Louise’s first year at Healthwatch Lancashire

It is nearly a year since I begun in the role at Healthwatch Lancashire as an Engagement Officer.

I have been involved in many different projects varying from the Cost-of-living Crisis to our current project Waiting for Wellness which is exploring mental health in Lancashire.

There is still chance to share your mental health experiences with us here 

I was largely involved in our previous project: Voices of the Seldom Heard: Experiences of the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme.

It was my role to ensure that we were engaging with a variety of demographics and seldom heard groups to ensure their views and experiences were heard.I was involved in a range of engagement activities from visiting a European supermarket to speaking to college students during a football session (many of whom were refugees).

As a result of people’s feedback, we made a series of recommendations to improve the vaccination roll-out process. These recommendations varied from creating Easy Read materials on information about the vaccination to utilising a Roaming Covid-19 Link Nurse Team for those most vulnerable/with a disability to administer the vaccine at home.

“I felt there was no avenue to discuss reasonable adjustments while booking and the question that did ask about any adjustments related purely to physical issues, such as wheelchair accessibility. This led to a delayed first and second dose for me and for others”

 “I am unable to visit the vaccination centre as I am housebound due to numerous disabilities. I requested a home visit on several occasions, but it appears no one from the NHS or my GP surgery was able to make a house visit even though I am willing to have it.”

Over the past year, I have also enjoyed helping the team to recruit some of our amazing volunteers. A time which stands out to me was meeting Inna, who is now our volunteer. Inna is a Ukrainian Refugee who I met whilst on an engagement event at Lancaster library. She expressed interest in the role of Healthwatch and as a result, signed up to volunteer with us. I have been on many engagements with Inna since she started and it has been great to see her confidence and experience grow.

“I was born in Ukraine and worked for 32 years as a doctor. When the war started and my city was occupied by Russian troops, I decided to change my life. I came to the UK hoping to complete my diploma and be able to not only survive physically,  but to transform my trauma experience into an experience of growth.

With Healthwatch, I got the opportunity to delve deeper into the cultural roots of society, the rules and ethics of behaviour. I was able to see what is not on the surface. It is important for me to be a part of society and to make my contribution to the improvement of the lives of others.”

Inna, volunteer

This is just a snapshot of the varied role of being an Engagement Officer within the Healthwatch Lancashire.

The rest of the engagement team at Healthwatch Lancashire are also reaching their one year anniversary and we continue to develop and gain a richer understanding of the communities we are working in.

The team recently had a very thought-provoking session with Tom from Clever Together. The team came away with a better understanding of the importance our roles and how these can influence change. It was a fantastic day and we were even joined by our colleagues from Healthwatch Cumberland and Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness.

Here’s to another exciting year ahead!

Do you have a recent health or social care experience? You can use our Independent Feedback Centre