Two members of Kent Local Involvement Network (LINk) are among the first in the country to be co-opted onto the NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent Board.
Roy Coles and John Gallimore took up the invitation the day after National LINk Day. This has heralded a new way of working for the Board which is committed to giving patients and the public a real say in how NHS services are planned.
Lorraine Denoris, Director of Citizen Engagement and Communications for NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent said this is just the start of the new ever developing relationship.
She said: “We have the joint goal of improving health and social care for our local communities and I know the Board is looking forward to the challenge and to working with new colleagues with different perspectives.
“By using the expertise of the LINk we can commission services which are more tailor-made to what people need and want.”
Kent LINk is run by individuals and community groups and is independently supported. It finds out what the local population wants and monitors local services with the aim to give people a stronger voice on how their health and social care services are delivered.
Mr Coles, of Repton Close, Broadstairs, has worked in the health service up until his retirement in 1986. He said: “I am using my years of experience to help the seldom heard community have a voice.”
Mr Gallimore, a retired science teacher of Manisty Court, Kemsley, Sittingbourne, said it was important for local people to join the Kent LINk and have their say.
He said: “The more people that get involved in Kent LINk, the more powerful their voice is and therefore the more impact they can have. This is essential at a time when the NHS must make sure that it is improving quality at the same time as value.”
For more information about Kent LINk go to http://www.thekentlink.co.uk.
29 January 2010
