THE WEAKEST LINK?  No Way!

Kingston Local Involvement Network - nicknamed K-LINk - exists to improve health and social care services for the people of Kingston. 
  The members of its first Steering Group were dedicated volunteers, keen to contribute to the wellbeing of their local community.  Law-abiding to a fault, they were shocked after only four months' existence to be told they had failed to comply with legislative Section 221 (1) and had not met a 31st December 2008 deadline.  Still more so, when they had not been told by either their Host (contracted by the local authority to provide support services) or the local authority itself that such a deadline existed or that Section 221 (1) - and, indeed, Section 221 (2) - had timeframes!
  In fact, they do not, and from that point on things went from rather bad to dreadfully worse.  The Steering Group members tried to talk to the local authority, who refused to meet them;  they submitted a dossier of evidence about the failing relationship with the Host.  The result - they were 'sacked'. 
  From here follows a story of intrigue, collusion, deception and mutual back-scratching which every lover of England's democratic processes will not want to believe.  The local authority officers closed ranks with the Host to try and squeeze out the volunteers;  these people, unfamiliar with such behaviour, tried every which way to ask for independent mediation.  The Host refused and re-branded K-LINk, with its strong logo and identity, into a nebulously pastel KingstonLink. 
  Councillors were appointed to investigate the situation;  the Host refused to accept their suggested solution to the problem.  Now feeling more and more like a David and Goliath scenario, the Little People turned to others elected to represent the people of Kingston - only to find that they were under an edict from on high not to get involved.

And the ending?  don't yet know.  Watch this space.

Kingston Hospital and Kingston Primary Care Patient and Public Involvement Forums

THE LEGACY OF THEIR WORK FROM JANUARY 2004 TO MARCH 2008


Patients’ Forums were created from Community Health Councils (CHCs) in 2003 by the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health (CPPIH).  Their remit was:

>    to find out the views, notable experiences and concerns of their communities on local healthcare and present them to the NHS Trust they worked with; 
>    to conduct independent monitoring visits so as to assess the quality
of local health services;  and
 >    to look at how wider issues in the community, such as social care, transport or housing affect local health.

There was one forum for every NHS Trust (Primary Care, Acute Hospital, Mental Health and Ambulance);   they were independent of the Trusts they partnered and were all made up of volunteers.   572 forums were set up nationally, including 74 in London.

The first members were recruited to Kingston Hospital NHS Trust and Kingston Primary Care Patients’ Forums in November 2003, following interviews in the old mortuary at Croydon Hospital.  The two Forums recognised that for many people the distinction between primary and secondary care is irrelevant, hence they pooled their resources and worked jointly from early 2004.

On 31st March 2008 the Commission, and hence Patients’ Forums, will also be disbanded.  The phoenix arising from their ashes will be Local Involvement Networks (LINks), covering not only healthcare but also social care issues, in this case those that affect residents of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK).   It is hoped that many forum members will play their part in the new LINk.  This document, however, is a tribute to the work done over the past few years by the dedicated members of the Joint Kingston Patients’ Forums.

CONTENTS                     

INTRODUCTION  
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
SECTION     1    REPORTS and RECOMMENDATIONS on CURRENT PROJECTS
                    1    Cleanliness and Hygiene   
                    2    Cultural and Spiritual Needs
                    3    Training for Ancillary Staff
                    4    Appointments System for Hospital Bookings
                    5    Catering in Kingston Hospitals
                    6    Review of the Complaints Procedure
                    7    Long-Term Conditions
                    8    Out of Hours Services for Kingston
                    9    The Effect of Financial Constraints on Services
                    10    Community Pharmacy Services
                    11    Privacy and Dignity

SECTION     2    COMMENTS on PROJECTS terminated before March 2008
                    1    Clinical Audit
                    2    Delayed Discharge from Hospitals
                    3    Patient Participation Groups in Surgeries
                    4    Termination of Pregnancy Services
                    5    Urology Services
                    6    Waiting Times for Test Results

SECTION     3    OTHER INVOLVEMENTS

SECTION     4    EXTRACTS FROM THE ANNUAL REPORTS     2004 TO 2008

       
APPENDICES
                    I        List of forum members since November 2003
                    II       Reports on Project 1 Cleanliness & Hygiene
                    III      Survey on Project 2 Cultural and Spiritual Needs
                    IV      Report on Project 3 Training for Ancillary Staff
                    V       Report on Project 4 Appointments System for Hospital Bookings
                    VI      Report on Project 5 Catering Survey
                    VII     Survey on Project 6 Complaints Procedure
                    VIII    Reports on Project 11 Privacy & Dignity Surveys
                    IX      Photographs of forum activities 2004-2008