We are fully committed to meaningful conversations with people, on the right issues at the right time. It is important that you have your say so that we can improve our health and care services.
Our Communications and Engagement Strategy sets out our commitment to ensuring our local communities have the opportunity to input into how services are developed and provided. We want to empower everyone to take more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing in order to lead their best lives.
Engaging and communicating with partners, stakeholders and the public in the planning, design and delivery of services is essential if we are to get this right. We are committed to transparency and meaningful engagement in our work.
If you would like to know more, would like to get involved and have your say about any proposals or find out about our upcoming engagement and consultation activity, please contact us by emailing bswicb.partnership@nhs.net
NHS Ten Year Health Plan
Your chance to be part of the biggest public conversation about health and help us shape the NHS 10 year plan
NHS, Local Authority and Third sector staff are working harder than ever to get services back on track, to get waiting lists down and consistently deliver the best care.
We know change is needed. But we also know that many of the solutions we need are already here, working somewhere in the NHS today.
We in BSW have not shied away from this challenge. We are tackling it head on — redesigning how we deliver care, bringing treatment closer to home and really taking advantage of the latest technology and innovation.
Our staff are our greatest asset, so we know it is not just recovery we need to worry about — it is resilience too. Productivity does not mean asking our staff to do more but giving them the tools they need — whether it’s modern buildings, flexible working or better-connected tech — to work more efficiently, and therefore provide better, faster, safe care for patients.
That’s why we are playing our part in the launch the consultation for the 10-Year Health Plan alongside the government, and we want to hear from you — patients, their families and the wider public — about your NHS story.
Whether you have a little to say or a lot, your views, experiences and ideas will shape immediate steps and long-term changes: a new 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS.
We want your help in shaping the NHS 10 year plan
Thinking ahead 10 years, what would you want your NHS in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire to be like?
What is going to change for you over the next 10 years and how can your NHS best support you and those around you over that time?
Between November 2024 and February 2025 members of the public, staff and patients from across BSW, are being invited to share their experiences, views and ideas for improving the NHS.
People are being encouraged to fill in the local survey even if they have already completed the national one. This is to ensure that insights from local people can be used to improve local services.
How you can get involved
Your views, experiences and ideas will shape immediate steps and long-term changes: a new 10-Year Health Plan for the NHS.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to make the NHS fit for the future.
You can pass on your views via the NHS Ten Year Health Plan survey
This is a once in a generation opportunity to make the NHS fit for the future. Together we can fix it. We need your voice.
You can also sign up to take part in forthcoming engagement events about the Ten Year Plan, as well as other forthcoming opportunities to pass on your views about local health and care services by emailing bswicb.engagement@nhs.net
Citizens Panel
The Our Health, Our Future Panel is a new way for us to engage with those living in BSW to get their views on health and care issues.
In line with our value of "inclusive", the online panel is made up of a representative sample of the population from across our region. Panel members will take part in regular surveys throughout the year as well as form focus groups from time to time.
We have been working with independent market research specialists Jungle Green to develop our panel. Jungle Green is a Bristol-based market research agency that is working on behalf of BSW CCG and the BSW Partnership to support the Our Health Our Future Panel. Jungle Green invite people to join the Panel using a range of methods including face-to-face recruitment in local shopping centres and high streets, and from this, we hope to recruit 1,000 people to our Panel. During the Coronavirus pandemic they have been unable to do face-to-face recruitment, however, we have been promoting virtual recruitment to the panel.
To find out more about the Our Health, Our Future Panel, please get in touch with the Communications and Engagement team: bswicb.partnership@nhs.net
Listening to the views of people across BSW is important to all of our partner organisations. You can find out more about getting involved with decisions and making your views heard by following the link to our partner websites here.
Our campaigns
Throughout the year we run a variety of health and care campaigns that support our population to live their best lives. These campaigns range from national stop-smoking and cancer awareness days to winter health and flu vaccination campaigns.
Communications and engagement specialists from each of our partner organisations work together on these campaigns to make sure the messages reach as many people as possible, in the most appropriate way for them.
See our campaigns below:
#PlayYourPart
In January 2021, local health and care services experienced intense pressures as a result of rising Covid-19 cases and the absence of staff across the region due to illness and/or the need to self-isolate. Some temporary changes were made including closure of two of our Minor Injuries Units.
We asked for our residents’ help by taking actions to reduce the chances of them needing urgent medical attention.
One year of the pandemic
March 2021 marked one year since the Covid-19 pandemic began significantly impacting everyone’s lives. In recognition of this milestone and to highlight the incredible response from health and social care staff across the whole of Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, we produced a video featuring some of these colleagues and their work.
You can watch our video on our YouTube channel.
Shaping a Healthier Future
We have refreshed of our health and care model to ensure it meets the needs of our population and helps on our journey to recovery from Covid.
Visit our Shaping a Healthier Future page for more information.
Past projects
Our Health Our Future
During the summer of 2019, as we were thinking about our priorities for the future, we gave people in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire an opportunity to help shape how health and care services are provided in the future.
Over a six week period we invited all local residents to say what they need to live healthier and happier lives as part of a campaign called Our Health, Our Future.
Answers were used by health and care providers as part of a forward looking plan which will set out how everyone will be able to access the services and support they need. The plan outlined a local response to priorities laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan which was published in January 2019.
Transforming Maternity Services Together
The proposal to change the way maternity services are delivered across the region was developed by all the NHS organisations that plan and buy health services as well as those that provide or manage maternity services across B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire.
We engaged widely across BSW and more than 2,400 people took part in public consultation between November 2018 and February 2019.
A team at the Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Improvement at the University of Bath School of Management analysed the survey responses. The full report and other consultation material was published online in January 2020 and are available on the Transforming Maternity Services website.
The proposal to change maternity services was approved by the joint BSW Governing Bodies on 16 January 2020 and implementation of the proposal has begun.
Find out more here: www.transformingmaternity.org.uk
