Taking Stock Week
Why now?
There are a number of reasons for doing this: our new and much closer relationship with Viewpoint; our funding for running the service has been reduced so we need to both reduce our running costs and look to other sources of income; we have been operating for 5 years – where have we achieved most; are we the right people to do everything – can partners help with delivery; how do we ensure our focus is on helping to tackle health inequalities, hold the system to account and deliver a robust research and engagement programme so the patient voice is heard.
What did we do?
We began by looking at our strengths and opportunities, and also areas for improvement. It was really heart-warming to be able to identify so many of these. Healthwatch Hertfordshire has an ambitious and able Board keen to take Healthwatch forward to meet the challenges ahead, and an equally ambitious staff who are talented, experienced, and committed staff. Not to mention our wonderful volunteers, the absolute backbone of the organisation.
Crucially, we’re seen as adding value by NHS and social care services, something not all Healthwatch are able to say, and this is closely linked to our reputation for high quality research, engagement, Enter and View and signposting.
We did identify the two main challenges we face; our capacity and reliance on a small staff team, and organisational resilience with reduced staff numbers.
What did we find?
As a result of our deliberations we have made a number of decisions within our remit, and made recommendations and proposals for our Board to consider. We will also be talking to you about some of the changes where there is an impact on services we deliver.
We also settled on a range of areas for further exploration. Amongst those items were how do we best engage with communities particularly seldom heard voices and the most efficient way of ensuring that our services bring extra revenue into the organisation
We are also committed to work in as effective and efficient a way as possible in our office and delivery processes – through procurement, avoiding duplication and streamlining systems whilst retaining our strength of governance and effective operational management.
Next steps
Our Chief Executive Geoff will be presenting the results of our weeks work at our next Board Meeting which starts at 10am on November 19th 2018 at Birchwood Leisure Centre, Hatfield. The meetings are open to the public, and we would love you to come along and find out more about what we’ve got in store for our future.
Click here to find out more about the work of our Board
