Learning Disability Annual Health Check

An annual health check is a yearly check-up which often takes place at your doctor’s surgery. It may also happen at your home in some cases. Having a health check every year can help you find out if you have any health problems you need support with and will give you the opportunity to speak to your GP or nurse.

The Suffolk and North East Essex Joint Forward Plan identifies the need to address health inequalities for people with learning disabilities and autism. One way of doing this is to improve the quality of the annual health checks. Some people have told us of their experiences of having an annual health check and we would like to hear from more people in our communities of their experiences of having an annual health check.

We would like to know what is working well and where things need to be made better. The questionnaires will enable people to

• Share experiences of their annual health check.

• Feedback about what worked well for them and what could be better.

• Help the NHS to know how they could be better supported to attend their annual health check.

A questionnaire is available for people over the age of 14 who have had an annual health check and for anyone caring for or supporting someone with a learning disability.

These questionnaires will help us to make improvements and share positive experiences, as we want all annual health checks to be good.

Where can I find the questionnaire?

Your surgery will send you a link to the ‘Let’s Talk SNEE’ platform where the questionnaire will be available to complete online. The questionnaire is for you and/or anyone that cares or supports you. Please do not share it with anyone else.

Suffolk Suicide Prevention Action Plan

Suffolk County Council’s Public Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Team is asking people to support the development and delivery of our suicide prevention action plan.

In Suffolk, working aged men are at the highest risk of suicide. We want to focus our efforts over the next 12 months to improve the experience of working aged men in Suffolk, and we need your help.

We are seeking volunteers to help shape our approach – could that be you?

Working groups are being set up to tackle the following areas:

• Awareness Raising, Information, Advice and Guidance

• Risk Reduction

• Crisis Support

You may also wish to become a member of the Suffolk Suicide Prevention Partnership – a virtual forum where you can receive information about the programme and the progress we make.

So, if you are a working aged man living or working in Suffolk and you would like to be part of a conversation to improve the wellbeing of men we are waiting to hear from you.

Please send an email to publicmentalhealth@suffolk.gov.uk to express your interest.

If you are interested in getting involved in the above research project, please contact Debbie direct at D.Dyer2@UOS.AC.UK please do NOT contact SNEE ICB.

Advance Care Planning Awareness and Action Day

A national day highlighting the importance of Advance Care Planning – find out more at www.letstalksnee.co.uk/eol-advance-care-planning-awareness-and-action-day

NMC and Advanced Practice and Additional Regulation

Your views will make a big difference to this important work. If you’d like to be kept up to date with the progress of the NMC and be notified of any opportunities to get involved, including when the NMC consult on any changes, please https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/129A-120W/advanced-practice

GMC launches consultation on how it regulates physician associates and anaesthesia associates

In December 2024, the GMC will start regulating physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (AAs). The GMC consultation on proposed rules, standards and guidance that set out how GMC will regulate anaesthesia associates (AAs) and physician associates (PAs) is now open.

GMC welcome responses from public, patient representative groups, and any other individuals or organisations who are likely to be affected by, or use, GMC processes governing the regulation of AAs and PAs.

The consultation runs for eight weeks until midnight on the night of Monday 20 May.

Visit the GMC website for more information and details of how you can take part: https://www.gmc-uk.org/pa-and-aa-regulation-hub/regulating-aas-and-pas-consultation

NHS App

Keep updated on everything NHS App

NHSE Digital have created an update to make it easy for anyone outside the NHS with an interest in the NHS App to stay informed, such as charity workers, councillors, volunteers, etc.

If you know anyone who would like this update, please share this short form with them to sign up: https://forms.office.com/e/Z2XDgksvXx

New: NHS App Walk Through Videos

You can find step-by-step videos showing you how to use the redesigned NHS App in this toolkit which can be found at https://digital.nhs.uk/services/nhs-app/toolkit/walk-through-videos

Use these guidance videos to:

• learn how different NHS App services look from your patient's perspective
• demonstrate the app to patients and the public
• promote the app with your network, and on your website and display screens

Women’s Health

As a part of a national ten-year drive to improve the health and wellbeing of all women, people and organisations. Suffolk and north east Essex (SNEE) have been working to shape better local health services. Healthwatch are supporting this women’s health programme to make sure people’s experiences and views are included to shape future care and support.

You can read more about how you can share your views, opinions and lived experience of using local services now by visiting https://healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/womenshealth/

You can also take part in the women’s health engagement (March 2024). The SNEE Women’s Health Insight and Oversight group is coordinating engagement to shape services and support for women across SNEE. Together with our co-production team, the group has developed a local survey for people to anonymously share their views and experiences.

Please note: This project includes those who identify as women but may not have been born female and those who were born female but may no longer identify as a woman.

Complete the survey and support the engagement with local people by going to

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/SNEEwomenshealth/

Healthwatch Suffolk is hosting a network for people and professionals to shape better health and care together

The network is a working group of:

• Transgender and non-binary people

• People exploring their gender identity

• Health and care professionals

You must be over the age of 18 to join the network.

The people in the network will help it to grow and develop in a positive and inclusive way, supported by our co-production team and an ambassador from the trans community.

Interested? Here’s how you can join in

The network will be hosted online using the Let’s Talk SNEE platform (hosted by the NHS in Suffolk and north east Essex). Find out more by visiting https://www.letstalksnee.co.uk/tg-nb-gq-network

For more information about our network, please call freephone 0800 448 8234, or email coproduction@healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk

NHS App

The NHS website has step-by-step guidance on how to get started with the NHS App visit https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/nhs-app-help-and-support/getting-started-with-the-nhs-app/

Face-to-face support sessions are FREE and taking place across Suffolk, Colchester and Tendring.

In North East Essex the sessions advertised are hosted by the Digital Access Support Team.

In Suffolk Communities Together East Anglia’s Digital Champions will be on-hand to offer support. Find out more about Communities Together at https://www.communitiestogethereastanglia.org

Please see full information and dates here at https://suffolkandnortheastessex.icb.nhs.uk/your-health-and-services/primary-care-gps/accessing-services-digitally/getting-started-with-the-nhs-app/

NHS App

The NHS website has step-by-step guidance on how to get started with the NHS App visit https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-app/nhs-app-help-and-support/getting-started-with-the-nhs-app/

Face-to-face support sessions are FREE and taking place across Suffolk, Colchester and Tendring.

In North East Essex the sessions advertised are hosted by the Digital Access Support Team.

In Suffolk Communities Together East Anglia’s Digital Champions will be on-hand to offer support. Find out more about Communities Together at https://www.communitiestogethereastanglia.org/

Please see full information and dates here at https://suffolkandnortheastessex.icb.nhs.uk/your-health-and-services/primary-care-gps/accessing-services-digitally/getting-started-with-the-nhs-app

Carers Voices

Do you …

• Help someone in their day-to-day life?

• Keep someone company if they can’t get out much?

• Help someone with their personal care?

• Care for someone who cannot care for themselves

Healthwatch Essex are working with Essex County Council on a project called ‘Carers Voices’, and would like to hear how you think services can be developed to meet the needs of those who care for others.

There are a range of ways to get involved including focus groups being held on:

Monday 26^th February 2024 at Witham Leisure Centre, CM8 1EP from 2pm to 4pm.

Wednesday 28^th February 2024 at Rainbow Centre, 2 Wych Elm, Harlow CM20 1QP from 9am to 11am.

Thursday 29^th February 2024 at CVS Tendring, 20-22 Rosemary Rd, Clacton CO15 1NZ 3pm to 5pm.

For more information, please contact Healthwatch Essex on 0300 500 1895 or visit their website at

carersvoices@healthwatchessex.org.uk

You may notice some changes to Let’s Talk SNEE over the next few weeks as we carry out some work to improve the platform.

We are reviewing the ways in which we use our engagement platform, Let's Talk SNEE with a view to improving it and making it easier for people to access information that is relevant to their locality.

In order to do this, we will need to add some questions to the registration form and before we do that we would appreciate your help in testing these out.

Please can you take the survey at

https://www.letstalksnee.co.uk/embeds/projects/30969/survey-tools/33418

to answer the draft new registration questions and tell us whether you found them easy to complete.

You may notice some changes to Let’s Talk SNEE over the next few weeks as we carry out some work to improve the platform.

We are reviewing the ways in which we use our engagement platform, Let's Talk SNEE with a view to improving it and making it easier for people to access information that is relevant to their locality.

In order to do this, we will need to add some questions to the registration form and before we do that we would appreciate your help in testing these out.

Please can you take the survey at

https://www.letstalksnee.co.uk/embeds/projects/30969/survey-tools/33418

to answer the draft new registration questions and tell us whether you found them easy to complete.