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Tell us what is most important to you.

We want everyone who lives in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes to have the opportunity to shape the services that they use.

This means making sure your voice is heard and sharing what you feel is most important.

We have worked closely with strategic partners during the pandemic. These include Healthwatch, the Voluntary Alliance, local authorities and people from communities. This has allowed us to share important public health information and use your feedback to help us communicate better.

That approach has given people the confidence to get vaccinated and tell us about their personal experiences in accessing health and care.

The next few years are going to be challenging for health and care as we recover services after the pandemic. That makes it even more important that we keep our conversations with local people and communities going. That way, residents’ voices will be at the centre of all decisions about health and care services.

Help shape how we work with local people and communities

We recently asked residents, health and care staff and partners to help us to shape our approach to working with local people and communities.

Following this, we plan to co-design our principles for engagement.

We will share these as soon as they are finished, but some of the principles we’ve heard so far include:

  • Listening to all communities and giving everyone an equal voice
  • Making it easy for people to share their views
  • Ensuring feedback leads to change

How can I get involved?

There are lots of ways that you can get involved.

You can join:

Current Consultations and Surveys

Any current consultations that are open for feedback will display in the drop down below.

  • Community and Mental Health

    Community and Mental Health

    We are reviewing how we deliver adult community and all age mental health services in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, and we want to hear your views.

    In the last ten years, we have made real progress in how services are delivered locally, but a surge in demand, an increase in population growth and the publication of the 10-Year Plan for Health, which was published in July this year, means we want to review the services we deliver to make sure they’re fit for the future.

    Find out more here

  • Palliative and End of Life Care - help shape what the service looks like

    Palliative and End of Life Care - help shape what the service looks like

    NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board and our partners welcome patients, carers, family members and anyone with an interest in Palliative and End of Life Care to attend regular, online meetings, to discuss current and future plans and to help shape what this looks like

    Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals with life-limiting illnesses, addressing physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs at any stage of the illness. End-of-life care is a specific type of palliative care provided in the last year of life, aiming to ensure comfort and support as death approaches

    First meeting: Wednesday 3rd September 2025

    11am – 12pm on Microsoft Teams.

    For further information and the meeting link, please email Sara.Burford@nhs.net in the BLMK System Transformation Team

Previous Engagement

Find out about previous consultation and engagement activities.

Volunteering

Volunteering with health and care organisations in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) is a great way to support your local community.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved from volunteering for your local hospital or ambulance trust, for an organisation that works with the NHS, for your local council or supporting your community.

Volunteering can be highly rewarding. To find out how to get involved, contact the volunteer managers within our Partners, visit the Volunteering web pages on Partner websites or browse the UK’s national volunteering database.

Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Charity

Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Milton Keynes University Hospital Trust

East of England Ambulance Service

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

In Central Bedfordshire and Luton, Community Voluntary Service (CVS) run volunteer centre services working with individuals and organisations. In addition, Voluntary Works is a consortium of local voluntary and community sector organisations.

In Milton Keynes, CA:MK is a hub for volunteering. They match volunteers with opportunities with local charities and community groups.

Why some local people volunteer:

Simon Patterson, Good Neighbour Scheme volunteer
Bea Scholes, volunteering at a vaccination centre.

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