such, is becoming a paramount concern for UK businesses and everything going on in the world, news surrounding scams and attacks on social media sites/apps. Whilst working in a secure and safe digital environment, Engaging communities Solutions can undertake public sector contracts under the Cyber Essentials certification as these contracts often require the handling of private and personal data which needs to be managed under the proper practice. I am pleased with the commitment of the team to security in everything we do.

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Increasing numbers of people are finding themselves to be 'de-registered' by their regular dentists and this was also the case in both Halton and Stoke-on-Trent. Once people have found themselves in this position they then struggle to find another NHS dentist. People are travelling long distances to access NHS dentists, with our research echoing findings from other local Healthwatches. People in Halton reported that they were travelling out of the area and in some cases travelling up to 60 miles to access NHS dental care.

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How often do you hear people share their stories of long waits for hospital appointments or short notice cancellations or difficulty in getting to see their GP? Then the glowing stories where people feel the service they have received at a hospital or from their GP has been brilliant.  Ever thought ‘…if only people at the top could listen to what’s its actually like for people who are unwell, frail, or vulnerable struggling to access services and what would they change if it was their close family…’ Or to equally tell them ‘…what’s working well and ask why can’t you do some of the same for other services?’

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We are committed to supporting our employees in the workplace and caring for their health and wellbeing. While no two people experience menopause in the same way, menopause represents a significant well-being concern for many. That is why we recognise the importance of raising awareness of the potential impacts of menopause as a first step towards ensuring everybody gets the help they need to safeguard their health and wellbeing at work.

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We are looking for applicants who have a passion for health and social care, and especially welcome people with lived experience, insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures, and lifestyles as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to local people.  

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As part of the research, ECS carried out a focus group and interviews that contributed the patient and public voice to the project that evaluated the use of inter-organisational co-operation to make improvements in the NHS. Fieldwork was disrupted by the pandemic which meant that the completion of the research was to some extent delayed, but the report has now been published by the NIHR and can be accessed here.

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The report was commissioned by the (then) Bedfordshire CCG in 2019, was led by Reverend Lloyd Denny and has involved extensive engagement with local residents and their communities.  

 The review looked to understand which residents experienced the greatest health inequalities and what steps could be taken to achieve greater health and care health in equality for local people across Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes. 

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As our Health Inequalities Officer, you will work alongside the Community Outreach Officer to create and implement initiatives that tackle health inequalities. You will engage with various community members, analyse disparities, and develop strategies to improve health outcomes.

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A key takeaway from our work with Healthwatch is that patients want a greater understanding of their treatment journey. To meet this need we have commissioned an extensive suite of resources from leaflets to dedicated information packs. These resources will provide patients with detailed guidance on how to manage the early stages of their condition. This is being supported with an easy-to-use app, providing flexibility and accessibility when the patient needs it the most.

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ECS through its delivery of local Healthwatch, remains committed to improving health and social care services for local people, making sure people are at the design and delivery of services to ensure they remain effective and fit for purpose. We strive to maximise the impact we make through our research, and you can read our local project reports, specific to our service delivery areas of ECS Healthwatch here through these links:

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As part of the research, ECS carried out a focus group and interviews that contributed the patient and public voice to the project that evaluated the use of inter-organisational co-operation to make improvements in the NHS. Fieldwork was disrupted by the pandemic which meant that the completion of the research was to some extent delayed, but the report has now been published by the NIHR and can be accessed here.

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