Issues, issues, issues

There is certainly no shortage of health and social care issues for the Bradford LINk to take up – but which should we tackle first?

Starting at our launch events in October, people have been coming to us with their concerns about healthcare provision. But it’s not enough to draw up a wish list of improvements that the public wants to see. We also have to find people with the energy to make that change happen – and that has not always been easy.

After a lot of discussion, we are now ready to launch our first four campaigns, which will focus around access to GPs and primary health care, adult mental health consultation, depression and older people and health and wellbeing in Keighley. There will also be two work groups tackling access to information and the Care Quality Commission’s annual health check of healthcare and social care providers, which are more long-term concerns.

So how did the support group of paid staff whittle down such a long list of concerns to just six priorities? One of the main deciding factors was the feedback from our launch events in Bradford, Keighley and Saltaire. The team asked people to help to build up a three-dimensional map of Bradford district and add their comments on colour-coded flags, showing how much effort they were prepared to put in to changing things for the better.

We also discussed which issues should be prioritised at our first two development group meetings, which are open to anyone with an interest in helping to steer the direction that Bradford LINk should take.

For example, the need for better access to information was mentioned time and time again in feedback from the launch events. Many people said that they were prepared to work towards making sure that everyone could easily find out everything that they needed to know.

But it would take more than a single campaign to tackle a complicated issue like communication. So we will be forming a work group to follow this through on a long-term basis. In the short term, Bradford LINk has to make sure that its own information can easily be accessed by all the district’s communities. A communication strategy has already been drawn up and work is under way to commission a website that can easily be used by people with a range of disabilities.

Access to primary health care was also a popular topic at our launch events. Things are improving in some areas, with more and more GP practices offering longer opening hours and evening appointments. But is everyone benefiting from these new arrangements? What about those people who never see a GP? And what more could be done to make sure that everyone can see doctors, dentists and opticians when and where it’s convenient for them?

Depression and older people was raised as an issue in a number of different ways: at our launch events, at meetings and also at the Bradford and District Older People Alliance (BOPA) health meetings.

The Age Concern report Undiagnosed, Untreated, At Risk, recommends that older people with depression should be:

· encouraged to seek help

· diagnosed correctly

· and receive the treatment they need

It says that older people are less likely to be offered counselling and talking therapies - but this is based on national research so the Bradford LINk support group is trying to find out more about the local situation.

We could work with BOPA, Age Concern, Help the Aged and other groups in the statutory and voluntary and community sectors to organise a campaign or event to encourage older people to seek help for depression, rather than seeing it as part of the normal ageing process.

So far the Bradford LINk support group has had meetings with the BOPA Health Group, Bradford Bereavement Support and Marilyn Foster from BOPA and Age Concern. There have also been telephone discussions with Tracy Hargreaves, manager of the Primary Care Mental Health Team in Bradford North, and Mark Pitkethly, manager of the psychology service at St Luke’s Hospital.

Finding out how individual GP surgeries and doctors treat older people with depression may be more difficult and suggestions on how to take this forward gratefully received.

Bradford LINk members have also been taking a keen interest in the current adult mental health consultation on inpatient services in Bradford and Airedale. A support group member has attended meetings in Keighley, Bradford, Skipton and at the Moor Lane Centre in Burley-in-Wharfedale.

The proposed changes include moving the inpatient rehabilitation services to one location, initially at Daisy Bank and later at Lynfield Mount Hospital, which will eventually result in the closure of the Moor Lane Centre at Burley-in-Wharfedale. The other proposals involve reducing the number of acute inpatient wards at Lynfield Mount from four to three and extending the choice of respite for people using mental health services in Airedale, Craven and Wharfedale. The board of directors of Bradford and Airedale tPCT will make a decision about future services in a public meeting at Douglas Mill on 27th January.

Although the consultation has now closed, Bradford LINk will now be organising further consultation to help people to have a greater say in shaping future rehabilitation and respite services. A member of the support group is also attending the Bradford District Care Trust service user and carer involvement group meetings.

The Bradford LINk support group has also attended pre-consultation events about proposals for a new health and wellbeing centre in Keighley. It will be working with Bradford and Airedale tPCT to make sure that as many members of the public as possible have a say in which services could be offered and where any new facilities should be. Our aim is to make sure that those people who usually find it difficult to make their voices heard have a chance to influence future provision.

Finally we will be looking for volunteers to help with the Care Quality Commission’s annual health check. This is your chance to make sure that service providers are meeting targets set down for them by the national watchdog for healthcare and social care. As this is an ongoing issue, we will be forming a work group of people to take this issue forward.