Healthwatch Sheffield leads our patient and public engagement. To ensure patients, carers and the public have the opportunity to influence the work of the ACP on an ongoing basis, they set up the Improving Accountable Care (IAC) Forum. The group meets monthly and participation is on a voluntary basis.
Who is involved?
The IAC Forum consists of 18 volunteers who draw upon their own experiences and in some cases those of the people they care for, to challenge current thinking in health and care service, design, delivery and commissioning and suggest ways to make local people’s health and experiences better. The experiences and views of members of the group help shape and add value to the development and delivery of the work of the ACP.
Collectively, the forum members have a wide range of expertise due to their experiences of mobility, sensory and communication difficulties and long term conditions such as asthma, diabetes and autism. Their areas of interest and knowledge span a broad variety of services and reflect the diverse factors that affect people’s health and wellbeing. The group are keen to see the role of social factors including housing and community included in a more holistic and preventative approach to improving health, and for patients and carers to have more person centred interactions and support from the services they use.
What has been discussed?
Since the group formed in January 2019 many programmes of work and topics have been discussed. More information on what has been covered at the forum meetings can be found here.
How to get involved?
For more information on the formation of the IAC Forum or how to get involved in the work Healthwatch Sheffield is doing please go to the Healthwatch Sheffield website here.
