www.publicinvolvement.org.uk

Press Release: Tuesday, 29 January 2008

"We want to help the new user and public voices involvement networks known as LINks get off to the best possible start," Andrew Craig of the Moore Adamson Craig Partnership said today. The Partnership is launching a new suite of LINks-related products called LINKSWORKS® for the new world of local authority-based Local Involvement Networks designed to bring the voices of service users and the public into the decision making of commissioners and providers of health and social care.

"The history of patient and public involvement in the health service has been a chequered one recently with Community Health Councils being closed and their ill-fated successor the Commission for Public and Patient Involvement in Health lasting less than five years," Andrew points out. "It is therefore vital to make sure the new arrangements get off to the best possible start by recruiting good people and reassuring local organisations that this time the new arrangements will work and will last."

The Moore Adamson Craig Partnership offers a unique blend of advice based on practical experience and on that basis is already associated with the Wandsworth Care Alliance tender to be the host organisation for the LINk to be set up in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The products listed below focus on the set-up phase of getting the best people, giving them the support and training that they need with good communications using modern Web 2.0 techniques. The LINKSDATA tool is a research and evaluation tool to make sure that the LINks can demonstrate their impact and measure their effectiveness.

Recruitment and Capacity Building - LINKSWORLD®
The identification of network builders and participants and the creation of processes to bring organisations and individuals into the ambit of the LINks. Our aim in this process would be to identify and bring forward individuals and organisations that will form the LINks and this process we are calling LINKSHANDS®.

Learning, Development of Social Capital and Training - LINKSLEARNING® with LINKSCOURSES®
to bring together those who form the network and work with them to create a network that makes a difference. Many of the participants will have a considerable experience of the job of representing others to the powers that be. We will take this a stage further and develop a means of targeting health and social care organisations - in particular commissioners: the new focus for money and care delivery - to get action.

The training will be strongly interactive and supported by individual coaching and mentoring as requested.

E-communications and use of Web 2.0 techniques - LINKSWEB®
The effectiveness of the LINks will depend to a great degree on communication across many organisations and people. While the human element remains vital with face to face meetings an essential part of the work, new technology will bring together individuals and their contributions in a cost-effective and easy to use way. We will be working with suppliers and e-businesses to offer advice on how best to do this.

Policy and Research - LINKSDATA®
will help establish both the field of action and assess impact and effectiveness amongst those with whom the LINks will work to put over the user and patient point of view. A range of methodologies - including focus groups and web-based surveys - will be available to the LINks to make use of and to provide a clear picture both of what they have to do and how well they have done it. 

Related articles about LINks
Below are links to recent documents/blog entries posted by Moore Adamson Craig:

• Regulations for Links (M-A-C's response) - December, 2007
  http://www.publicinvolvement.org.uk/2007-12-Dec/LINksResponse.php
• LINks Let Loose at Last - November, 2007
  http://www.publicinvolvement.org.uk/2007-11-Nov/LINksLetLooseatLast.php
• What next for LINks - Local Involvement Networks? - September, 2007
  http://www.publicinvolvement.org.uk/2007-09-Sep/WhatnextforLINks-LocalInv.php

NOTE FOR EDITORS

The Moore Adamson Craig Partnership was set up in 2003 to provide management consultancy services for consumer representatives primarily in the health service. Since then the Partners have worked with patients and their representatives as well as healthcare providers in making effective patient representation a reality.

More details of their work can be seen on the websites www.mooreadamsoncraig.co.uk and www.publicinvolvement.co.uk

LINks are local networks set up to gather and represent the views of users of health and social care services. LINks will look at all health and social care services in an area that are funded by taxpayers. It will not matter whether they are provided by the NHS, a local authority, a private company, a social enterprise or a charity.

LINks will feedback this information to the people responsible for commissioning, providing, managing and checking up on health and social care services so that things can change for the better.

The Department of Health website has more details:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Organisationpolicy/PatientAndPublicinvolvement/index.htm