Hatfield Healthfest and Beyond!
Engaging with the public
At our recent Annual General Meeting a question was raised about the level of knowledge the general public have about Healthwatch Hertfordshire. There were ideas put forward about adverts in papers and posters on walls. These are good ideas with pros and cons, but every study as well as past experience shows that there is one type of engagement that gets the best results every time; face to face.
On Saturday the 23rd of September we had the chance to do just that.....
It was the perfect opportunity for us to raise our profile and hear what people have to say. It’s also a great time to go and find out what other grassroots groups are up to, as well as do a bit of networking. In short they are the kind of events we want to do more of.
This year two volunteers, Linda and Roger, joined Paul and Alice on the stall. Their first taste of doing an engagement event for Healthwatch Hertfordshire, both of them were fantastic. In no time they were talking to people, telling them about the organisation, and signing new members up.
Our plans for the future
Without a doubt we do better in areas we have been able to have a physical presence. We get more members, feedback, and name recognition when we’re attending fêtes and talks. So why aren’t we doing these events? The answer is: we are, but not anywhere near as many as we would like. We can only do so much, we can only be in so many places. And the hard limit on the number of events we can do is set by the number of people we have able to attend events.
That is why our future plans involve developing a more volunteer based engagement programme. Fully trained and supported volunteers able to go to these vital, grassroots events and let people know about Healthwatch Hertfordshire. We strongly believe that our organisation should be part of the local community. How much better if, instead of Paul turning up at an event in Tring or Bishop’s Stortford, the person staffing the stall is someone from the area, a member of the local community who can be recognised and approached? Would you rather talk to someone about your local surgery who has a vague recollection of a CQC report, or someone who can straight away nod and talk about how uncomfortable the chairs are?
