Website of the Department of Health

Getting ready for LINks

The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill – currently going through Parliament – includes plans to replace Patient Forums with Local Involvement Networks (LINks).

Although existing patient forums have helped to improve services in some areas, the new LINks will simplify and strengthen the current system by being able to hold NHS and social care commissioners to account and refer services to overview and scrutiny committees.

LINks are expected to become operational from 1st April 2008.

To help local authorities, the NHS and local communities prepare two new ‘Getting ready for LINks’ resources have been produced:

The first document, ‘Planning your Local Involvement Network’, incorporates the findings from nine LINks ‘early adopter’ sites. It sets out what local communities need to think about to prepare for LINks, such as the list of actions that local councils need to take, who needs to be involved in establishing LINks, the resources required and how a network could work. The second publication ‘Contracting a host organisation for your Local Involvement Network’ gives local authorities the information they need for procuring a host organisation to establish and support a LINk. It includes the services a host will be required to provide and a process to follow for establishing a network.

• Download Planning your Local Involvement Network (Gateway number 8574) (PDF, 374K)
• Download Contracting a host organisation for your Local Involvement Network (Gateway number 8473) (PDF, 195K)
• Local Involvement Networks explained - easy read
• Press release: Looking ahead to local involvement networks (opens new window)