Our patient and public engagement groups bring together members of the public, carers, and representatives from voluntary organisations and our local Healthwatch groups, to hold the ICB to account for how it involves local people in the design and commissioning of local health services.
- In Bath and North East Somerset, the Your Health, Your Voice group meets every two months.
- In Swindon, the Patient and Public Engagement Forum meets once a month
The groups are chaired by our Lay Member for Patient and Public Involvement and the groups are encouraged to inform and support the ICB's engagement with the wider public by advising us on different approaches and groups we should consult with.
We have created a new Citizens Sounding Board to inform development of our people and communities engagement strategy.
We also plan to establish a new Public and Community Engagement Committee for the ICB to ensure that engagement is considered at the outset of new transformational work. Membership will be taken from the existing patient forum groups and citizen sounding boards. There will also be a Healthwatch and VCSE representative. This committee will provide oversight of engagement.
If you are interested in finding out more about our engagement groups, please email bswicb.communications@nhs.net