Public and Patient Participation is about helping our service users and their families and carers to have a say in how we deliver high quality services across the Trust. But more than that, it is also about working together so that we can offer a better service for everyone.
At Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust we offer two public participation groups.
Your Voice
The Your Voice Group represents the voice of our community as the Trust’s main community participation group. The purpose of the group is to create opportunities for people who access our services and the wider communities, to share their experiences, ideas and possible solutions, helping to drive forward learning within the Trust to support how services can be developed and improved.
Who can join Your Voice?
The group provides a friendly and safe environment for members to share their experiences and an understanding of common issues affecting local people in relation to services provided by the Trust. Through ‘Your Voice’ we create an opportunity to listen and learn from our communities ensuring we continue to deliver inclusive high-quality care for everyone.
Diversity within the group is important to us and we very much want to hear the voices of people from underrepresented communities, for example people with long term conditions or disabilities, people from Black, Asian or Other minority ethnic communities and people from the LGBTQ+ community. Having a range of perspectives and lived experience within the groups helps us to ensure we are getting it right for everyone.
The Your Voice group is made up of:
• members of the public – this can be current or previous service users , or simply people who have an interest in getting involved
• public governors
• a mix of Trust staff
The purpose and benefits of the Your Voice group
The purpose of the Your Voice group is to…
- Help us with the design of materials and information we provide to the public
- Join in conversations about our future and plans and where we can improve
- Work with us do make sure our services are fair, equal and inclusive of everybody
- Celebrate our achievements and goals with us
- Improve the experiences of people receiving care from the Trust
- Support the development and implementation of an effective Trust Membership Strategy
Not only is being part of either of our Public Participation Groups a great opportunity to have your say and contribute to the effective delivery of NHS services, it also offers:
- Pride in helping to steer your local NHS Trust
- Feel part of the solution
- Meet like-minded people
- Celebrate our achievements and goals with us
- Feel your contribution and feedback is valued and heard
- Improve experiences of care for others, including friends, family and loved ones
- Opportunity to gain knowledge and experience of being part of an NHS organisation
- Volunteering and / or future career opportunities
- Opportunities to join Trust events and networks
- Get together at meetings
- NHS discounts and benefits
- Newsletters and updates to keep in touch and form part of our feedback networks
How often does the group meet?
The Your Voice group gets together every other month (every 8 weeks) and sessions take place during the daytime or evenings, helping to make sure people with different lifestyles and commitments can get involved.
Hear from some of the members…
Jim
“Hi my name is Jim and I have lived on the fantastic Wirral all of my 67 years of life. I was born in a slum in Alma Street, New Ferry (Aldi).
I joined Your Voice as a listener at first, but once we had agreed naming the group Your Voice I realise this will be a great opportunity to help to improve the already great work the Wirral NHS does. I have recently had prostate surgery at Clatterbridge Hospital thus giving me the opportunity to say I had great service by the nurses and all who were involved in my care at the time.
I would like to recommend to other residents and workers to join Your voice to see/hear what services are available and to add valued input on how to improve them. It does not matter if you have no medical experience we want to hear your voice.”
Elizabeth
“I have lived in Rock Ferry since birth apart from when I trained as a teacher of Food Science and Nutrition.
I have taught children and young people from 8 to 18 years, teaching A level students at a Wirral Comprehensive School.
I have always been interested in the community and since retirement have become involved in Community groups eg Your Voice and Medicines Governance. I am a Foundation Governor at a local Primary School and Chairman of Rock Ferry Operatic Society. I enjoy Travel.”
Eileen
“My name is Eileen and I’ve lived on the Wirral since 1964.
I joined the Your Voice group when it first started 20 plus years ago. The group is such a friendly well run group that listens to what the people of Wirral want from the Community and Health Care Foundation Trust. It tries to improve things and highlights and supports many initiatives. Please consider joining the Your Voice Group as it will help support the community trust make a difference and improve healthcare for the people of Wirral.”
Find out more about Your Voice
Join Your Voice or INVOLVE group
If you are interested in being part of our Your Voice or Involve group please complete the joining form and return to: [email protected] or get in touch for a chat and find out more about how you can be part of something really rewarding.
On the form we ask some questions about you to help us make sure our group is inclusive, diverse and representing our populations and communities. This helps us in ‘getting it right for everyone’. If there are some questions you don’t wish to answer that is fine too.
INVOLVE
The INVOLVE Group launched in January 2019 as a subgroup of Your Voice to ensure we listened and learnt from the voice of young people across our growing communities, in order to develop and sustain services that support the health and wellbeing of young people.
We have over 50 active participants, aged 13-19, from across Wirral, Cheshire East, St Helens and Knowsley. The group also meet (virtually) bi-monthly, but stay connected on a regular basis through WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
The group offers young people the opportunity to work with NHS services, whilst receiving great experience and developmental opportunities.
The purpose of the group is to improve access to services and improve the experiences for young people and their families by:
- identifying opportunities for the group to discuss and share views on services and projects
- contributing to the planning of services across the Trust that provide care for children and young people
- empowering young people and ensuring they feel valued and listened to
- involving our young people in shaping the future of our services
- presenting the views of our young people to the Board and Commissioners, helping inform service development
- encouraging members to act as a link between our services and our communities, capturing the views of our diverse populations with consideration to equality and diversity and improving awareness of our services across Wirral, Cheshire East, St Helens and Knowsley.
The meetings are informal, interactive and fun. Hear from some of our current group members and their experiences (video coming soon).
Join Your Voice or INVOLVE Group
If you are interested in being part of our Your Voice or Involve group please complete the joining form and return to: [email protected] or get in touch for a chat and find out more about how you can be part of something really rewarding.
On the form we ask some questions about you to help us make sure our group is inclusive, diverse and representing our populations and communities. This helps us in ‘getting it right for everyone’. If there are some questions you don’t wish to answer that is fine too.
