At the West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, we are committed to understanding the experiences of patients and public who use our services. Your views can influence the way we work. We have active patient support groups and we are keen to involve people of all ages and backgrounds. We want to hear from relatives and carers too.
Patients and public can be involved in a number of ways and at different levels:
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You can share your individual experience through taking part in surveys, telling your story, meeting with PALS and joining public consultations.
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You can link with people who have similar interest as part of a group by joining patient support organisations or joining others who have similar experiences for example in a cardiac surgery review group.
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You can become a patient or public representative and act as a voice for others at trust groups or as part of wider health and social care activities. This can help you understand how organisations work and put you in contact with a bigger network of people.
Local involvement networks (LINks)
Local involvement networks (LINks) are a new way to help monitor and shape health and social care. They replaced the existing Patient & Public Involvement Forums with effect from 1 April 2008. LINks will allow a local community to express what they want from local services and feed these views back to those responsible for delivering the services. Each local authority that provides social services in England will have its own LINk. The LINks that will be interacting with the West Middlesex University Hospital are:
Hounslow LINk: www.communityvoicesonline.org/links/home.aspx?id=18
Richmond LINk: www.richmondlink.org.uk
Your views
