Felton and Widdrignton surgery proposals

Felton Surgery engagement

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Earlier this year we helped Felton and Widdrington GP surgeries to get feedback from residents and patients about the proposal to merge the surgeries. We held two online forums and heard from 12 people about the proposed merger, the practice’s plan for a new surgery in Felton and the potential temporary relocation to Widdrington Surgery should the practice need to move out of Felton before the new build is complete.

We will publish our findings and recommendations based on the feedback we received in due course.

The report will form part of the surgeries’ business proposal being considered by NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group.

 

Tell us about your recent experiences of any NHS or social care service

Parkinson's UK Research Interest Group

Parkinson’s Research Interest Group

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Newcastle University is working with Parkinson’s UK to develop a North East and Cumbria Parkinson’s Research Interest Group (NEC-RIG). They have designed a survey to get the opinions of people with an interest in Parkinson’s research about what this group might look like and how it might work.

The aim of the group is to bring people who have an interest in Parkinson’s research together to provide opportunities to take part in all stages of research. This can include helping researchers in universities and/or the NHS to identify important questions or issues to people with Parkinson’s, designing research studies that will help people who want to take part or identifying what the best ways are to tell people about the results.

To complete the survey or find out more, click the link below.

For more information contact Rachael Lawson: rachael.lawson@ncl.ac.uk or Rosie Morris: rosie.e.morris@northumbria.ac.uk.

adult social care Northumberland

What is Adult Social Care?

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Do you or a loved one need help with social care? Healthwatch England has put together a useful guide about who can access adult social care and how to pay for it.

Social care can be very different from the health care you receive from the NHS. Although it can include medical help, social care offers more practical support to enable people to live independently. These services are usually provided in people’s homes, care homes or elsewhere in the community, rather than at a GP practice or hospital.

If you or someone you live with needs social care, it’s important to understand what types of care and support are available, where to find the correct information, and how services are paid for.

Read What is Adult Social Care?

If you would like to tell us about your experiences of adult social care services get in touch.

Virtual Appointment hubs Northumberland

Virtual appointment Hubs Northumberland

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Virtual Appointment Hubs for Northumberland

Patients across Northumberland and North Tyneside are being encouraged to make the most of digital hubs, set up to help them access online healthcare.

Community hubs are being set up across the county by the Public Health Team at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with Northumberland County Council and North Tyneside Council to offer confidential spaces for individuals to access virtual appointments who may not have the technology or don’t feel confident in doing it themselves at home.

Since the start of 2021, the Ashington hub has supported 70 outpatient appointments online and the trust is putting arrangements in place to support people from other areas too, including Wooler/Glendale, Belford, Blyth, Longbenton, Meadow Well and Wallsend.

Already, 35% of all appointments per month at the trust are via telephone or online, saving unnecessary hospital visits, travel and parking costs and the need for people to make work or childcare arrangements.

There are also huge environmental benefits. Over the past year, patients at the trust travelled over two point six million fewer miles than the year before.

Marion Dickson, executive director of nursing midwifery and allied health professionals and executive director of surgery and community at the trust said “I’m so pleased we are able to offer this support closer to home for our patients.

“Since the start of the pandemic we have seen a huge shift to online appointments which can be hugely beneficially for both our local residents and our staff. Less footfall in our hospitals also means less opportunities for infections to spread – which will help keep our patients and staff safe.

“But we know not everyone is able to readily access the internet and there are lots of people who struggle to get online. This can be for a number of reasons such as living in an area with poor quality broadband or personal situations which make it difficult.”

According to The Good Things Foundation, nine million people in the UK are unable to use the internet independently and seven million people do not have the internet at home. These hubs aim to tackle these inequalities in digital literacy, digital poverty and digital connectivity to improve health outcomes for local populations.

Marion continued “We are now operating at a level where the most appropriate type of appointment can be offered to a patient, and they can be safely seen in the outpatient department when necessary. We want to make sure everyone has the ability and the skills to access their healthcare in a way which works for them.”

Clinic details

  • Wooler/Glendale area, Cheviot Centre, Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm, 01668 282406.
  • Ashington, Being Woman at YMCA Northumberland, Tuesday – Thursday, 0778647233. or 0800 9991876. Please note: this service is not just available for women.
  • North Northumberland, Belford, Bell View, 01668 219220.
  • Longbenton, Oxford Centre, 0191 643 2750.
  • Wallsend, LD: North East, 0191 262 2261 Please note: this centre is for people with learning difficulties and learning disabilities only.
  • Meadow Well Connected, call 0191 341 0033 between 9am – 3pm to arrange an appointment.
  • Blyth Horizons North East, Community Lounge, 01670 359465 (option 4) 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday.

Please note: patients need to call in advance of their appointments to book in and all premises have been COVID-19 risk assessed.

 

If you or someone in your family has used one of these hubs, tell us about your experience.

GRACE Northumberland

Spotlight on: GRACE

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GRACE (Northumberland Rape Crisis)

Grace is part of Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland. It supports women and girls aged 13 upwards who have experienced any kind of sexual violence at any time in their lives. Their services are for all women and girls; this includes those who identify as Lesbian, Bi, Trans and/or Queer and black and minority ethnic women and girls.  Also, refugees and those seeking asylum, and disabled women and girls as well as those with additional learning needs.

There are many forms of sexual violence including: rape, sexual assault, online sexual abuse, sending sexual images without consent, stalking, partner and stranger sexual abuse. Grace supports women and girls whether the abuse they experienced was recent or historic.

What is on offer:

  • Counselling; from women counsellors who are accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. There are a number of confidential outreach bases across Northumberland where counselling takes place.
  • Practical and emotional support; specialising in supporting women and girls to navigate the criminal justice process and also offering support with housing, finances, employment, education, health, or just having someone to talk to who can provide reassurance and encouragement.

Telephone: 0191 222 0272 (general enquiries and referrals)

Helpline & Email Support: 0800 035 2794 or emailsupport@rctn.org.uk (Mon, Tues, Wed & Thurs 6pm – 8:30pm and Fri 11am – 2pm)

Visit the GRACE website

 

Find more support for domestic abuse and sexual violence at our Find Services page.

Care home visiting

Care homes: keeping in touch with loved ones

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We are holding another public online forum via Zoom for anyone who would like to share their current experiences of visiting loved ones in care homes.

At our previous forums we have heard from people whose loved ones live in care homes about the impact of visiting restrictions and ways they have been keeping in touch. We also ran a survey and heard from care home staff and relatives of those living in care homes. All feedback received has resulted in our recent care home report which has been welcomed by providers and commissioners.

The forum will take place on Monday 8 November, from 10am to 11.30am.

We also want to produce some information and guidance to support people whose loved ones may be moving to a care home and would appreciate your help and experience to develop this.

If you would like to register for our forum please contact Helen Brown by email: helenb@healthwatchnorthumberland.co.uk or call us on 03332 408468 (option 3). Once registered, we will send you the Zoom link before the event.

If you can’t make the forum but would like to tell us your story, or would rather speak to one of our team in confidence please get in touch.

Covid-19 booster vaccines

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NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group has put together a series of short videos to answer some of the questions you may have about the Covid-19 booster vaccine.

The CCG is responsible for the planning and buying of local NHS services for people in Northumberland.

In the videos, Richard Hay, Head of Planning and Operations at Northumberland CCG talks about who, how and when you can get a booster vaccination and whether the flu jab will be given at the same time. He also answers some questions about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Click on the questions below to watch the videos:

Can I still get my COVID-19 vaccine?

Am I eligible for a COVID-19 booster jab?

When can I get my COVID-19 booster jab?

How do I get my COVID-19 booster jab?

What vaccine will I get for my COVID-19 booster jab?

Where can I get more information about the COVID-19 vaccine?

Can I get my COVID-19 booster at the same time as my flu jab?

Why am I being told not to contact my GP about my COVID-19 vaccine?

 

For the latest information and FAQs visit the Northumberland CCG website.

Visit our Covid-19 Information Page

Would you like to have a say in improving end of life care in Northumberland? We have been asked by NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to find out what is important to the residents of Northumberland when thinking about end of life care.

End of life care focus group

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End of life care in Northumberland focus group

Friday 15 October 2021, 10.00am – 12.00pm, online.

Would you like to have a say in improving end of life care in Northumberland? We have been asked by NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to find out what’s important to the residents of Northumberland when thinking about end of life care.

We would like feedback from you at our online focus group on the CCG’s ambitions for end of life care and the idea of an end of life agreement. This would outline what responsibilities and expectations care providers should have and the role of us all in helping to achieve these.

If you are interested in taking part please contact: helenb@healthwatchnorthumberland.co.uk for more information or to register for the session.

The number of places on the session are limited so let us know as soon as you can if you can join us. You’ll receive a £10 gift voucher as a thank you for taking part.

Leave feedback on any NHS or social care service you or your family have used in the last 12 months.

Where next? What you told us

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Every year we conduct an annual satisfaction survey with the residents of Northumberland to find out what they thought about the NHS and social care services they have used over the last 12 months. We also look at how this compares with the previous years’ results. With 2020-21 being such an exceptional year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this year we decided to shift the focus away from looking back over the preceding year and more towards the forthcoming year. Therefore, the aims of this year’s annual survey were to:

• Gain an overview of satisfaction levels with health and social care services in the preceding 12 months

• Gain clear direction from the residents of Northumberland which two health services and which two social care services we should prioritise in our work for the next year and why.

We received a total of 617 responses to our survey of which 199 were via the online version and 418 were paper copies returned via freepost  or completed at a face-to-face event.

Read more – Where next: what you told us in our Annual Survey 2021.

 

To leave feedback on services at any time or ask a question of our Information and Signposting Service, please get in touch.

Young People and Mental Health

Young people and mental health

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Healthwatch Northumberland is the independent champion for people who use health and social care services. We are a listening organisation working across Northumberland, interested in what people like about services and what can be improved. We act on what people are saying, sharing their views with those who have the power to make change happen. We also help people find the information they need about services in their area and record this as ‘signposting’.

Between January and March 2021 we ran an online survey to gauge the access and support received by young people (aged between 13 – 25 years) from mental health services in Northumberland.

We promoted the survey through our own social media channels and website as well as contacting all secondary and high schools in Northumberland. We also contacted all the local youth groups across the county and other relevant partners such as Northumberland CVA, the Aging Well Network and town and parish councils. The survey had 51 responses. Read our findings at the link below:

Young People and Mental Health: Experiences of access and support in Northumberland

Find mental health services and support