LINk DEVON - Your voice on health and social care in Devon - Devon Local Involvement Network

FAQ

Why should I join the Devon LINk?

The Devon Local Involvement Network (LINk) is the new way for people to talk directly to the commissioners and providers of health and social care services in Devon about what they want and to get their questions answered about current issues. If you want to find out about health and social care locally and have your say in decisions about these local services, then the Devon LINk is for you. Individuals and organisations can all be participants of the Devon LINk. The more it becomes a "network of networks", the more strength it will have in the Devon community and the stronger its voice will become on your behalf.

Who makes up a LINk?

LINks are slightly different in each area, but are likely to be made up of:

Existing user-led organisations, community and voluntary organisations, carer groups and those who already campaign on behalf of people who use health and social care services
People from different parts of the community including groups which, in the past, have been ‘hard to reach'
People who want to get involved in different ways, either by giving their time to help lead a LINk or by regularly contributing their views.

What is the role of a LINk?

The role of a LINk is to:

Encourage and support more people to get involved in shaping local health and care services; from helping to decide what services should be commissioned, to influencing the way they are run
Activity canvas every section of the community for their views and experiences of local health and care services
Provide the community with a mechanism for monitoring and reviewing local health and care services and the ability to hold them to account
Tell those who commission, run and scrutinise local health and care services, what local people have recommended to help improve local services.

What powers do LINks have?

Legislation provides LINks with powers to help carry out their role and places duties on the NHS and the Local Authority to provide information and access to premises:
LINk authorised representatives can enter specific premises to review and report on the quality of the services provided
LINks can ask commissioners and providers for information about services and expect a response
LINks can make recommendations to the local NHS and Local Authority and expect a response
LINks can refer matters to the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees for Health or Social Services for action.

Who is the Devon LINk accountable to?

First and foremost, LINks are accountable to their local population. They are independent of central government, local government and the NHS and their funding is channelled through independent Host organisations. Because LINks are publicly funded they also need to report annually to the Secretary of State. Local people and groups need to have confidence that LINks understand local health and social care needs and have developed a credible work programme based on local priorities. LINks will have to find ways to explain the rationale for prioritising issues in their work programmes so that people can be clear about why some issues are being dealt with first, others later and some not at all. They should also open and honest and work in ways that are free from bias. All of the LINk procedures, including how the Devon LINk makes decisions, are published elsewhere on this website. The initial Board or Executive of the Devon LINk is referred to as the "Strategic Planning Group". The Strategic Planning Group is accountable to the wider LINk and the LINk is accountable to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at Devon County Council.

Is the Devon LINk a voluntary body?

No, all LINks are created by a law passed by Parliament - the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 - which sets out their legal duties and powers. In addition, the Government has issued Regulations and Directions describing the detail of LINk activities which have the force of law and must be complied with. This gives a LINk considerable authority to work directly with the NHS and Local Authority on behalf of the local community. However, most of the LINk participants give their time voluntarily.

Are LINks like the Patient and Public Involvement Forums just renamed?

No, LINks are distinctly different:

The LINk remit includes health and social care services
LINk participants will comprise both individuals and organisations
The Devon LINk will be a network and not a series of committee meetings
The Devon LINk will engage widely with people right across Devon to make sure that everyone can have their say, especially those who are not normally heard.

The legislation creating LINks also abolished Patient Forums across England on 31st March 2008.

Doesn't the LINk just duplicate what the Senior Council for Devon does?

No, there are a number of ways in which the two are very different. Below are some examples.

Senior Council for Devon

Is a voluntary organisation, which is registered as a company limited by guarantee.

Membership is open to citizens aged 50+.

Represents, and seeks the views of, citizens aged 50+ in many issues.

The "Preferred Partner" of the Devon County Council and Primary Care Trust in planning and service improvement for the over 50's.

Devon LINk

Is a network (not an organisation) of local groups and individuals, which is established by legislation (Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act, 2007).

Anyone can participate.You do not have to join the LINk to become involved.

Represents, and seeks the views of, people of any age in health and social care issues.

Devon County Council and all NHS Trusts in Devon are legally required to work with the LINk in respect of services to people of all ages. They are also required to enable the LINk to visit establishments where health and social care services are being provided so that the LINk can monitor these services and make recommendations for improvement.

The Senior Council is a LINk participant and its Chairman, Bill Jordan, is also a member of the LINk's Strategic Planning Group. This means that the Senior Council and the LINk can share information and work together closely. Bill feeds back regularly to the Senior Council's Executive, whose responsibility it is to ensure that information is passed to and from its local groups. This partnership is a good example of how the LINk can contribute to a local organisation's work and add value to what they are doing, rather than duplicating their efforts.

Who is in control of Devon LINk?

To get the organisation up and running so that it becomes self-governing with its own appointed Strategic Planning Group, a "LINk Host" organisation has been selected through a competitive tendering exercise, and charged by the Local Authority with taking the initial decisions about structure and processes and being financially accountable for LINk resources. Any decisions will reflect what local communities have told the Host about what they think their LINk should look like and how they think it should be run. The Host will be subject to scrutiny by the Local Authority to whom the LINk Host reports regularly. Once the LINk has an appointed Strategic Planning Group, it will enable the wider LINk to make decisions about its work programme and budget, with the continuing advice and support of the LINk Host. The Strategic Planning Group is unable to make important decisions about governance and work programmes without first consulting with the wider LINk membership.

How was the LINk Host in Devon selected and who appointed them?

Following a competitive tendering exercise, East Devon Council for Voluntary Service (EDVSA), leading on behalf of the Devon Association of Councils for Voluntary Services (DACVS) was appointed by Devon County Council to deliver the "LINk Host" role for the Devon LINk. EDVSA is an independent voluntary body. The DACVS Partnership covers the geographical region of Devon. Its activities are governed by the Chief Officers of the local Councils for Voluntary Service (CVS), which are based in North Devon, Torridge, Mid Devon, East Devon, Exeter, West Devon, Teignbridge and the South Hams (but not Plymouth and Torbay as these are Unitary Authorities and have their own LINks). The aim of the 8 CVS in the partnership is to ensure that the voluntary and community sector has local support, effective local representation and that everyone is able to share best practice, skills and expertise. This expertise will be used to ensure that the Devon LINk builds a strong and representative membership across Devon.

What is the role of the Host organisation?

The role of a ‘Host' organisation is to enable, support and facilitate the activities of a LINk. The Host will also advise the Strategic Planning Group on a range of LINk matters, based on good practice and informationfrom the communityand remind Strategic Planning Group participants of their responsibilities towards the wider LINk.

Where does the Devon LINk get its money from?

The Department of Health has made £84 million available nationally to fund LINks between April 2008 and March 2011. Each Local Authority with social services responsibility has been allocated, from this overall amount, an Area Based Grant based on their population and factors such as levels of poverty, to be used to fund the LINks and their support structures. In Devon, £298,000 has been allocated in year 1, £299,000 in year 2 and £301,000 in year 3. A small amount is retained by Devon County Council to enable them to monitor the Host contract. An amount is also set aside for LINk activity and the LINk Strategic Planning Group will be responsible for decided, in consultation with the wider LINk membership, how this money will be spent. The LINk can also commission other local organisations to carry out consultation work for them and can be commissioned by others to carry out relevant work.

What local services will LINks cover?

The Devon LINk remit covers all publicly funded health and social care services within the county boundary covered by Devon County Council. There are some exceptions such as children's social care which is covered by separate arrangements through OFSTED. It does not matter who provides the service; as long as the users of the service are publicly funded, it falls within the remit of LINk.

Should I join the LINk as an individual or on behalf of an organisation that I belong to?

You can join the Devon LINk as an individual. It is useful if you tell us which organisations or groups you belong to. However, if you want to join the LINk as a representative of a group or organisation, you must show that you have been elected or chosen, by that group or organisation, to be their representative. All representatives will be responsible for feeding information to and from their group or organisation, but the Host may be able to help you to do this.

Can local commissioners and providers be LINk members?

No, the NHS, Devon County Council or any of the CVS in Devon, as organisations, cannot be participants of the LINk. Individuals who work for these organisations can be participants if they register as individuals using their home address, but they cannot be appointed to the Strategic Planning Group. Executive members of NHS Trusts or the Local Authority cannot be Strategic Planning Group members.

I don't live in Devon, can I still be a member of the Devon LINk?

As an individual, if you don't live in Devon but you are registered with a Devon GP practice and use its services then you can still be a participant of Devon LINk.

Can I belong to more than one LINk?

Yes, each LINk is free to establish its own registration criteria.

Will LINks in adjoining areas and across the South West cooperate with each other?

Collaboration across the South West will be essential. The Devon LINk will seek cooperative arrangements with surrounding LINks such as Torbay and Plymouth and neighbouring counties. This will reflect the pattern of service use by Devon residents. The Host organisations in the South West are already part of a regional network that meets regularly to share good practice.

If I have a concern or complaint about my doctor/dentist or an issue with my Council Flat, how can LINks help?

LINks do not handle complaints because there are other bodies already doing that. LINks can point people in the right direction to obtain help with concerns and complaints.

What will LINk do with any suggestions I make on health and social care issues in Devon?

It is the role of LINk to seek out the views of the public, service users, patients and carers about particular issues in health and social care and then to represent those views to the commissioners and providers of those services - usually the NHS and the local Council. The LINk will have clear and open processes to show how views are gathered in particular issues, what views were expressed, how they were put forward, and what was said and done about them as a result.

Can I ask the Host for the telephone number of a LINk Member in my area?

No, the Host is required to hold and use all personal information in line with the Data Protection Act. This means that they cannot give out personal information without first getting permission from that person to do so. The LINk can be contacted through the Host organisation. It is also important that any information goes through the Host office so that it can be logged, collated, researched and reported appropriately by the LINk in an accountable and transparent way.