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Local Involvement Networks (LINks)

Local Involvement Networks (LINks) are made up of individuals and community groups, working together to improve health and social care services. LINks aid providers like the North East Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (NEAS) to understand what people think about the services they deliver.

NEAS meets regularly with representatives from LINks from across the region, who together form the Ambulance LINks Forum. Through LINks we: 

• Seek and listen to the views of more people in their community;
• Provide better feedback about what people need and want;
• Avoid duplication of effort;
• Allocate more money to services that local people most value;
• Make more informed decisions about the commissioning and running of services.

By joining a LINk, members of the public have more power than they would alone. LINks can request information from health and social care commissioners about their services and expect a response; issue reports or make recommendations about a service and expect a response from commissioners; refer matters to the local council's health overview and scrutiny committee; visit certain services and view the care provided.

In the near future LINks will transform into Local Healthwatch and will have more functions. HealthWatch will be statutory organisations and will have responsibility for giving local communities a bigger say in how health and social services are planned, commissioned, delivered and monitored to meet their needs. They will have a seat on local authorities Health and Wellbeing boards to make sure that the consumer voice impacts decision making.

From April 2013 HealthWatch will also provide support for people to complain about the quality of NHS services.

Contact your local council to find out what is happening in your area or to get involved.