A PUBLIC panel that helps influence improvements in the North West Ambulance Service has moved into a new digital sphere. 

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) Trust has changed the way it communicates with members of its Patient and Public Panel (PPP) during the coronavirus pandemic and has embraced virtual engagement as opposed to face-to-face contact.

The trust said the move has been “very positively received with overwhelming support and continued interest from panel members”.

The panel provides members of the public with a voice and the chance to have their views acted upon. It is made up of representatives from local communities, interest groups, the voluntary sector and partner organisations.

Linda Mages, from Carlisle, is a member of NWAS’s PPP. She has gone above and beyond helping her local community during the pandemic by joining Brampton Acting Together to ensure vulnerable people were supported. 

She and her husband, along with others in the group, have delivered essential food and prescriptions, as well as delivering leaflets with useful helpline information to the local community. 

Linda, who worked as a health visitor for many years and who recently retired as a senior lecturer in adult nursing at Cumbria University, has also worked as a bank nurse during the pandemic.

For more information on how to join the Patient and Public Panel visit nwas.nhs.uk/panel.