Healthwatch Islington (“Healthwatch”) is a charity that aims to improve access to statutory health and care services in the London Borough of Islington by providing residents with information about their health and care entitlements.
The service is provided in a number of ways, ranging from working with a partner organisation in order to carry out door-to-door visits in the most deprived postcodes, to working with residents with long-term health needs (including poor mental health) who may have limited English.
As well as providing information, Healthwatch works to influence service design to better meet the needs of health and care service users, based on their feedback. It also delivers digital inclusion workshops to help ensure that residents are less excluded from some of the key health information available to them. The latter has been particularly important in light of Covid-19.
Healthwatch applied to the LawWorks Not-for-Profits Programme as it was in the process of moving to new premises. It had been provided with a draft lease by the new landlord and wanted a volunteer solicitor to review the lease to check whether the terms were onerous; and to negotiate where necessary with the landlord.
The Not-for-Profits Programme was able to match Healthwatch with Susan Pearson, a volunteer solicitor from the law firm Howard Kennedy. Emma Whitby, Chief Executive of Healthwatch, said: “The expertise shared gave me and the Board reassurance that we understood the implications of the lease we were signing and that we weren’t going to get caught out by anything. The solicitor who helped us out gave us really clear, authoritative and easy-to-follow advice”.
Without the advice from Howard Kennedy, Healthwatch would have been hesitant to sign a lease for new premises; and would not have been confident about identifying which terms to further negotiate with the landlord.
As a result of the legal advice gained through the Not-for-Profits Programme, Healthwatch is now in the process of moving to its new premises and is excited for this next chapter in the charity’s development.
Susan states: “I really enjoy working with the LawWorks Team and providing assistance to charities which would otherwise not be able to access legal advice. I was especially keen to assist Healthwatch Islington as I volunteer for another charity in Islington which provides support to the community and I felt there was a connection there. Working with Emma was a delight, she was really friendly and enthusiastic, and I enjoyed helping her and Healthwatch Islington in providing guidance on the terms of their proposed lease”.