Meet the Team...
Each member of the Healthwatch Lambeth team has their own unique experience and insights, all of which helps us improve health and social care for all.
We think it's important for you to know a little more about the people working on your behalf, and so we've started a series of blog posts to introduce ourselves and the work we do. This week, we'd like to introduce Anna.
What’s your name and what do you do at Healthwatch Lambeth?
My name is Anna D’Agostino, Engagement Officer at Healthwatch Lambeth.
What does your role involve? What do you enjoy about it and what are the challenges?
My role is varied. The purpose of the job is to listen to Lambeth residents’ experience of health and social care services and use their feedback to improve the care they receive. This includes identifying gaps where people’s voices need to be heard, engaging in outreach activities to raise awareness of Healthwatch Lambeth, running projects and information events, developing relationships with statutory partners to share information, and working with other colleagues to achieve the organisation’s strategy.
Tell me a little bit about the HWL team and your role within it.
My role sits within our engagement team. As a team, we work with many organisations to ensure that the Lambeth residents have an equal voice in the design and delivery of health and social care services in Lambeth.
I would like to increase the participation of seldom-heard communities, to understand and speak up for their needs and make sure the changes they want to see really happen.
How does Healthwatch Lambeth help local residents? How else would you like it to be able to help people in the future?
We support people in Lambeth by providing information and signposting them to relevant services as well as trying to understand their concerns and needs when using health and social care services. We speak on their behalf at strategic meetings to create a positive impact in the services and care provided in Lambeth. I would like to increase the participation of seldom-heard communities, to understand and speak up for their needs and make sure the changes they want to see really happen.
What are the biggest challenges, in your view, currently facing health and social care?
In general, unmet needs created by the underfunding of health and social care, leading to a lack of staff; long waiting times for referrals and access to primary care, and persistent inequalities in health outcomes, just to mention a few.
Finally, tell us about your interests. What do you like to do outside of work?
I’m a Pilates instructor, teaching in health clubs and in the community, and I'm also a Mental Health First Aider. I have a variety of interests such as delivering mental health sessions, dancing (Ballroom and Latin), the arts (visual and performing), travelling, socialising and current affairs.
