Local Involvement Networks - LINks
LINks is the short name for
Local Involvement
Networks.
A LINk is a network of local people and community groups who
want to improve social care and health care in their local
area.
Find out about:
You can also read about LINKS in our easy to read
booklet:
What do LINks do?
LINks will give everyone a chance to:
- say what they think about their local care services
- check how care services are planned and run
LINks feed back what people have said about services so that
things can change for the better.
LINks meet and talk with people who use health and social care
services in their local area to find out about their
experiences.
They might ask them questions like:
- What services do you get?
- Is it is easy to find services?
- Do services work well for you?
The law gives LINks powers to enter and view some social care
services such as registered care homes to observe activities going
on. This means LINks members will make visits and talk to people
who use different kinds of services.
How do we work with LINks?
LINks tell us what they have heard and how they think services
are doing. This helps us get a better picture of what it is really
like for someone using services in that area.
Together with other information we collect over the year, LINks
help us decide how well a council is providing social care for
people living in the area.
We then give a rating to the council or care service and point
out where they need to do better or where they have done well.
Any information we receive about a service helps us plan our
inspection activity throughout the year.
Our current work with LINks
We are currently holding a number of workshops across the
country to inform LINks about what we do at CSCI.
We also want to develop ways we can share information between
LINks and CSCI.
How you can get involved in LINks
If you would like to get involved in LINks visit the NHS Centre
for Involvement website to find contact details for your local
LINks host. The NHS Centre for Involvement is the lead organisation
for supplying advice and guidance about LINks.