Sheffield Local Involvement Network

Give your views on car parking charges in hospitals, the new NHS Constitution and charges for non-residential social care.

Sheffield LINk is committed to supporting you to give your views on a range of health and social care issues. We try to gather as many local and national consultations here as we can find. These consultations need your views if they are to be as effective as possible.

While we include all relevant consultations we find out about on this site, we may miss some. If you know of something related to health and social care services in Sheffield or nationally that people may be interested in but not shown here please contact us.

Local consultations

Sheffield Big Debate

This is Your chance to have your say on the Sheffield City Council's budget for 2011-2012. The Sheffield Big Debate is being set up to give you an opportunity to say where they think savings could be made in the Council's budget for the next financial year starting in April 2011. 

Click here for more information on the Sheffield Big Debate. You can also register your comments by CLOAKING or by post to Sheffield Big Debate, Sheffield Town Hall, Room 223, Pinstone Street, Sheffield S1 2HH

Closing date: Friday 10 September

Moving Audiology services to community locations

NHS Sheffield is proposing to move many routine audiology services from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital to community healthcare settings. This is in response to their Big Health Conversation consultation last year that showed that people wanted their services closer to home where possible.

There is a very short patient questionnaire on audiology services to gather people's views on this topic.  If you would prefer to fill this out on paper or over the phone, please contact us.

This consultation ends on 31 August.

Click here to see all current and recently finished NHS Sheffield consultations.

Department of Health national consultations 

Striking the balance

The British Medical Association (BMA) are asking for your views on general practice, including:

• getting a suitable appointment
• care and treatment outside normal working hours
• the evolving practice team
• continuity and coordination of care.

Your views will help the BMA to work with policy makers to protect, develop and strengthen general practice in line with patient, public and GP priorities. For more information about this consultation and to take part, go to BMA striking a balance consultation.

Closing date: 10 September.

'Refreshing' the National Carers Strategy

The Government intends 'refreshing' the carers Strategy with a view to deciding on a clear plan of action for 2011 to 2015. Although there has been a big consultation on carers recently, the new Government is looking at this again. Sheffield has more than 60,000 unpaid carers who need the right services and support in place to be able to continue providing the care they do. They are calling for evidence on needs although the timetable for this is tight.

Refreshing the National Carers Strategy documents include a set of questions to answer. Responses can also be CLOAKING or sent by post to Carers Evidence, Carers Strategy Team, Department of Health, Area 116 First Floor, Wellington House, 133-155 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8UG.

Closing date: 20 September

White paper on the future of the NHS and LINks

The Government launched its White Paper on the future of the NHS on Monday 12 July. Entitled 'Equity and Excellence: liberating the NHS', the proposals amount to one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of the NHS in English. The headlines are:

• The abolition of all 152 Primary Care Trusts)including our local one, NHS Sheffield. They will be phased out by 2013.
• The commissioning function of the PCTs will be transferred to groups of GP practices, known as consortia. There may be as many as 500 consortia across the country
• A new independent national NHS Board will be set up. This will sit above all the Consortia to set standards and the hold the consortia to account.
• Responsibility for public health will be passed to local authorities.

The White Paper also talks extensively about its plans for LINks. The Government will establish a new 'consumer champion' HealthWatch England and LINKs will become the local HealthWatch. HealthWatch England will advise the new NHS Board, have the powers to propose CQC (Care Quality Commission) investigations of poor services and will provide advice and direction to local HeathWatch.

Click here to comment on the white paper and in particular on 'transparent outcomes'.

Closing date: 11 October.

Click on this link to see all current and past Department of Health consultations.