What are Local Involvement Networks (LINks)?
Local Involvement Networks (LINks) aim to give citizens a stronger voice in how their health and social care services are delivered. Run by local individuals and groups and independently supported - the role of LINks is to find out what people want, monitor local services and to use their powers to hold them to account. LINks will be established in most areas by the end of 2008. Each local authority (that provides social services) has been given funding and is under a legal duty to make contractual arrangements that enable LINk activities to take place.
Sometimes the people who use services don’t feel they have a strong enough voice to change aspects of their health or social care. The introductions of LINks is part of a wider process to help the community have a stronger local voice. A LINks role once it is up and running is to:
ask what local people what they think about local healthcare services and provide a chance to suggest ideas to help improve services; investigate specific issues of concern to the community; use its powers to hold services to account; and get results ask for information and get an answer in a specified amount of time be able to carry out spot-checks to see if services are working well (carried out under safeguards) make reports and recommendations and receive a response refer issues to the local ‘Overview and Scrutiny Committee’
Department of Health 17th December 2008