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Healthwatch is an independent body whose role is to improve local health and social care. It strives to make sure that health and social care services are meeting local needs. We ensure that the public’s voice is heard regarding how local services are run, any plans to change those services, and in identifying gaps in services. This internship role will have the participant involved in a variety of tasks dealing with patient experience, establishing projects looking into key concerns and issues that have been reported by the general community, and ensuring that members of emerging communities have access to health and social care services and are not barred by issues dealing with lack of knowledge or communication in English. The intern will receive a training session that will review some of the essential aspects of working in the organisation and will help them understand how essential their role is to provide an element of our services. For the first couple weeks of the program, the internship will be focused on tasks dealing with patient experience. The intern will be working on issues related to patients and local groups to find out what their health issues and priorities are, and listening to people from every part of our community in the Borough they will be working in. They will collate patient experiences anonymously into a report for hospitals, GPs, care homes etc. that summarises the main themes and issues raised. They will also be making recommendations, and all providers are obliged to respond to reports stating how they are going to address any issues. The intern will also be providing support to the patients and their families/caregivers and listening carefully to their feedback. When appropriate, they will signpost people to the Feedback and Complaints Team and other organisations that can support people to feedback on their experiences. Other tasks will include answering phone enquiries and dealing with any incoming patient experiences and inputting patient experiences into our database. During this time, the intern will also be working on current projects that are dealing with key concerns brought to our attention by the community. The tasks that the intern will be involved with will include working on Research Projects and attending some meetings to plan and develop work and practical activities to engage with the local community. The intern will also be meeting with NHS or social care staff and managers to find out information and present Healthwatch findings, visiting services, and talking to patients or service users. They will then take their findings and draft recommendations for projects.
● Aged over 18. ● Able to travel to and around the borough. ● Confidence in speaking with strangers. ● Friendly, approachable manner with good verbal communication and listening skills. ● Awareness of personal and professional boundaries.
● Incredibly social role, where you meet and work with lots of other people ● Join a network of over 300 volunteers ● Gain access to our training hub and develop yourself further ● Our volunteers receive priority job alerts for internal paid roles ● Travel expenses covered
Ideally, we would like our volunteers to spare a minimum of 2 days a week. We are flexible with the hours to suit your availability.
