Our Highlights:

-Sharing your experiences of NHS and Social Care Services

-Our partnership with Lambeth Links

-Volunteer Wellbeing: Lambeth wide event

-Lambeth's "Before I Die" virtual ‘wall’

-Community conversations: support for residents who have to self-isolate

Healthwatch Lambeth is the independent champion for people using local health and social care services. We are asking people living or working in Lambeth to take part in a short survey to tell us about their views and experiences of sharing feedback about local NHS and social care services. We also want to understand whether people know about us and our services.

 Please help us by spending a few minutes to complete our anonymous survey (we do not ask you for your name). Your feedback will help us to decide how best to inform people about the different ways they share their feedback about NHS and social care services and how they can get information they need about local services.

 Please click the link below to take part:

Healthwatch Lambeth have partnered with Lambeth Links to work together to improve the commissioning and provision of services for the LGBTQ+ community in Lambeth. 

Our future is our community
Lambeth Links is Lambeth’s forum serving the LGBTQ+ Community within the borough.

Lambeth has the largest LGBTQ+ Community in the UK and our aim is to serve as a central point of rallying, communication and advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ+ Community who live, work, study and socialise in our borough.

In February 2021 Lambeth Links became a registered charity (1193637).
Please sign up to our newsletter here: www.lambethlinks.org.uk 

Twitter:  @LambethLinks
Insta:  @LambethLinksForum

The London Met University are carrying out research into the effect of covid19 on health and wellbeing in the LGBQI+ community

How to get involved?

To share your experiences of being LGBTQI+ in Lambeth during this time of COVID19, you can complete this questionnaire (closing in mid May)  It is a long survey, but the results will influence commissioning for future years. 

Lambeth Links and Lambeth Healthwatch are encouraging Lambeth GP and Pharmacy services to sign up to Pride in Practice.

Pride in Practice  has been recommissioned in Lambeth by the CCG and Public Health. This fully funded training and award programme will help your practice significantly strengthen and develop your relationships with lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities. South East London has the highest resident LGBT population in Europe, a high HIV prevalence, lower than average testing rates as well and the community is disproportionally affected by mental health, depression and substance abuse. The programme will also address questions around screening for cancer, GDC referrals and using EMIS or SNOMED to better meet the needs of trans patients. 

Please contact PIP@LGBT.foundation for more information and to sign your practice up to this scheme. 

https://lgbt.foundation/how-we-can-help-you/pride-in-practice

https://lgbt.foundation/pride-in-practice/london

Congratulations to the following practices for achieving an accreditation with Pride in Practice:

Grantham Practice

Knights Hill Surgery

The Corner Surgery

Hetherington Group Practice

Hetherington at the Pavillion

Beckett House Practice

The Iveagh Surgery

Clapham Family Practice

Herne Hill Group Practice

Stockwell Group Practice

Herne Hill Road Medical Practice

Mawbey Group Practice

We would encourage all patients to write to their GP Practice Manager to encourage them to sign up for this accreditation scheme. 

Join us during National Volunteer’s Week to think about managing stress, improving resilience and how to look after your own wellbeing as a volunteer’. The event will take place on Monday 7th June at 6.30 for one hour and will be facilitated by Caroline Waran Mental Health Lead for Healthwatch Lambeth. The is open to volunteers and community and voluntary organisations.

To register for the event please click the link below. We look forward to seeing you there. For more information, please contact Vanita at vanita.bhavnani@healthwatchlambeth.org.uk

This virtual ‘wall’ was created in 2020 by the Advanced Care Planning Consortium when we were unable to put up a physical display due to coronavirus restrictions limiting large events. It is a space for people to put their wishes, ideas and intentions about what they want to do before they die, and how they want to make the most out of the time they have. While there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding physical events, we want to continue to use this as a space where people can continue to create a visual representation on the things that matter to them the most. As a volunteer and supporter of Healthwatch Lambeth, please help us revitalise the wall for 2021 by taking a moment to add to it and encourage others to do so using the following link: 

"Before I die..." record your future care wishes (via padlet.com)

You could post about:

-What things you would like to have around you if you became unwell and unable to communicate: eg a favourite tv programme, a certain food, access to fresh air.

-Any thoughts you have about how you want the end of your life to look like and who you want to be with

-Any ideas about what you want to make sure you do in the time you have left: a particular holiday you would like to take or a family member you hope to be reunited with.

We want to hear from young people about their experience of transition to adulthood and/or independence.

If you are 14 to 25, do live in Lambeth, and have mental health conditions or learning disability, please share your story.  Your private information will be kept  completely confidential. Your story can help us improve the support you need as you move to adulthood.

For more information, contact Natalia Sali on 07729  624 226 or Natalia.Sali@healthwatchlambeth.org.uk

Covid-19 has reduced significantly, but it has not disappeared. It’s vital that anyone with symptoms or close contact with someone with Covid-19 quickly gets a free test by calling the NHS on 119, or, visits one of the test sites or pharmacies in Lambeth that provide rapid tests for people without symptoms.

Lambeth Council has extended its comprehensive package of support for residents self-isolating due to Covid-19 to ensure even more people have the help they need.

Anyone who has to self-isolate gets immediate access to our free Stay Home Safely service, run by Age UK Lambeth for every age group. This service can carry out any of the practical tasks people need to help them stay home – such as fetching shopping, medicine, putting the bins out, popping to the post office or even walking the dog. It will also provide any emotional support and help with accessing financial support.

Anyone self-isolating, or caring for a child or adult self-isolating, who is unemployed or earns £30,000 a year or less, can also apply for a payment of up to £738 to cover the self-isolation period. It is also available to those caring for dependents affected by nursery, school or other service closures due to staffing shortages caused by Covid-19.

For more details on the support we offer to residents who have to self-isolate, please go to the council’s website:

Are you currently caring for someone other than yourself?

Are there times when you would benefit from having some support for your caring role?

Have you ever wondered what support is out there for carers that you can access?

Or perhaps you have ideas on how to improve these services and/or any additional services you would like to see?

If so, Carers’ Hub Lambeth would love to hear from you. Please take this anonymous 25 minute survey so that we can better understand the life of a carer, your
needs and how we can optimize our services to support you best.

To take the survey, please click the link below or copy and paste the following link into your internet browser:

https://zsassociates.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6RnCYUxCfvXft66

Every piece of feedback is greatly appreciated and allows us to help you better so thank you in advance.

The Government’s Hostile Environment and policies that include NHS charging and data sharing with the Home Office have made migrants and other undocumented people fearful of seeking healthcare. These barriers have been increased during the pandemic.

Join us on Zoom, Thursday 20 May at 7.30 to hear our speakers:

-Aliya Yule, Migrants Organise

-Shazia Munir, GP. Health Inclusion Team

 -Rosamund Mykura, Newham Save Our NHS

-Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall