Local Involvement Network

The Manchester Local Involvement Network (LINk) brings together local people, organisations and groups who want to improve health and social care services in the city.

The Manchester LINk will give everyone in the community – from individuals to voluntary groups – the chance to tell us about their experiences and how things can be improved. Service providers have started to recognise that ‘services tend to improve if people’s views are listened to and acted upon’.

The LINk will provide a way of telling the people who purchase, provide and manage your local services what you think is working and what isn’t, as well as suggesting ideas for improving existing services.

The LINk won’t take over from the groups already working in and for our community, but will be a way of combining and strengthening the public’s voice. We will:

• support people to help them get involved
• bring groups and individuals together to look at issues
• let people know how to raise issues effectively.

The Manchester LINk will be involved with a wide range of issues and will carry out a variety of tasks and activities. The LINk’s main job will be to:

• Find out what people want
• Investigate issues that people raise
• Use its statutory powers, when needed, to hold services to account

The Manchester LINk will be open to everyone and should represent the whole community. Groups, individuals and organisations all have a part to play in giving their views on local services. The LINk will be set up in a way that allows participants to decide for themselves how they are involved and how much time they give to it. You can decide how involved you would like to be. You can just let us have your views occasionally or get involved in a group.

For more information contact:
Manchester LINk
Black Health Agency
Freepost NAT 14073
6 Great Jackson Street
Manchester M15 4AX
Tel: 0161 214 3909
Email: manchesterlink@blackhealthagency.org.uk

Other websites

• Manchester Primary Care Trust - Local Involvement Network page
• DirectGov - Local Involvement Networks