• Highlights from our AGM

• How we make a difference: see our brand new impact page

• Join us in taking steps out of loneliness this May

• Join our Q&A session for unpaid carers delivered with Carers Hub Lambeth

• COVID vaccinations available for children aged 5 to 11

• New hubs to support your health and wellbeing

• Have your say about the new King’s College Hospital outpatients building in Denmark Hill

Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in our AGM, which reported on the work we delivered in 2020/21.

Sarah Corlett, our chair, welcomed Henry Hunt to the Board of Trustees. Henry is the new chair of our Strategy Committee.

In addition to the usual financial report the meeting heard how Healthwatch Lambeth has worked to make a difference locally.  We focused on:

• Reducing delays to initial health assessments for children and young people in care
• Improving maternity services at Kings College Hospital
• Putting people's wishes at the heart of the care they receive
• Supporting community efforts to respond to the Covid 19 pandemic
• Celebrating and thanking our volunteers

We have created a new page on our website to keep you up to date about how your feedback has made a difference in Lambeth.

Visit the page to learn more about our impact, including:

• Putting people's wishes at the heart of care
• Reducing delays for children and young people in care
• Improving mental health support for young people

You can find out more on the new impact page on our website.

Mental Health Awareness Week is an opportunity for everyone to focus on achieving good mental health. To celebrate, we are organising an online event about overcoming loneliness and staying connected.

Join us on Zoom at our event, Taking steps out of loneliness, on Monday 9 May, from 1pm – 2:30pm.

We will discuss the steps we can all take to overcome loneliness, and finding our own way to a more connected and enjoyable life.

It’s a very interactive event where we can share experiences and learn from each other. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

Everybody is welcome, so please share the information with anyone who may be interested. For any queries, please email Anna D’Agostino at anna.dagostino@healthwatchlambeth.org.uk

Our COVID-19 vaccine research project showed that carers play a very important role in vaccine update, and the Annual Health Checks for the person cared for. We took this learning to develop an event for all Lambeth carers in collaboration with Carers Hub Lambeth and NHS south east London Clinical Commissioning Group.

The event takes place online on Wednesday 27 April, 6pm – 7pm. Carers who join the event will be able to speak to a Lambeth GP and ask all their questions.

We are hoping to work with Carer’s Hub Lambeth to develop a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for carers.

If you are a carer or know someone who care for a family member, please join this webinar.  

At Healthwatch Lambeth we want to make sure that our volunteers receive a high quality and positive volunteering experience.

That is why we will be working with our volunteers to renew our Investing in Volunteers accreditation. This accreditation helps us demonstrate our commitment to good practice, identify our strengths, and areas for improvement.  

We attended the ‘Using Apps to Access Your GP’ event, organised by Clearcommunityweb on Thursday 31 March at the Myatt’s Field North Centre. Over 25 participants learned about using apps on their mobile phone to access healthcare.

Anna (Mental Health Engagement Officer) from Healthwatch Lambeth showed attendees how to access a dentist or a GP using the NHS website.

Anna also showed participants how they could provide feedback on their experience of health and social care, using the form on the Healthwatch Lambeth website.

The NHS is offering coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to children aged 5 to 11 years. Vaccination is particularly important for children who have health conditions that put them at high risk from COVID-19, as the benefits are greater.

Lambeth continues to offer vaccination opportunities across a huge range of locations including pharmacies, St Thomas’, King’s and our community vaccination sites at Montgomery Hall and Streatham Place Surgery.

Child-friendly vaccination clinics continue to run at Montgomery Hall and at St Thomas’ Hospital for ‘at risk’ groups, with drawing, stickers and other activities to help create a relaxed environment for parents and children. 

The Lambeth Together Health and Wellbeing Bus continues to offer vaccinations three days per week alongside other services such as flu jabs, blood pressure checks and British Heart Foundation approved advice on Heart Health and the body. 

The NHS is currently offering the following COVID vaccinations to Lambeth residents:

• Everyone aged 5 and over can get a 1st and 2nd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
• People aged 16 and over, and some children aged 12 to 15, can also get a booster dose
• People aged 75 and over, people who live in care homes for older people, and people aged 12 and over who have a weakened immune system, will be offered a spring booster

Download the latest poster clarifying who is eligible for which Covid vaccine dose.

Questions about COVID-19?

Visit nhsvaccinefacts.com for answers to questions you might have, or follow @our_healthier_sel on Instagram or Twitter to stay up to date with upcoming events.

New health and wellbeing hubs to improve the lives of residents are being piloted across Lambeth. The new innovative hubs will connect local support, voluntary and faith organisations to provide early intervention support to communities whose health and wellbeing has been significantly affected by Covid-19.

The Crescent, a new learning disability resource centre in Streatham Hill, launched on March 9 to offer services in partnership between Lambeth Council, charities Certitude and Rathbone, and the NHS.

The Crescent is a new learning disability resource centre on Coburg Crescent, in Streatham Hill. The development includes: 

•  A new home for Lambeth Walk day service
• Independent Supported Living flats for 14 adults with learning disabilities
• A residential respite and short-term accommodation service
• A café and community space, providing paid, supported employment for adults with learning disabilities
• A shop, to replace the one on the site before works started.

Do you use King’s rheumatology, diabetes, endocrinology, respiratory, dermatology, allergy or immunology services at Denmark Hill King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will be organising regular discussions online.

Join the discussions to:

• Receive updates on the new outpatient building
• Discuss issues related to outpatient care at that site

The next meeting is Wednesday 20th April from 6pm-7pm.

You can join the meeting on your phone or computer by clicking this link: Click here to join the meeting

To find out more, call 0203 299 3682 or email kch-tr.KingsPPI@nhs.net 

The NHS national data opt-out is a service that allows patients to opt out of their confidential patient information being used for research and planning.

You can view and change your personal preferences on this on the NHS website or the NHS App. But the deadline for making these changes is coming up soon.

The deadline, which was 31 March 2022, has been extended. 

You have until Sunday 31 July 2022 to tell the NHS if they can use your data for research and planning.

To find out more about how they may use your data, and to tell the NHS if they can use your data, go to the NHS website.

If you have questions, you can contact nationaldataopt-out@nhsx.nhs.uk

Have you accessed a sexual health service in the last 12 months? Do you live in Lambeth and identify as Black, Asian or Multi Ethnic?

If yes, Love Sex Life want to hear from you by completing their short survey. They focus on promoting good sexual and reproductive health Lambeth, Southwark, and Lewisham boroughs.