Urgent Request from Public Services Committee - Help with Finding Witness for Oral Evidence Session

News - 19 August 2020

The House of Lords would like to hear from people age 16-66 with complex care needs, long-term health conditions and disabilities about their experience of services during coronavirus, and how they think services could be improved going forward.

Photo of the inside of the house of lords

The House of Lords Public Services Committee (PSC) is looking at what coronavirus can teach us about how public services can be improved in the months and years ahead.

As part of the inquiry and our engagement with them following our written evidence submission, the PSC wants our help to ensure that those who interact with public services can share their experiences during lockdown with Committee members directly.

The Committee plans to publish a report later in the year, which will include a series of recommendations for Government on how public services should change.

Make your voice heard

As part of this work, the Committee would like to hear from working age people with complex care needs, long-term health conditions and disabilities about their experience of services during coronavirus, and how they think services could be improved going forward.

n preparation for their oral evidence session on Wednesday 16 September 2020, the PSC are very keen to specifically hear directly from patients/service users themselves at their oral evidence sessions, instead of just the usual policy officials, managers and professionals from within the sector that select committees usually tend to hear from.

You will need to be available on 16 Sept for the (remote) session and preferably be able to speak from personal experience on the following types of questions that the PSC would like to explore:

How effective have public services been in identifying and meeting complex health and care needs during lockdown?
Have services improved or worsened for people during lockdown?
What was the role of the voluntary sector in supporting the working aged disabled during lockdown; have they assisted in supporting individuals with daily task, what would it mean for if these support networks were now withdrawn?
What has been people’s experience in accessing digital services during lockdown?
How did the experience of coronavirus differ for BAME people living with disability, complex care needs and/or long term health conditions?
Following the experience of lockdown, what changes would people like to see in their public services in the months and years ahead?

Whoever is selected will be fully prepped and supported throughout to ensure that they are able, comfortable and confident in getting the public voice to one of the highest levels in Parliament.