members magazine west leicestershire ccg autumn 2014

Members’ Magazine | Autumn 2014www.wlmembership.org

Leicester VixensLaunch of new Female Futsal Team:Launch of new Female Futsal Team:Launch of new Female Futsal Team:

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2 Autumn 2014, Issue 9: be healthy be heard

Dear members,A warm welcome from your chair for West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

Contactus:If you have a practical tip, health suggestion or an interesting story, please send it for inclusion in the next issue using the contact details below. We are also looking for cover stars – send us your picture and health story if you would like to appear on our coverEmail: [email protected]

Post: Please send all correspondence to:

West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group Freepost ADMAIL 4149 Loughborough LE11 1YW

Telephone: 0300 555 5345

Please note that the membership helpline is open between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Published by: GEM CSU, St John’s House, 30 East Street, Leicester, LE1 6NB


Welcome to our autumn edition of be healthy, be heard. September saw our very first annual general meeting as a new NHS organisation, and thank you to everyone who turned out at Loughborough Town Hall for the event.

There was a great deal to talk about, especially as the NHS never seems to be out of the news these days. However, I do hope that you all appreciated our open and transparent look at what has happened over the past year or so, and the plans for where we are going. These include plans for Loughborough Community Hospital – please see page 13 for more details.

It is a very exciting time to be part of the NHS and to be planning and purchasing so many key health services. It is equally a very challenging time, as so many of us are living longer and needing more healthcare into our old age. Of course, the fact that we are living longer is partly a testimony to the good work the NHS has been doing, as well as the improvements in patient treatment.

Not all improvements are about new or better medicines. Improvements are also taking place in the way we work. So please take a look at page 7, which is about our ‘Acute Visiting Service’ in patients’

homes, and ‘Learning lessons to improve care quality’ on page 10.

In this edition we also look at the biggest ever review of health and social care in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It’s called Better Care Together and it’s about making sure services are provided in the right places, to a high quality, and at the scale that meets increasing local demand. It may mean some changes but be assured the voices of service users, patients, carers and the public are an integral part of what the review is aiming to achieve. Please take a look at the Better Care Together story on page 5 for further insights and details of how you can get involved.

Professor Mayur Lakhani Chair West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group


Autumn 2014, Issue 9: be healthy be heard 3

It is the second year the spray has been made available as part of a pilot flu programme by NHS England.

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), who run the schools vaccination programme, is working with teachers to ensure parents have the information they need.

There have previously been concerns among Muslims about the use of pork gelatin in the preparation of these vaccines, but Muslim scholars have confirmed that gelatine used is considered transformed and therefore “lawful”.

Visit LPT’s website www.healthforkids.co.uk, which includes a ‘Flu Heroes’ film to prepare children for what to expect. There is also a YouTube teenagers video called ‘Pass it on, but not the Flu”, created for LPT.

Not a kid anymore?

Flu jabs are not just for kids. GPs are inviting adults in ‘at risk’ groups to have the flu vaccine, as flu can be particularly serious for these groups. Look at the list on this page to check if you are at risk. Or for more detail go to NHS Choice, www.nhs.uk and type ‘flu vaccine for adults’ the Search box.

Contactus:Around 97,000 school children in and around Leicestershire are being offered a needle-free flu vaccination for the winter. It comes as a nasal spray – which may tickle, but it doesn’t hurt.

HEY KIDS!Who needs a needle?

THE SOUND DOCTORWhat would you say if your GP prescribed you an online video? Well, West Leicestershire GPs are offering patients just such a service – called Sound Doctor.

It’s an audio-visual website and smart-phone app which lets patients listen to information about their long-term conditions and helps them look after themselves. West Leicestershire CCG has signed up to the scheme.

The contents are based on interviews with doctors, nurses, patients and other health professionals, presented as short chapters between three and five minutes each.

Our Chair, Professor Mayur Lakhani said: “It’s like

tuning into a radio or TV, but you can choose the sections you want see or hear. Health professionals give you the answers to the questions you may have forgotten to ask at the surgery – or reinforce the replies from the times you did ask.”

If you think it would help you, please ask your GP. You’ll be given a card with a

unique password to access the online service.

If you’d like to see a sample of how it works, visit www.thesounddoctor.org/ where a short film version of advice on diabetes is available.

The Sound Doctor producers plan to update the site and add help with more conditions.

Leicestershire CCG has signed up to the scheme.

tuning into a radio or TV, but you can choose the sections you want see or hear. Health professionals give you the answers to the questions you may have forgotten to ask at the surgery – or reinforce the replies from the times you did ask.”

If you think it would help you, please ask your GP. You’ll be given a card with a

unique password to access the online service.

Get the jab, if you …

• are 65 years of age or over

• are pregnant

• have an underlying medical condition, eg, breathing, heart or kidney conditions

• are in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care

• receive a carer’s allowance, or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill

• are a healthcare worker with direct patient contact or a social care worker.



Ladies wanted for new female teamLeicester Futsal are currently seeking any females interested in playing or coaching within their club as they look to launch the new Female Team Leicester Futsal Vixens.

Club President & Head Coach Dom Beck said “This is a great chance for ladies who might be interested to try Futsal and see how much fun the game is. It offers a great work-out and the opportunity to make

new friends and try a new sport within in an established well run club.”

If you would like more information on how to get involved in Female Futsal contact Dom – [email protected]

Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão, which can be translated as “hall football”. It is the only 5-a-side version of football officially recognised by FIFA, and is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

You can get involved in Futsal by contacting Leicester Futsal club. They have a twitter page @leicesterfutsal or visit the website www.pitchero.com/clubs/leicesterfutsal.

We are inviting everyone interested in health care services in Hinckley and the surrounding area to work with us to design future healthcare services.

We would like anyone interested in improving community services in Hinckley to help us plan a vision of great care, so that better, more person-centred care can be delivered to local people.

Dr Nick Willmott, a Hinckley GP and member of the CCG Board, said: “We have already started what is effectively a conversation with local people about what needs to happen to community health services, both to help people keep well and to recover as soon as possible when they are unwell.

“By listening and understanding people’s experiences of care, whether they are patients, carers, family members or frontline members of staff, we can co-design better and more improved care.

“The next step is to hold co-design events where we will share with everyone what we have learnt so far about people’s experiences and what matters most to them. Our main focus at these events is to work together to develop a shared vision of what community health services in Hinckley could look like and the journey we will make to achieve that change.”

The CCG will be holding two events, one in the daytime and one in the evening to ensure

everyone can attend.

The first event will be at Hinckley Golf Club on Tuesday 2 December from 1.30pm until 5.30pm, and the next will be at the same location on Monday 8 December from 7pm until 9pm. Light refreshments will be available.

Everyone is welcome to attend either one of the two events and improve quality and design great services for the population of Hinckley.

The events are expected to be popular so please register by calling 0116 295 4183, or emailing [email protected] or visit www.westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk and sign up online.

Join us to improve quality and plan future healthcare



MOVES CLOSER

HEALTH ANDSOCIAL CARE PLANBetter Care Together is a partnership of NHS organisations and local authorities. The voices of patients, carers and the public are an integral part of the programme. Its aim is to make best use of resources to meet the growing demand from patients while addressing many other challenges facing health and care services.

The programme has been looking at urgent care including A&E, long-term conditions such as diabetes and respiratory diseases, frail older people, maternity and newborns, children’s services, learning disabilities, planned care, and mental health.

It has also been looking at other areas of improvement, for example, how many buildings are used, their location, how to attract and keep the best staff, and how technology can support change.

Our CCG’s Managing Director, Toby Sanders, is the joint Senior Responsible Officer, with Leicester hospitals Chief Executive John Adler, for Better Care Together. Toby said: “In October we welcomed the national NHS report, which is consistent with Better Care Together. It identified the need for change, and our plan locally looks at more integrated and innovative health and social care services, leading to different models of care, which will ensure better outcomes for service users and patients.

“In particular we are developing closer working relationships between GPs, consultants and other professionals across the health and social care system and want to move towards more community based care. Health and social care needs to meet the specific needs of its communities, whether that is inner city Leicester or in towns and villages of Leicestershire and Rutland – Better Care Together does this.”

There will be a Rapid Assessment Older Peoples Unit also an Integrated Crisis Response Service which can offer short-term nursing care. There will be a new approach for those who need rehabilitation after diagnosis, and better use of the latest technology to for health and social care staff to communicate with each other.

There will be care plans for those with long-term conditions so people can be cared for in their community and not have lengthy spells in hospital. In mental health, there will be earlier interventions and a greater emphasis on recovery services, with less reliance on acute admissions.

Learn more at www.bettercareleicester.nhs.uk. If you would like to get involved in Better Care Together or want to find out more, you can:

Contact Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire: 0116 257 4999 or email [email protected]

Email: Express an opinion, ask a question or get involved: [email protected]

Phone: 0116 295 4114

Better Care Together chair

Better Care Together now has a new independent chair. Kaye Burnett has chaired senior NHS organisations in the area and has a long association with Leicestershire, having attended Loughborough University and previously worked with University Hospitals of Leicester. She held senior roles in the NHS and police service, and worked extensively with local government, the wider public and private sectors, as well as the voluntary and community sectors.

Better Care Together (BCT), the five-year plan to transform health and social care in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland has taken major steps forward.

with Leicestershire, having attended Loughborough



An opportunity for people to choose their own healthcare provision has come to Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Patients with long-term healthcare needs, who are eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, now have the option to spend their own personal health budget (PHB).

Patients can select the services that they believe are more convenient, supplied by the organisations or people that they have chosen, and are closer to home. It allows health care budgets to be spent in new and creative ways that are helpful to individual patients. This is a whole new approach and puts patients firmly in control of managing their own health care.

Caroline Trevithick, our Chief Nurse and Quality Lead, said: “This is about widening patients’ rights to choose how they are receive their care. Personal health budgets give people more independence over how their healthcare money is spent, which could be on carers to provide intensive help at home, equipment to improve quality of life or therapies like counselling.”

Barbara Howard, Director of Mosaic, a charitable organisation dedicated to shaping disability services, said: “I believe this will make such a difference to people’s quality of life, their sense of wellbeing and independence, and help them stay out of hospital.”

The patients who are eligible for a PHB are those who have been assessed as qualifying for 100% NHS-funded Continuing Healthcare. Some of these people have already started applying for their budgets.

Individual patients meet with their PHB support team to create a detailed support plan together. A personal health budget can be managed in any

one of three ways. It can be given to a patient or individual responsible for the patient as a direct payment – social care recipients already have these. Alternatively, the money can be held by an approved third party. These are organisations which will help to agree the care that is needed for the patient, arrange it and hold the budget. Finally it can be held as a notional sum which a patient’s NHS team will spend in line with the patient’s agreed wishes.

It’s important to note that the patient will know how much money their care costs, and how it will be spent, even if it is a notional budget. The scheme is being rolled out across the country after the budgets were trialled in a national pilot programme.

Personal health budgets are not new money – they are a way of using NHS money differently, where people want to and where it is clinically safe to put them in control of their care. Taking up a personal health budget is optional, and anyone who does not want to manage their healthcare needs in this way can leave their care arrangements as they are now.

For further information on personal health budgets please visit www.personalhealthbudgets.england.nhs.uk/.

Paying for your care the ‘personal budgets’ way



It is a rapid response home-visiting service that goes into action when patients or carers ring their GP to request an urgent home visit. The surgery offers a telephone consultation with the GP to assess the urgency, and if needed, the Acute Visiting Service attend the patients at home or care home to make a decision on the most appropriate care. It is available in the daytime on weekdays. Their target is to respond to all referrals within an hour.

Mavis Maude, 79, from Quorn, benefited from the service after she called her GP when she had chest pains.

She said: “I have a recent diagnosis of a faulty valve in my heart. I could have a stroke or heart attack at any time, and on this day I had chest pains and called my GP, but I could not get to the appointment, so they called me back and said a mobile service was coming out to me that morning.”

Tony Marsh, one of the service’s emergency care practitioners paid her a visit, and after examining her he left instructions for her to have a special blood test and found her medication needed changing.

Mavis added: “I was feeling really ill and this lovely, polite

young man came in for an hour and looked after me. I felt very reassured after he had been.”

The current pilot scheme is run by the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. It is due to run until March when we will look at making it permanent.

Nick Willmott, a GP in Hinckley and clinical lead for the CCG’s Acute Visiting Services, said: “The service is proving popular with both patients and GPs. It provides vital emergency support to patients in need and we are extremely pleased with performance so far.”

Acute VisitingService

How likely are you to recommend your GP practice to your friends and family if they need similar care or treatment?

That’s the question you’ll be invited to answer when you visit your GP’s surgery from December.

You do not have to answer. It’s entirely optional, and all answers are anonymous. But if you do, the optional answers are ‘Extremely likely’, ‘Likely’, ‘Neither likely nor unlikely’, ‘Unlikely’, ‘Extremely unlikely’ or ‘Don’t know’.

There’ll also be room for a further comment in your own words, if you wish.

And from next year the numbers of times each optional answer is chosen will be published monthly alongside the title of each GP practice.

Our CCG Chair, Professor Mayur Lakhani, himself a

GP, said: “The aim of the ‘friends and family test’ is that NHS patients should have the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience that can be used to improve services. This may be in conjunction with their patient participation groups. It is not about creating a ‘league table’ of GP practices.”

Practices must publish their own results locally, such as on a website. They can also publish any further comments from patients, which will also be anonymous. If the practice does decide to publish such comments, patients must be able to stop their comments being published, if they wish.

The ‘friends and family test’ was first introduced into the NHS last year for services such as hospitals, and is now being extended. Patients who take part will not have to do so every time they use the NHS or visit their GP’s surgery, but they could if they wished.

Would you recommend your GP?

Among the new services to help prevent patients going into hospital unnecessarily is our Acute Visiting Service.



Heart GoodExercise is recommended in national guidelines for patients who have suffered heart failure. It significantly reduces breathlessness and improves quality of life.

So we asked Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust to put on three six-week programmes of two hours each. Each session involves about an hour of exercise, such as walking and cycling, and a further hour of discussions on managing heart problems.

If your GP feels it’s just what you need, your exercise programme will be specially tailored and prescribed for you, and it will be delivered by a specialist clinical team. The aim is to hold them in easily accessible community locations, not in the city.

Your GP can now also join forces with a rapid advice service for the diagnosis of heart failure. This will cut out need for some patients to be referred to specialists at hospital outpatient appointments, and avoid the risk of their condition becoming worse in the meantime.

And for hospital patients with suspected heart failure, we are setting up a ‘one-stop rapid access clinic’ to review their condition. Where it’s right to do so, patients will be able to go home earlier with the correct clinical support.

Palpitations? See you GP

If you suspect you are having ‘palpitations’, please see your GP as soon as possible. It may well be ‘atrial fibrillation’. A range of treatments is available to help reduce the risk of you suffering a stroke.

The most obvious symptom of atrial fibrillation is a fast and irregular heartbeat – often over 100 beats a minute. Without treatment many patients with the condition will have a stroke.

Atrial fibrillation is often treated with aspirin, but it is now accepted that it has a limited role in stroke prevention, and other approaches are available. For instance, anticoagulation – thinning the blood - reduces the risk of stroke by about 70%.

We are launching a trial series of rehabilitation and exercise sessions for heart failure patients to assess the benefits they bring.

IT DOES YOUR




Our inaugural AGM took place recently and we are pleased to report that it achieved all our expectations. Around 140 people came to the Loughborough Town Hall event and there was good feedback from those attending.

We were keen to do something different so we started the September event with an exhibition for the hour before the AGM began. It comprised 19 stands including those staffed by NHS and other partner organisations, care and service providers, as well as some of our CCG’s own internal teams explaining their roles.

The formal AGM was presented by our Chair, Professor Mayur Lakhani, Managing Director Toby Sanders, and Chief Finance Officer Spencer Gay. Their presentations included a look back on challenges and highlights of last year, a review of our current position, a look forward at some of our key issues for the year ahead and a summary of our financial position.

Highlights included opening the Urgent Care Centre in Loughborough, where 40,000 patients have been seen, 16,000 diagnostics have been carried out and 98.9% of patients have been

seen and treated within four hours. We were also able to report good progress with tackling long-term health conditions, such as severe breathing difficulties and diabetes, as well as the way we deal with end-of-life care. By changing our approach to healthcare in key areas we have also been able to prevent many more patients from going into hospital.

The challenges we faced – and are still facing – include consistently achieving a maximum of a four-hour wait in the A&E department at Leicester Royal Infirmary, assuring the quality of care and safety of inpatients at the Bradgate Unit, achieving a waiting time of no more than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment, and the financial stability of the whole health system.

Despite the financial climate, we managed to stay well within our £373m budget, and even achieved a surplus of £4.9 in our first year.

The question and answer session at the end of our AGM was both challenging and constructive

with some interesting angles and thoughts for us to consider.

Afterwards we staged a ‘knowledge café’ in which public and patients had discussions around tables of ten, led by board members and our senior management team, who moved around from table to table after eight minutes. The theme for the ‘knowledge café’ was providing quality care outside of our main hospitals, that is, closer to home or even at home.

This alternative approach to the AGM worked really well and earned some excellent feedback from the public. Example comments from the evaluation sheets include: “Just a quick note to say congrats on a superbly organised event yesterday – it was really well done. I really enjoyed the knowledge café concept and learned a lot about all the innovative things you are doing in West Leics. Thanks for including us.” Also: “Really enjoyed the knowledge café – some really good services and work is being delivered by the WL CCG.”

OUR FIRSTAnnual General Meeting

seen and treated within four hours. with some interesting angles and

Our Managing Director Toby Sanders, addresses the AGM, supported by fellow Board members (seated L to R facing the audience) Chief Finance Officer Spencer Gay and Chair Professor Mayur Lakhani.




Three recent public meetings were aimed at improving care for patients since the publication of Learning lessons to improve care in July, based on a review of 381 patients’ records.

Learning lessons to improve care was published by the three clinical commissioning groups representing Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, Leicester’s Hospitals and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. The review of care records looked at the healthcare which patients had received in the final stages of their lives.

Since its publication more patients, carers and family members have talked about their own experiences of care and their journey through the health and care system. They have also explained what they feel about how it could have been improved and what they believe matters most. These insights will be analysed to further help local care organisations plan and design better quality health services.

The public listening events were held in Loughborough, Leicester and Market Harborough.

Professor Mayur Lakhani, Chair of West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group and speaking on behalf of the local health partners said: “Quality of patient care is our number one priority. We know that people do not always get joined-up care so we arranged for the review to undertaken to identify where improvements need to be made.

“These public events have helped us gain further insights into people’s experiences of care. We are determined to make our care system the best it can be.”

Shaping our care system

bestPatients, carers and members of the public have been sharing their experiences of NHS services and the quality of care in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

IT CAN BEINTO THE



A pilot scheme is underway to offer carers some useful help and advice in their challenging roles. It’s called the Carers Health and Wellbeing Service and it is going to be extended.

It came about as a result of a partnership between Leicestershire Community Projects Trust and The Carers Centre for Leicestershire and Rutland. The service was developed in conjunction with Leicestershire County Council and clinical commissioning groups.

The 15-month pilot scheme, which started last year, is for carers of people in Oadby and Wigston and North West Leicestershire. The service has been very successful and as a result has been extended to March 2015 with a view to continuing it into the future.

It provides advice and information to people who are newly identified as carers, and who may require help to keep mentally, emotionally and physically well. The kind of help provided includes carers

assessments, followed by advice and information on a range of statutory and voluntary sector services available to support them. It also provides information on obtaining social care assessments for the people they are caring for, and monetary help in the form of a carer’s support grant.

Since it started there have been over 300 referrals from GPs and other primary care professionals, and direct approaches from carers themselves.

The Carers Health and Wellbeing Service has received some good feedback from referring GPs, most of whom found it a great help.

As for carers themselves, 78% said that their use of GP surgeries had reduced due to the help of the Carers Health and Wellbeing Service.

The service is free to carers. Anyone wanting information about the service or to put carers in touch with the project can call the team on 0116 251 0999.

Caring for the carers

According to the 2011 census there are over

6,000 carers in Oadby and Wigston and over 10,000

carers in North West Leicestershire, including

Ashby and Coalville.



Waiting for your treatment

How you can help us help you:

• talk to your GP about what to expect

• if your treatment is routine please make sure you will be available for the next 18 weeks

• if you are planning a holiday for two or more weeks or have other commitments, you and your GP may decide to delay your referral until you are available

• tell us if you change address or your telephone number

• complete and return the registration form that will be sent to you prior to your first appointment

• keep your appointments and arrive on time

• let us know in plenty of time if you are unable to attend an appointment

• write your questions down before you attend so that you don’t forget to ask

• let us know if you think that you have been waiting too long.

Dr Geoff Hanlon (pictured right), Loughborough GP and a member of our CCG’s Board, said: “Actions plans have been put in place. We need to implement the actions which include helping to encourage the distribution of messages to ensure that patients are aware that they have the right to choose the hospital they go to, if they are referred for treatment.

“We also need to ensure practices are kept informed of pressures in the health system in order to support them to make referrals appropriately including making use of our contracts with out-of-county hospitals.”

Waiting times and the 18 weeks referral to treatment pledge

The NHS Constitution gives patients the right to access services within maximum waiting times, or for the NHS to take all reasonable steps to offer you a range of suitable alternative providers if this is not possible.

Your GP, dentist or other health professional will refer you to a specialist via the Choose and Book service or a referral letter. Your 18 weeks waiting time starts on the day the hospital receives the referral letter or on the day you make the booking for your first appointment.

Even if you require tests and appointments this should take no longer than 18 weeks. Sometimes however, it may not be appropriate to receive treatment in 18 weeks. This may be because as a patient you need several tests completed in sequence, or you may not be medically fit enough to receive treatment within 18 weeks. Also you may choose to wait longer than 18 weeks.

As a health system we are not meeting our target of ensuring that at least 90% of admitted West Leicestershire patients start treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks.



The clinical team has recently been increased in the Urgent Care Centre with the recruitment of a primary care physician with experience in injuries. A further three nurses/emergency care practitioners are also being recruited which will increase the nursing workforce to 18.

Training is also underway in advanced clinical assessment and skills, including the management and treatment of children with urgent conditions, for example, asthma symptoms.

The centre has a new blood analyser and staff training in its use is underway. This is really advantageous in helping patients avoid a visit to a main hospital.

Clinical communications have been improved with the use of the electro-cardiograph machine (ECG) which can transmit readings to the Clinical Decisions Unit at Glenfield Hospital. This means staff in Loughborough can then negotiate with specialists to get an opinion on the ECG readings to help with decision making.

Older Peoples Unit The older peoples service is due to be launched phase by phase this autumn. It is being jointly developed by our CCG and our

partners to reduce unnecessary admissions to major hospitals.

The unit is for people aged 75 and over, and they will also be helped with matters affecting their independence and wellbeing.

A GP may refer patients to the Older People’s Unit, such as those suffering from a chest infection, fall or urinary tract infection, where it has been assessed that they are safe to stay in their home, but would benefit from an assessment from a geriatric consultant, an advanced nurse practice, or they require nurse support.

Patients will attend the unit as outpatients during the day. Assessment results will then be made available to the GP, who will make a decision to address any problems.

Careful monitoring of the service will be undertaken in the first phase – which is aimed at the people in the immediate locality – and where necessary changes will be made as lessons are learned and patient experiences heard, before the service expands.

Additional new developments

We are also working on extending tests for deep vein thrombosis and

some chest pains, using a system to detect blood clot remnants in the bloodstream, as well as using ultrasound.

We are exploring the management of patients with dehydration and those suffering with headaches, first fits and cellulitis, and the treatment of soft tissue injuries, particularly sports injuries. This will reduce the need to refer patients to the outpatient department.

As part of our action plan to reduce waiting times for treatment, extra ear-nose-and-throat sessions will be provided at Loughborough Community Hospital.

Communications and engagement

Loughborough Community Hospital’s Utilisation Group, which is a partnership of NHS commissioners and healthcare providers, has been discussing how to make best use of the space available in the hospital.

Our CCG is also ensuring there is engagement with patients and stakeholders, including Patient Participation Groups, on new projects including the Older People’s Unit, which was a key topic of conversation at the recent PPG Network meeting.

LOUGHBOROUGHCOMMUNITY HOSPITAL

UPDATE

We said that we would be making more use of Loughborough Community Hospital under our ‘five-point plan’ – and we are. Improvements are being made to staffing levels and equipment in the Urgent Care Centre, an Older People’s Unit is due to start, and work is underway on other services at the Epinal Way site.

some chest pains, using a system




Healthwatch Leicestershire is actively recruiting members to strengthen its voice on care issues across the county.

In the first month of recruitment more than 100 people have joined and they believe that be healthy, be heard members would find they have a lot in common with Healthwatch public members.

Healthwatch Leicestershire wants to hear about the services you, or someone you know, receives such as doctors, dentists, hospitals, day care centres or care homes.

They make you the following pledges:

Working on your behalf we will make sure that your voice is heard and acted on.

We will tell service providers about your experiences of care and hold them to account.

We will challenge organisations about poor practice and help to turn it into good practice.

We will represent your views at meetings with local decision makers to ensure your needs are considered.

Complete the form online to have your say about the health and social care services in Leicestershire. Just go to www.healthwatchleicestershire.co.uk/sign-up.

Why not join Healthwatch

too?

is the only way to get a same-day appointment, or to attend a walk-in centre.

Residents also spoke up about hospital, dental and social care services. Many people were positive about local services and sympathetic to the challenges they face.

To see the report go to www.healthwatchleicestershire.co.uk.

The ‘My Voice Counts Tour Report’ details the findings from Healthwatch Leicestershire’s summer tour of Leicestershire to hear people’s views on health and social care services.

Many people said they are unable to get a GP appointment on the day, with some saying that queuing outside their GP practice before opening

GP appointments issue voiced by local people

Healthwatch



Seasonal food at its best Seasonal food for autumn

Vegetables• Beetroot• Carrot• Celeriac• Fennel• Field – Mushrooms• Kale• Leeks• Lettuce• Marrow• Potatoes• Pumpkin• Rocket• Sorrel• Squashes• Sweetcorn• Tomatoes • Watercress

Fruits• Apples• Blackberries• Damsons• Elderberries• Pears• Plums• Quince• Sloes

Food that is in season is best because that is when you get the most flavour and highest nutritional value. It’s also cheaper. Here’s two recipe’s to use those prefect autumn fresh produce.

Masala curry potatoes with cumin and tomatoesThis simple dish is a delicious way to enjoy Indian flavours and is great with a side salad for lunch.Serves: 4 adultsPreparation time: 5 minsCooking time: 25 minsIngredients:• 350g salad potatoes• 1 tbsp olive oil• 400g chopped tomatoes• 1 red chilli finely chopped• 1 tsp ground coriander• 1 tsp cumin seeds• 1 medium onion chopped• 2 tbsp fresh coriander choppedWhat to do:1. First, wash the potatoes and cut into 2cm cubes.2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and add the cumin and ground coriander and onion. Fry for 5 minutes.3. Add the chilli and potatoes and season with salt and pepper.4. Add 200ml water, cover and cook for 8 minutes.5. Add the tinned tomatoes and cook uncovered for a further 5-7 minutes or until tender.6. Stir in the fresh coriander just before serving.Nutritional information:Per adult portion (ie, ¼ recipe)• 372kJ / 89kcal• 0.6g fat• 0.2g saturated fat• 0.1g salt• 4.5g sugar

Spiced fruit with cinnamon soldiersThis is a lovely way to enjoy a fresh fruit salad throughout the chillier months.Serves: 4 adultsPreparation time: 10 minsCooking time: 8 minsIngredients:• 4 plums pitted and sliced• 2 ripe pears cored and sliced• 100ml unsweetened apple juice• ½ tsp ground mixed spice

(optional)• 25g sultanas• 1 orange• 4 slices wholemeal bread• 1 pinch ground cinnamon for

sprinkling• 4 tbsp low fat natural yoghurtWhat to do:1. Put the plums and pears into a saucepan with the apple juice and 3 tablespoons of water. Add the mixed spice (if using) and sultanas or raisins. Cook gently for about 6-8 minutes, until the plums and pears are tender.2. While they are cooking, use a sharp serrated knife to remove all the peel and pith from the orange. Slice the flesh into segments, removing all the membrane. Add the segments to the saucepan and stir gently to mix them in, then share the fruit between 4 serving dishes.

3. Sprinkle the slices of bread with a little ground cinnamon, then toast them lightly. Top each fruit salad with 1 tablespoon of low fat yoghurt and serve with the cinnamon toast.Nutritional information:• Per portion (ie, ¼ recipe)• 799kJ / 191kcal• 6g protein• 1g fat of which 0.4g saturates• 4g dietary fibre• 199mg sodium equivalent to

0.5g salt

Top tip: Food that is locally grown and in season is the freshest.

These recipes and more can be found at www.nhs.uk/Change4Life

Masala curry potatoes

Spiced fruit


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