South-East London CCG is looking for local residents to join the Engagement Assurance Committee
Background
On 1 April 2020, NHS South East London CCG (CCG) came in to being, following the merger of the six former CCGs in south east London (Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark). The CCG is developing how it carries out patient and public involvement and engagement and is setting up an Engagement Assurance Committee which is a subcommittee of the Governing Body.
The purpose of the Engagement Assurance Committee is to monitor and provide assurance to the Governing Body:
• that the CCG is involving and engaging patients and the public in developing its plans and putting in place services
• ensuring best practice patient engagement
• ensuring statutory duties for engagement are met.
Members of the committee will need to read, consider and comment on engagement plans and reports, ensuring that there has been engagement with people from different communities across south east London. This includes people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, people with disabilities, mental health needs and people from the (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ) community to ensure that the CCG pays due regard to the Equality Act 2010 and the public sector equality duty working closely with the CCG Equalities Committee.
The full terms of reference can be read on CCG’s website. Please note the terms of reference are still draft until they are agreed at the first meeting of the Engagement Assurance Committee and then approved by the Governing Body.
Membership of the committee will include the CCG lay member for patient and public involvement (PPI), a CCG clinical lead, the CCG Assistant Director of Engagement, a local Healthwatch representative and two local people from each of the six south east London boroughs: Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.
Public member role
The public members will bring knowledge of the boroughs and the diverse communities in the boroughs as well as ideas on the best ways to engage across these communities. Members will use their experience to review and assess engagement plans and delivery of engagement. The member of the public roles are not paid roles but agreed reasonable expenses will be able to be claimed. Benefits of being a public member include developing a range of skills and experience and access to development and support which could be included in your CV.
Skills
• Ability to speak in a formal group/ meeting and be able to constructively challenge and put forward alternative views
• Ability to work with a range of people including those at a senior management level
• Ability to understand and assess a range of information and data, such as formal reports, graphs, charts and financial information, with support
• Be able to demonstrate integrity, good judgement and objectivity
• Be able to demonstrate an understanding and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
Knowledge
• Knowledge of different ways of engaging with local people
• Knowledge of at least one south east London borough and its communities (ie Bexley, Bromley Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham or Southwark)
Experience
• Lives, uses health services, volunteers or works in one of the south east London boroughs (ie Bexley, Bromley Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham or Southwark)
• Previous experience of representing the views of others - either within health care or other areas such as school, college or housing
The public members roles are offered for either one year or two years with an option of extension. We anticipate the role to require the equivalent of a one day a month for reading papers and attending meetings, with the possibility of more time for development and support.
Papers for meetings will be distributed at least a week before the meeting and published on the website. On occasion there may be sensitive or confidential items to discuss and the chair will determine how these items are handled.
Support and development
The committee will meet every other month for either two or three hours. It is anticipated that these meetings will be on-line using MS Teams for the foreseeable future. Meetings are likely to alternate between daytime and evening meetings depending on members’ other commitments. As face to face meetings begin to start again, we intend to offer the opportunity to continue offering the option of taking part on-line to minimise travel for members.
The CCG is committed to supporting and developing members of the committee. CCG will offer telephone or video conversations with anyone interested in finding out more about the role and offer an introductory on-line meeting for all people expressing an interest in the public roles so people interested in the roles can find out more information about the role, ask questions and meet key people. The CCG will also develop an induction pack for all members of the committee.
CCG will also provide further development and support as required to support members, as individuals and as a group, to develop the skills required to fulfil the role and will further discuss this with new members. The CCG will link members into relevant training put on by partner organisations such as NHS England and Improvement (NHSE&I).
The CCG is developing an expenses policy to be agreed at the first meeting of the committee so that members can claim for agreed expenses in the future.
Benefits
Being a member of the committee will provide a range of benefits which could be added to your CV including:
4.1Understanding how the CCG and wider the NHS work
4.2 Understanding of the wider communities across south east London and issues they face
4.3 Access to training and support
4.4 Developing skills and knowledge in developing and promoting patient and public involvement
4.5 Understanding and experience of working on a committee
Find out more
Further back ground information and the role outline, the application form, the monitoring form, and the full terms of reference are all available on the CCG website here.
An on-line meeting for all interested people will take place to ask questions, find out more and meet key people before the closing date. If you would like to find out more or have any questions please contact Rosemary Watts at the CCG by email at rosemary.watts@nhs.net or by phone 07770 990 353. The closing date is 23 October.
