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KCCA News

Date: 16/06/2009

Kent Health Watch

HELPING YOU COMMENT ON HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Tel: 08458 247 103
Email: kenthealthwatch@kent.gov.uk
Texbox: 08458 247 905

Kent Health Watch is a service established by Kent County Council in partnership with the NHS in Kent to help local residents express their views about health and social care in the county and to get through to the right people.

The NHS takes comments and concerns that it receives very seriously and Kent Health Watch will provide another route by which people can make their voice heard.

Kent Health Watch will:

• Act as a "signposting" service that points callers in the right direction.
• Help ensure that all feedback about health and social care services in Kent (including compliments and complaints, comments and concerns) are captured in the most appropriate manner.
• Help the NHS to ensure that all public views and suggestions are taken into account and thus help to improve services.
• Add to and enhance, rather than replace, existing services.

Kent Health Watch will cover all health and social care services delivered within the county of Kent along with services commissioned for Kent residents but provided elsewhere. It will help callers (public, patients and clients) to understand where they can make and progress compliments and complaints, comments and concerns.

Kent Health Watch will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by telephone, texphone and email. It will operate like a Directory Enquiry service helping people to get through to the right contact whenever they want to make comments or concerns about health or social care.

Kent Health Watch takes basic information from callers and then routes or signposts the caller to the appropriate health or social care feedback service. Typically this might be an existing helpline, customer services line, complaints department or Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). Alternatively, if the call is a request for information as opposed to a comment, concern, complaint or compliment, the caller may be referred to some other contact point as appropriate (eg. NHS Direct). In cases of uncertainty, cases involving multiple services and cases involving services provided elsewhere, Kent Health Watch will direct callers to the appropriate local Primary Care Trust.