Charity will help residents have a say

A CHARITY which helps improve the lives of black and other ethnic minority people has been brought in to ensure Warrington people get a bigger say on health and social care.
The Black Health Agency (BHA) was established nearly 20 years ago to help people from marginalised communities.
It now works with the wider community and has been appointed by the borough council to establish Local Involvement Networks (LINKs).
Coun Roy Smith (pictured), the borough council’s executive member for Community Services, said: “Having one organisation bringing together the views of many different groups in Warrington will be a real bonus in helping those who provide health and social care services to respond to what people have to say about them.
“I look forward to working with BHA and hope that as many organisations as possible will get involved.”
BHA has been working Warrington for the past three years with black and ethnic minority groups.
Now it will expand its activities to cover the wider community to ensure people can have more say on health and social care.
The new LINKs will be made up of people from user led organisations, other voluntary, community and faith organisations, individuals and groups, and will strengthen the system for individuals to influence the care they receive.
Although the LINKs will not have any specific power in terms of actually implementing changes, they will be able to assess services, make reports, make suggestions for improvement and report their findings to the council’s scrutiny board.
Consultations and public meetings will be held by BHA and anyone wishing to find out more about the group or the LINKs, should contact Elaine Packer on 01925 246 892.