VOLUNTEER COLUMN: Play a role in shaping health care

Healthwatch West Sussex (HWWS) is seeking volunteers to assist in eight crucial roles within the service.

The group, which has taken over the work of the Local Involvement Networks (LINks), uses public feedback about health and social care in the county to identify shortfalls in service and ensure regulators and local authorities respond accordingly.

However, it is not an official regulatory body like the Care Quality Commission and doesn’t have direct responsibility to change practices.

For more information on this, and other volunteering opportunities in the Arun area, contact Derek Moore, Arun Volunteer Centre co-ordinator, telephone 01903 731223, email [email protected] or call in at the centre on the ground floor, Bradbury Centre, 1-5 St Martin’s Lane, Littlehampton, from 9am-4pm on Mondays and Thursdays and 9.30am-4.30pm on Wednesdays.

Volunteer positions available within Healthwatch include:

l pharmacy representative who would monitor e-mails and, where necessary, conduct phone research into the likely impact of any changes to existing or new pharmaceutical services;

l an adults safeguarding board representative to attend quarterly meetings on behalf of the HWWS and report back on the results;

l liaison representatives. Volunteers applying for these roles would need an understanding of the heath and social care sector and issues faced by people when accessing treatment;

l youth volunteers, to provide an overview of the state of youth services in the county and attend youth liaison events, coming up with ideas on how to raise HWWS’ profilm among young people;

l ‘enter and view’ volunteers, with an eye for detail, to report about on-site visits and organise questionnaires. They would also need to take part in meetings every two months, in Billingshurst;

l community engagement representative, to improve public engagement and gather individual stories and experiences.

Other roles available include a volunteer mentor, in charge of sustaining voluntary services and an advocate to support the views of those with disabilities.