Volunteers wanted to help improve healthcare in Lancashire and South Cumbria

Health Innovation North West Coast is looking for volunteers in Lancashire and South Cumbria to get involved in health innovation in the region.

We engage with patients, carers, patient advocates and charities as part of our work to spread innovations and improvements in health and care. 

We're looking for people interested in joining a Lancashire and South Cumbria Public Involvement and Engagement Senate, similar to an existing Senate in Cheshire and Merseyside. 

Volunteers will have the chance to review and give feedback on new devices, apps and other innovations. 

John Black, Chairman of the Cheshire and Merseyside Senate, said: “Our role is to provide the patient perspective as users of NHS services and our point of view on projects and pieces of work being undertaken by the Innovation Agency.

“It’s really satisfying to be able to help NHS professionals to develop more effective service delivery by providing direction.

“Since I’ve joined, I’ve been involved in all kinds of interesting work, from a telehealth project where we tested a smartphone app which detects trips and falls, to helping to write questions for a consent ‘wizard’ which will ask people about their health data sharing preferences.”

Karen Machin, a member of the Cheshire and Merseyside Senate, said: "The Senate is a group of people who want to use their experiences of health services to improve the work of the Innovation Agency and consequently healthcare for people across the North West Coast.

"I was involved in a hackathon where we worked with Amazon to create ideas for help within the healthcare system. I also gave feedback on ideas for the app consent wizard which we hope will be taken up nationally.

"We are offered great support to be involved and I always feel like I’m learning as well as giving something back.”

Innovation Agency Patient and Public Participation Lead Debbie Parkinson said: “Patient surveys and questionnaires are vital to the work we do but we want to go further in actively involving patients and members of the public, working in partnership with them to help shape NHS services, devices and systems.  

If you’d like to get involved contact Debbie Parkinson on 01772 520 250 or email debbie.parkinson@innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk 

The Public Involvement and Engagement Senate meets every two months to discuss healthcare projects and the development of Innovation Agency programmes.  

Photo: Members of the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Involvement and Engagement Senate