NHS South Gloucestershire has launched a questionnaire for patients, family members and carers to share their views on South Gloucestershire’s current range of community health services and what needs to be provided in the future.
South Gloucestershire’s community health services provide a range of nursing care in people’s own homes, community specialist clinics and in Henderson Ward at Thornbury Hospital.
Services include discharge support to help people when they leave hospital, district and specialist nursing at home, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. They also provide specialist clinics to provide patients with easier, faster access to diagnostic tests; assessment and treatment for a range of conditions; advice on diet and nutrition; as well as advice and support by the Disabled Adult Resource Team.
Kate Lavington, Urgent Care Programme Manager at NHS South Gloucestershire, said:
“We know that people really value the nursing support they get in the community and we would like patients, carers and family members who have used these services to tell us their experience and what they would like to see in the future. We are preparing to award a new contract for these services and your experience and views will help us shape what we offer in the future.”
Questionnaires can be picked up at your local GP surgery, downloaded from NHS South Gloucestershire’s website or completed online at:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/communityviews
The survey will close on Monday 30th April, 2012.
Please note that the survey does not include home care services provided by South Gloucestershire Council.
Source: NHS South Gloucestershire
And to whom precisely are the preparing to award a new contract? Can we be informed of the bidders or will they do a Surrey, award it to the likes of Virgin then hide behind the fig leaf of consultation when patients complain they were not given a choice about their NHS services being flogged off to private asset strippers. This one I will be watching extremely closely.
Most of the tick boxes on the questionnaire are leading questions that will be used to justify whatever they want to do. You don’t have to fill them in though, and can make your views known in the free text boxes. If people feel the survey isn’t really asking the right questions (like – do you want your services provided by the NHS, or by a profit making company?) then why not complain (to lucy.jones@sglos-pct.nhs.uk ).
I agree with above. Also do you want all the funding to go to patient care or are you happy for money to go on VAT? Do you want the services to leave the NHS, eg a social enterprise Co where they cannot be scrutinised in the way a public body can, where you cannot learn who earns what, where you cannot submit an FOI and your MP has less influence? Do you think the services should be run by an organisation decided by the actual employees (the ones who understand healthcare) or by the board of executives who often dont even know what departments even do?