Patients, service users, carers and members of the public are invited to a networking event to inform and inspire local people to become more involved with their health services.

Local people are invited to attend this FREE event on Tuesday 16 October 2018 from 10am to 4pm (registration from 9:30am) at the Kings Park Conference and Sports Centre, Kings Park Road, Northampton, NN3 6LL.

East Midlands Academic Health Science Network and Patient Public Involvement Senate are hosting the networking event which has been organised in collaboration with local NHS and healthcare partners.

The event will include speakers from within healthcare and interactive workshops. There will also be information stalls run by healthcare professionals and patient representatives focusing on key areas where people can have a say to improve local health services.

The aim of the event is to inspire and motivate people to get involved in shaping healthcare services and raise awareness of opportunities to most effectively make a difference within Northamptonshire.

Mike Hannay, Managing Director of EMAHSN, said: “This is a unique event that we hope will inform and inspire local people in Northamptonshire. The health and care system is complicated and can be difficult to navigate and understand. We want to equip people with the knowledge they need to understand the structure and landscape of the NHS so they can have impact and influence in the future of services in their area. I would like to thank all of our Northamptonshire health and voluntary sector partners for supporting this event which I am sure will be a valuable opportunity for networking and engaging with local people.”

Tony Locock, East Midlands Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Senate member and Lead Governor at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: "It’s always important to listen to the voice of patients and carers particularly when planning NHS services to meet increasingly complicated individual and community needs. This event provides an opportunity to learn about what is happening locally and become involved either by simply being consulted or in a more meaningful way."

The EMAHSN has already held patient, carer and public networking events in Lincolnshire and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and has plans to roll out these events to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in 2019.

The event is a collaboration between the EMAHSN and the East Midlands PPI Senate in partnership with local healthcare organisations.

To register your interest in attending please visit http://bit.ly/NorthantsNetworkingEvent

For those unable to attend or who want to follow the event on the day, we will be using the hashtag #InvolveNorthants

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Notes to editors

East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN), one of 15 Academic Health Science Networks in England.

EMAHSN brings together the NHS, universities, industry and social care to transform the health of the region’s 4.5M residents and stimulate wealth. Current priorities focus on identifying and spreading innovations that address health challenges including obesity, diabetes, mental health, respiratory disease, stroke and support for frail older people.

For more information visit www.healthinnovation-em.org.uk

The East Midlands Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Senate is an independent body hosted by EMAHSN.

The Senate works to spread best practice through our senators’ networks which extends throughout the East Midlands. It provides expert input and advice to the Academic Health Science Network – helping ensure that patient involvement and co-production are at the organisation’s heart. In addition, it supports the wider East Midlands health and care system and over the past 12 months has provided input to the development of all five East Midlands Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) plans.

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