Meg Carter: Volunteer Interview
Having worked extensively in social care, Meg saw volunteering with us as a great opportunity to extend her knowledge of health and social care services with the fresh perspective of independence.
We work together as Board members with an overview of the work and development of the organisation and individually contribute in a number of different ways.
“My particular interest more recently has been to ensure that as volunteers we can be effective in representing Healthwatch as an independent organisation in a number of different forums.” Meg is currently representing us at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust Board Meetings, and notes that, this also includes some input as a stakeholder representative with the West Herts Hospitals Trust redevelopment programme.
“To be effective in this context I must be ready to challenge as well as to applaud, while always clear that Healthwatch holds the system to account from a service user perspective.
“Key for me is to try and ensure that the service user remains at the centre of all public sector planning. Part of what I bring to this is my passion for clear communication and the importance of asking ‘what will this proposal/decision mean for the service user and what will they make of it?’ While issues are often complex sometimes there is a need to challenge impenetrable language!”
Having Meg as a Board Member and a Representative helps us to ensure that the patient voice is being represented at a decision-making level.
