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CareWatch has a new leadership team which is pledging to give the public a stronger voice in the island's health and social care system.
Late in 2021, an investigation by Express uncovered that CareWatch - an independent body purporting to provide two-way communication between the public and the Committee for Health and Social Care - had been virtually inactive for at least most of the past two years.
It is now being revamped and relaunched under interim Chairman David Le Poidevin.
He acknowledges the organisation went through a difficult period and now wants to focus on rebuilding it as a voice for islanders when decisions are being made about health and social care in the Bailiwick.
Express' investigation into the mirage of CareWatch in recent years began when a member of the public, Molly Edington, told the newspaper that she had been trying to escalate a complaint about health and social care services for 11 months. Ms Edington had discovered the existence of CareWatch by chance while trying to ascertain who represents the public in health and social care.
Pictured: CareWatch was part of the Partnership of Purpose, a strategic plan presented to the States by the then President of the Committee for Health & Social Care, Deputy Heidi Soulsby, inset.
Mr Le Poidevin is keen to let the Bailiwick know that CareWatch is back and ready to fulfil its role as a voice for the public.
He said that at the time of Express' investigations in 2021, CareWatch was "at the point of revamping the systems and relaunching ourselves to the public".
"From what I can tell a lot of things got lost in the woodwork,” said Mr Le Poidevin.
“We respected the fact that CareWatch had dipped under the waves a little bit. Not many islanders were aware of who we are, what we are or what our purpose is.
“So that’s our biggest concern. We can’t offer the service we want to offer if people don’t know that we’re here.”
Pictured: You can contact CareWatch directly through its website, which can be accessed by clicking HERE.
CareWatch was launched in 2017 as part of the then Committee for Health & Social Care's ‘Partnership of Purpose’.
The Partnership was a 10-year plan led by then Committee President Deputy Heidi Soulsby. It promoted CareWatch as a “voice in decision making about health and care services, commissioning and governance”.
Initially, CareWatch appeared to be active building its new role. It published a couple of annual reports.
But in 2020 its Chairman, Roger Allsopp, stood down. Lady Corder took over as interim chair but resigned after a short period. Mr Le Poidevin took over as Chairman only recently.
“We [also] had issues with the website while we were sorting it,” said Mr Le Poidevin. He said this contributed to difficulties people had when trying to contact the organisation.
Pictured: The Committee for Health & Social Care.
Mr Le Poidevin is optimistic about the future of CareWatch.
“We’ve got a brand new, fresh website, we’ve got a new communication channel, which comes direct to us – we want to hear from you [the public]," he said.
“The overall aim of CareWatch is to have a panel that keeps an open communication between people in Guernsey and Alderney and Health & Social Care.
“If there are issues and concerns from the public, it’s our role to collect that information to feed back to Health & Social Care - so they can make an informed decision on what islanders are looking for in healthcare.”
Pictured: CareWatch's new website has been updated with details on its current volunteers.
CareWatch comprises several volunteers. Its revamped website has an updated list of its team, which includes representatives from Age Concern, Citizens Advice and Island Global Research.
But it still has no allocated budget and receives support from the Committee for Health & Social Care only on request.
“The main purpose when this was set up is that we are an independent panel,” said Mr Le Poidevin.
Looking ahead to major developments of public interest, Mr Le Poidevin expects a review of primary care in the Bailiwick to be published at the end of the month.
CareWatch intends to share a questionnaire with the public to gather opinion on primary care, including accessibility and cost. The results will then be shared with the Committee for Health & Social Care.
FOCUS: CareWatch - set up for the public but now a mystery to all
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