Publications

Annual Report 2005/2006

Annual Review 2005/06

Highlights of the year at the Eastern Health & Social Services Council
Contents:
Chair's Statement
What Do We Do?
How To Contact The Council
The Eastern Council Work Programme
We Can Help
Chief Officer's Report
Proposed Dates For Forthcoming Council Meetings
Publications
Financial Statement
Members Attendance At Meetings

Chair's Statement
In a challenging year I am pleased to report that the Eastern Health and Social Services Council has continued to remain focused on providing a voice for individuals and communities in our area. In particular I would like to highlight the contribution of our Council members to the year's work. No Council member is paid. Each of our members has given their time freely to not only attend the monthly Council meetings but also to attend Trust Board meetings, conferences where our input has been requested and visits to health care facilities. The work they have undertaken has added real value to the debate on health and social services and I look forward to that contribution continung until the end of the Council's life in April 2008.

Patricia McMillan

What Do We Do?
The Health and Social Services Councils represent the interests of the public in the planning and delivery of health and social services in Northern Ireland. The Councils give people a chance to influence decisions which affect them. There are four Health and Social Services Councils, with the Eastern Council representing the 660,000 people in the Eastern Board area. The Eastern Council's activities include:

- Providing information on health care and social services
- Offering advice and information to people who wish to complain
- Monitoring the level of local services
- Working with local groups to ensure their opinions are heard
- Acting for the public to improve the range, type and quality of services
- Representing the public in health and social care consultations

How To Contact The Council
Free Phone 0800 917 0222
E-mail:ecouncil@ehssc.n-i.nhs.uk Website: www.ehssc.org
Eastern Health and Social Services Council
1st Floor, Lesley House, 25-27 Wellington Place, Belfast, BT1 6GQ

The Eastern Council Work Programme
The Council always seeks to respond to people's concerns about health and social services as they arise. However the Council also sets out an annual work programme which looks to ensure that key issues are monitored and that we highlight things that are not acceptable.

The Council holds a public meeting each month where members can comment on issues and raise local concerns. There are 30 council members and they are all local people who have an interest in health and social services. None of the members are paid for their time but they are all interested in better health and social services for our community.

In the past year the Council has looked in depth at a number of issues. These included:

- Patients waiting on trolleys in Accident and Emergency departments prior to being admitted to hospital
- The new contract for GPs and how it is affecting patients
- The provision of new community schemes as an alternative to hospital care
- The Health and Social Services response to the suicide and mental health problems in North and West Belfast
- The Review of Public Administration and how to best keep patients' views high on the health and social services agenda.

In exploring these issues the Council met with patients, carers, community groups and voluntary groups as well as the Department of Health and Social Services, the Eastern Health Board, hospitals doctors and many other health and social service professionals. More detailed information on the Council's activities is available on our website.

We Can Help
A key part of the Council's work is to help anyone seeking to make a complaint about any aspect of Health and Social Services. Council staff offer advice and support to anyone making a complaint to their hospital, doctor or any part of health and social services in the Eastern Board area. Our main aim is to ensure that your complaint is heard. Last year we helped over 200 people with complaints. We not only offered advice and help to understand the complaints process but also drafted letters and accompanied people to meetings with health care professionals. If you would like more information about our complaints service please contact our offices by telephoning 0800 9170 222.

Chief Officer's Report
The last year has been one in which the Council has prepared itself for change while staying on top of the local health and social care agenda. At the beginning of the year, Council agreed to look at a number of proprity areas. These included:

New Community Based Services

The Council made several visits during the year to view new services designed to provide care for people close to home and to avoid hospital admissions. Visits included the Heart Failure Service at the City Hospital and the Older Person's One Stop Assessment Clinic at the Ulster Hospital.

The Council believes that most people would like to be treated closer to home and that most people would prefer not to go into hospital unless they really need to but people need to be reassured that the services they receive in the community are as good as - if not better than - the services they would have received in hospital.

On the evidence of these two services, the Council believes patients have every reason to feel confident in such initiatives. The Council is always open to somments and feedback from patients about their experiences.

Mental Health Needs In North and West Belfast

Following on from the work of the Suicide Task Force in the last year, the Council met with several community groups whose members had been affected by suicide to find out what they thought and felt about the Health and Social Services response to theri concerns.

The Council was pleased to note that the Strategy - now published - addressed many of the things that really mattered to people - including proper traiing for front line staff, raised awareness of suicide among professionals and the general public and well planned effective partmershop between communities, volunteers and the health and social services to provide options for people in immediate need of help or someont to talk to.

The Council would wish to pay tribute to the dignity and generosity of bereaved families in sharing hteir experience to help draw attention to this serious issue and to bring the strategy into being. The Council will follow closely the implementation of the strategy over the coming year.

Over the year, the Council has met with and talked to individuals and communities throughout the Eastern area as it relies on the information and insights of people living with various conditions in challenging circumstances who need the support of an effective health and social care system. In the next year, we will continue to pursuet the issues that you raise with us. We wish to extend our grateful thanks to all of you who gave so freely of your time and personal experience to help us to make your voice heard by those responsible for planning and delivering your health and care.

Proposed Dates For Forthcoming Council Meetings
If you would like to attend any of these meetings, please contact our offices and we will confirm the time and venue or visit our website.

Publications
Your Guide to:
Care In The Community
Dental Services
GP Services
Hospital Services
Optician's Services
Pharmacy Services
Seeing Your Medical Records
Making A Complaint
Health And Social Services Councils
All these leaflets are available to download from the website www.ehssc.org

Financial Statement
Revenue Income and Expenditure Account for Year Ended 31 March 2006

Members Attendance At Meetings