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ANNUAL REPORT 1999 - 2000 continued. Chair’s report I am delighted to report that in this, my second year as Chair, The Patients Forum has continued to grow and develop. Once again, we have attracted new members. This brings our total number of member organisations to thirty-nine, and our subscriber organisations to fourteen. One of the reasons The Patients Forum has continued to grow is because we hold regular bi-monthly meetings on key topics. As you will see, reading this report, our meetings discuss issues that are of direct interest to our members. We invite key speakers to address us and everyone is encouraged to take an active part. The information exchange part of the agenda is an opportunity for members to talk about their own activities and swop ideas. We know from talking to members that these sessions are considered to be one of the most valuable aspects of the organisation. Not everyone can get to meetings though – and we place an equal importance on circulating information on the latest developments within health to members on a regular basis. I am very grateful to our Vice Chair, Barbara Meredith, who compiles a regular policy and publications digest for us, which is sent out to all members with our mailing. The Patients Forum Development Project You will see that Sue Towns, Project Development Officer and Ana Faria-Santana, Project Assistant, commenced employment at the end of September 1999. I am sure you will agree from reading the report on the work of the Project, that much has been achieved in a relatively short space of time. Sue and Ana had to set up an office, on a tight budget, from scratch. They have both made an enormous impact on the Forum. The quality of information which is circulated has improved greatly. Sue, in her role as Development Officer, has also been able to make contact with many members on an individual basis to find out how they would like the Forum to develop. This information will be used to inform the future development of the Project – which still has a full two and a half years to run. I would like to congratulate Sue and Ana on their work so far. I would also like to thank the members of the Advisory Group of the Project who have helped us to formulate our ideas on the role and work-plan of the Project. Finally, thanks must go to the Department of Health, who provide section 64 funding for the Project. Changes in the NHS The Health Bill received royal assent in July 1999. Members of The Patients Forum continued to be active throughout the Bill’s passage through the Lords. This included a meeting with John Denham, Minister of State for Health in June 1999, and further meetings between members of the Forum and officials from the Department of Health. During the final stages of the Bill, Baroness Hayman made a commitment in the House of Lords that there should be annual reports on regional specialised commissioning. The Patients Forum welcomed this move. However, attempts to amend the Bill to ensure greater accountability to patients, users and carers, were not successful. This is disappointing as recent guidance to primary care groups and health authorities is still very weak on patient/public involvement issues. A small delegation from The Patients Forum met with Gisela Stuart, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, in February to discuss our increasing concern about the low profile of patient/public involvement within the new NHS. I am sure this is a theme that The Patients Forum will continue to return to throughout the coming year. NHS Confederation Conference in Harrogate Once again, we are grateful to the NHS Confederation for inviting us to participate at their conference. We were able to have a display in the Exhibition area and a number of us attended the conference sessions. Thank you A Chair’s report would not be complete without a long list of thanks. This report is no exception. I am most grateful to all the members of the Steering Group, particularly Barbara Meredith (Vice Chair) and Eva Jacobs (Treasurer) who have greatly assisted me in my task as Chair, all the members of the Steering Group have extremely busy lives and I am most grateful to them for giving up so much of their time to help us get the Project off the ground. I would also like to thank our two staff members, Sue and Ana, for all their hard work and commitment. They really have made my job a lot easier this year. Our gratitude also goes to Nella Marcus. Nella worked as The Patients Forum’s part-time administrator until September 1999 and was also a great help to me and the Steering Group. Nella continues to keep in touch and is a patient representative on the Advisory Group of the Project. Finally, I would like to thank all the members of The Patients Forum for contributing to the work of the organisation in so many ways – participating in discussion, providing us with information and offering venues and refreshments for meetings. I have greatly enjoyed my term of office as Chair for the past two years and although I will be standing down, I look forward to the coming year with great anticipation.
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| Last updated 23/10/2000 | © The Patients Forum 2000 |