The Knowsley LINk

The Knowsley LINk support team have now moved to our new premises

Knowsley LINk,
Old Schoolhouse,
St. John's Road
Huyton,
Knowsley
L36 0UX

Tel: 0151 480 9177

Also please note that email addresses for the Knowsley LINk support team have now changed. If you need to contact a member of the team please email the following:

Paul Mavers - LINk Coordinator: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  
Jane Calveley - LINk Outreach Worker: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  
Kelly Hurn - LINk Communications Worker: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

If you need to contact the Knowsley LINk Support team call us on 0151 480 9177.

Thank You

One of the key focuses for Knowsley LINk at the minute is Patient Experience. We are currently wanting to hear from anyone who has been in hospital in the last 12 months, or who has visited someone in hospital in the last twelve months. If you are willing to tell us about your experience please click here. Your comments will be used to produce reports which will be fed back to the local hopsitals. You can choose to remain anonymous if you wish.

Knowsley LINk volunteer wins Volunteer of the Year 2010 at the Vinvolved Awards

Knowsley LINk Volunteer Jen Casey won Volunteer of the Year, along with other young people in Knowsley at an event in the Huyton Suite on Thursday 3rd March. Numerous young people attended and were awarded for their voluntary experience. Here is a quote about what sets Jen apart

"Jens strongest personal quality is her willingness to get involved. She has dedicated so much of her time to the project (160 hours) and has been willing to undertake any task necessary. She is an incredibly hard worker, and completes tasks quickly and efficiently. She is passionate about the importance of Knowsley LINk in capturing people's views around Health and Social Care Services and is always willing to tell others how important it is to have their voice heard."

Click here and here to see pictures of the event.

Knowsley LINk Press Release – Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds

Since November 2010, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton LINk have expressed concerns regarding QUIPP (Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention) Hospital Discharge Letters. The concerns of the three communities were taken to the Transfer of Care Lead at the Royal Liverpool Teaching Hospital. However, on February 16^th  the Daily Mail published an article entitled “Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds” (click here to read the full article). In response to this, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton LINk have produced a press release, please see below for further details.

Press Release

Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds 

In response to the article entitled ‘Elderly facing eviction from NHS beds’ printed by the Daily Mail, 16^th February 2011 and subsequent articles relating to ‘bed-blocking’ at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. In November 2010, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton Local Involvement Networks (LINks) expressed concerns in relation to the proposals to introduce both a Patient Information booklet and accompanying Discharge Letters.All three LINks outlined that whilst understanding the demand for acute beds and the aims of the Trusts in seeking to improve information available to patients on discharge, they could not endorse the Discharge Letters due to a number of concerns raised by members. These concerns included reference to legal processes which may cause distress to patients.It is worrying that despite the points highlighted through LINks to the Transfer of Care Lead at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, work seems to have continued with the introduction of the discharge letters in both Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Working together on this matter, Knowsley, Liverpool and Sefton LINk hope to challenge the introduction of these letters. LINks members are keen to see other means of supporting appropriate discharge from hospital pursued.  This would include working closely with LINks and Patient groups to develop more patient centered approaches to this issue. 

Knowsley LINk, alongside KPAC will be providing free training in February and March. The next training session is action planning and will be on the 24th February 10-4 at the Old School House in Huyton. The training sessions are free to LINks members (if you are interested but aren’t a member, don’t worry, you can sign up on the day). Click here for more information, or call 0151 489 1222 for more information.

Knowsley has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer and one of the lowest rates of screening. Until the end of April, there is a drive to raise awareness of bowel cancer and its symptoms. Please click here for further information.

Knowsley LINk, along with St Helens, Halton, Sefton, Liverpool, Wirral and Warrington LINk held a joint event at Aintree racecourse on the 21^st. The event was to celebrate our achievements and to share examples of what has worked well for us and how we can develop in the future. Guest speakers included Richard Caulfield of Voluntary Sector North West and Roger Phillips of BBC Radio Merseyside. We discussed what has worked well, what hasn’t worked well and how we can change that and what the future holds and how we can begin transitioning into HealthWatch.Keep your eyes open for our report which will be coming soon! If you have any thoughts on this, let us know on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Our winter edition of our newsletter is out now. Please click here to read it online. For guidance on using the website, please click here and download our useful guide. If you would like the newsletter emailed to you, please send us an email on  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   and we will add you to the mailing list.

Knowsley LINk along with Halton LINk and St Helens LINk are currently looking at peoples experiences of hospitals in the local area. We are mainly focusing on Whiston Hospital, but if you have been in any local hospital we want to hear from you! Whether you have been there as an in-patient or an out-patient, whether your stay in hospital was a few days or a few weeks, and whether you had a good or a bad experience we want to hear all about it. If you would like to get involved, please click here to complete our online survey. Alternatively please ring the office (0151 489 1222) or email us  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   or pop into our office for a chat in Nutgrove Villa, 1 Griffiths Road (Huyton, L36 6NA) and tell us about your patient experience.

Knowsley LINk, along with Knowsley Older People's Voice  (K.O.P.V) have finished writing their report to the government based on consultations with the general public regarding the proposed changes to the NHS. If you would like to read our report please click here.

Knowsley LINk also produced a report with its recommendations for transition into HealthWatch. It documents the Core Groups thoughts and feelings towards the LINk now, but also how it hopes any transition will be handled. Click here to read it.