Local Involvement Networks (LINks) Explained
From April 2008, the Government plans to replace Patient Forums with Local Involvement Networks (LINks).
Patient Forums help groups of patients be involved with healthcare and influence the NHS.
LINks are being introduced to help strengthen the system that enables communities to influence the care they receive.
Backed up by certain powers, LINks will:
- provide everyone in the community – from individuals to voluntary groups – with the chance to say what they think about local health and social care services – what is working and what is not;
- give people the chance to influence how services are planned and run;
- feedback to services what people have said about services so that things can be improved.
Local communities are already beginning to get ready for LINks. This document summarises what LINks will do, their proposed powers and how they will be set up.
