This document is intended to outline the work by the strategic partners of the West Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board, relating to community voice and engagement activities. Within these partnerships is a desire to achieve a better balance between where descriptive, numerical facts meet experiential and personalised views.
The document summarises work from 2017/18 with reference to the cohort, what engagement took place and what themes were identified. A short summary from each of the strategic partners also adds a qualitative reflection on the progress made and the current feelings at ground level.
Importantly, we acknowledge that this summary is only a scratch on the surface of activity throughout the county, to contribute to the West Sussex JSNA. There are many groups, organisations and communities conducting different levels of engagement all over the county; this summary is of those who were approached, being the core members of the HWB.
Special thanks to the engagement-leads for Adults’ services, Children’s services, NHS Coastal West Sussex and Crawley, Horsham and Mid Sussex CCGs and Healthwatch West Sussex for taking the time to contribute their work to this document. Contributions have been edited for constancy and tone but reflect the original experiences of each team.