Welcome to Healthwatch Central Bedfordshire

Find out how we can help you by watching this video

Our aim is to improve health and social care services in Central Bedfordshire.

To do this we require up-to-date information about local doctors’ surgeries, hospitals, dentists, pharmacies, opticians, social care, emergency care and community based health teams. With this, we are able to inform, liaise, influence and, if necessary, challenge decisions and plans.

For all of this, we need your help!

Please help us by sharing your experiences of all or any of these services by clicking on the button below.

Tell us when things are going well and when they’re not, so we can do something about it.

New Provider Appointed for Non-Emergency Patient Transport – October 2017

East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) has been awarded a caretaker contract to provide non-emergency patient transport in Bedfordshire, Luton and Hertfordshire.

This comes after HMRC issued a winding up order for Private Ambulance Service, the current provider.

All patients who are eligible for patient transport, and have transport booked for their next out-patient appointment, should call the EEAST contact centre on 01603 481208 to confirm their transport arrangements. Eligible patients should also use this number for making bookings.

The Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) is encouraging patients who are able to make their own way to their appointments to do so if possible.

The new caretaker contract will bring reassurance to patients in the area after a period of uncertainty and ensure continuity of service, which is a priority during the transition.  Click here to read more on this story.

Residents of Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes have the chance to give their views on pharmaceutical services in their local areas.

The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA), runs from 16 October 2017 to 15 December 2017.

A PNA (Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment) looks at what pharmaceutical services are currently in an area, whether this meets local needs and if there are any gaps.

The PNA includes information on pharmacies (chemists) and the services they currently provide, including dispensing, providing advice on health, medicines reviews and local public health services. To read more, click on this link: Pharmaceutical Needs consultation

People can take part in one or both sections of the consultation. The first survey is on your local pharmacy services, the second is on the PNA document. All feedback will be considered by the health and well-being boards from the three local authorities and help them to identify any current and future services that may need to be commissioned.

To comment on your local pharmacy services, please fill in this online form

To have your say on the PNA document, please fill in this online form

If you would rather download both forms and fill them in manually, please use these links:

Download local pharmacy consultation form

Download PNA document

Some comments from the participating councils:

Bedford Borough Council – Cllr Louise Jackson, Portfolio Holder for Public Health at Bedford Borough Council said: “We want people to get the best out of their pharmacy and if we know exactly what they want, we will do our very best to deliver that.”

Central Bedfordshire Council – Councillor Brian Spurr, Executive Member for Health at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment affects most residents, as many of us will use a pharmacy at some point or another to get medicine or health advice and information for themselves or family members. That’s why I’d encourage as many people as possible to have their say.”

Milton Keynes Council – Cllr Peter Marland, Chair of the Milton Keynes Health and Wellbeing Board added: “Pharmacies play a crucial role in keeping our communities healthy; that is why it is important that we understand the views of as many residents as possible when shaping their future. They need to continue to provide the best possible service for our city for years to come and this assessment will help see to that.”

“Your feedback will be vital in ensuring that what’s out there already meets local needs – and if there are any gaps then we need to know about them so something can be done.”

Festival For Older People 2017

A Good Time Was Had By All!

Now in its 5th Year, the Festival for Older People continues to grow with over 300 visitors attending this year’s event at the Rufus Centre in Flitwick.

Visitors found the event both informative and entertaining with over 40 stalls providing advice and guidance about social care, health and housing services available to support older people. Various workshops covered everything from Armchair Pilates and Mindfulness, to Skincare. In the main hall ‘Elvince’ entertained the crowd.

Health checks including Blood Pressure and Diabetes were popular on the day and there was a range of useful medical and practical information.

For visitor, Pat, she was able to combine her health check with a relaxing hand massage: “I’ve been to the healing gentleman and I was delighted to have my diabetes checked. It’s very low, so I’m going to live! I’m fit and healthy, isn’t that lovely” It was Pat’s first time at the Festival for Older People. So, would she recommend the event to her friends? Pat replied, “Yes, I should tell them to come next year definitely. Perhaps we’ll hire a bus!”

We’re already staring to plan next year’s festival so if you visited this year we would like your suggestions on how we can do it better next year!

State of Care 2016/17

State of Care is the annual assessment of health and social care in England that is carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) . It looks at the trends, highlights examples of good and outstanding care, and identifies factors that maintain high-quality care.

This year, for the first time ever, you can look up the State of Care in your local area. An interactive map links to individual reports that show hospital, GP practice and care home ratings by each local authority area. You can find links on the State of Care page on the CQC website and download your own report showing how your services compare with the national average.

Click HERE to visit the CQC website