The Department of Health is issuing a call for health and care professionals to support Local Involvement Networks (LINks), as it highlights the continued value that public involvement is playing in the provision of high quality care.

LINks, which were introduced across England in April 2008, are already having a direct and positive effect on services and with the launch of the 150th LINk in early 2009, the Department of Health is advocating that health and care staff from all sectors proactively engage with their LINk and encourage essential two-way conversations between services and patients.

Joan Saddler, National Director of Patient and Public Affairs at the Department of Health said: “From the beginning of next year, all organisations providing NHS care in England will be required, by law, to take account of the NHS Constitution when making decisions and taking actions. It is vitally important that we not only raise awareness of the Constitution, but also make the public aware of the different ways in which they can become involved. As such, we are urging health and care professionals from GPs to nurses, dentists to community support workers and social workers, to proactively support their LINk by promoting participation amongst a range of diverse service users and by using their LINk as a vital service planning and delivery tool.

“With restricted budgets and resource, it can be hard to prioritise how to improve patient experience. LINks can help simplify this process, by making community involvement much easier. This form of engagement with a range of different communities and individuals hopes to improve what already exists, not find fault unnecessarily. The better we understand our patients and the public, the better we can respond to their needs. In order to place quality at the heart of the NHS, we need to put the views of patients there too and LINks provide the ideal way to do this.”

Local health and care services across the country are already benefiting from their involvement with LINks with recent successes ranging from reducing waiting times, improving accessibility to services and establishing a role in the consultation process.

The call from the Department of Health comes as part of a nationwide campaign that aims to drive up awareness of LINks and promote their ability to help bring about genuine change. As part of this campaign, a LINks website has been launched on NHS Choices to alert the public, commissioners and service providers to the different ways they can get involved and the benefits of doing so.

Joan Saddler continues: “For some health and care professionals, their involvement could be as simple as having discussions with a LINk about a particular service they are involved in or talking to service users about joining their LINk. Or they could become a member themselves, responding to certain questions or recommendations, or taking part in community discussions.”

In line with the objectives of the NHS Constitution, which brings together in one place details of what staff, patients and the public can expect from the National Health Service, LINks are just one way the public can get involved and help to make the NHS a continuing success. By finding out what the public like and dislike, or would like to see improved within their local health and social care service, LINks feedback directly to NHS and social care commissioners and providers allowing local services to be much more responsive to the needs of the local community.

LINks are made up of individuals and community groups who work together to improve local services. A LINk covers all health and social care services that are commissioned by the NHS and local authorities in an area. The only services that are excluded are children’s social services.

Source
Department of Health