The development of Local Healthwatch in Kent Part one: key findings

At the same time all participants felt that K LHW would need the skills and
insight to understand commissioner and provider data to be able to analyse
it and make informed challenge. This would also include an understanding of
the methodologies used to collect data.
There was a strong recognition from commissioners that an effective K LHW
would enhance their ability to commission, co-produce new services, decommission
where appropriate and monitor performance and quality.
Social care and health commissioners are well placed to use their
procurement and contracting roles to ensure that collaborations with K LHW
are built in to contracts with providers.
It was identified that further work needs to be undertaken with provider
organisations that so far have not been a full part of the statement of
readiness exercise. This could be taken up by the K LHW Development Group
in the next phase of its work programme.
Organisational form
Three organisational forms have emerged from participants as contenders for the
structure of K LHW as a ‘body corporate’. These would benefit from more detailed
exploration and development in the next phase of the development process.
From the ‘Every Decision About Me, With Me’ workshop a proposal for a
distributed model of K LHW where the functions of the body are embedded
in existing organisations across a range of themes, issues and seldom heard
groups in Kent. This could be achieved by locating K LHW champions in
organisations and networking them via a core body. Existing models of
practice such as the experience of Citizens Advice Bureaux may provide a
template for exploring this model.
A second form is a consortia model of a smaller group of local organisations
with differing specialisms to deliver K LHW across the county.
The third form is the more traditional hub and spoke model. This model
would have a single organisation at the centre that provides the coordination
of all the K LHW functions and also provides the governance role. The core
would then work with separate specialist units of the organisation for the
delivery of different K LHW functions.
Participants recognised that it would be very difficult for one single
organisation to have all the skillsets and specialisms required to deliver K LHW
on their own. It was also felt that one single organisation was unlikely to be
well placed to engage with the variety of seldom heard groups in Kent. It was
also felt very strongly that K LHW should work in a highly coordinated way
with organisations that already deliver similar functions rather than replicating
these functions or competing with other organisations. The latter was felt to
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The development of Local Healthwatch in Kent: assessing readiness for Local Healthwatch