Quarterly Report October – December 2018

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As independent champion for people who use health and social care services, we listen to your experiences of using these services.  This report shares the themes from the feedback we received between 1 October to 31 December 2018.

We receive feedback and enquiries by:

  • Talking to people at local community events
  • Telephone calls, emails and social media
  • Surveys
  • Focus groups on specific issues

Healthwatch Northumberland is open to all feedback about health and social care services but respondents to our Annual Survey identified five priorities for specific focus these are mental health services, dementia care services, home care, GP services and access to services.

Between October and December 2018 we had 98 individual pieces of unsolicited feedback and we spoke with approximately 530 people face to face. We attended flu clinics at GP practices in Tynedale, North Northumberland and Castle Morpeth, talking to a wide range of older residents and those with long term conditions and learning disabilities. We were at Morpeth, Berwick, Prudhoe, and Widdrington libraries during Library Week. We also attended “Winter Warmer” and SEND events, the Carers’ Rights
Day at Berwick and spoke at the Belford Parish Council and the Belford Practice Patient Participation Group.

Read the October to December 2018 report in full.

 

Our response to the decision to close inpatient beds at Rothbury Hospital

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Healthwatch Northumberland would encourage anyone with an interest in the future of health care in the area to contact us with queries or concerns, or to raise them directly with the review group examining proposals for the hospital.

 

Update November 2018: The Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) has responded to the Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group regarding the engagement and consultation process undertaken around the decision to close the inpatient ward at Rothbury Community Hospital and reshape the existing services around a health and wellbeing centre. The IRP concludes that “further action locally is required to agree and implement the proposed health and wellbeing centre at Rothbury Community Hospital”. The full letter from the IRP can be read here.

 

A great deal of concern has been expressed by people within Northumberland about the decision taken on 27 September 2017 by the Joint Locality Executive Board to close the 12 in-patient beds at Rothbury Community Hospital.

Having considered the information circulated prior to the Joint Locality Executive Board and representatives having attended the meeting, board members of Healthwatch Northumberland saw justification in responding to the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in a letter forwarded on 5 October 2017. This was followed one week late by a response from Janet Guy, Lay Chair of the CCG. Both letters can be found below for your information.

The County Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed the in-patient bed closures on 17 October and decided to refer the matter to the Secretary of State for Health. His decision is awaited with interest. In the meantime, Healthwatch Northumberland will continue to act as an independent champion to ensure the interests of the wider community remain at the heart of all decisions made about health and social care throughout the county, by listening to the views of local people and engaging in meaningful dialogue with the CCG.

David Thompson, Healthwatch Northumberland Chair.

Letter to the CCG re. Rothbury Hospital

Response from the CCG re. Rothbury Hospital

 

Please note: Any response to news items by individuals or organisations are the views of those posting the response.  They do not reflect the view of, nor are they solicited by Healthwatch Northumberland unless this is explicitly stated in the news article.

Healthwatch graphic with two people

Healthwatch Northumberland Quarterly Report July – September 2018

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People who live in Northumberland and who use health and social care services tell Healthwatch Northumberland about their experiences throughout the year. This report shares the themes which emerged from 1 July to 30 September 2018. The next report will cover October to December 2018.

We receive feedback and enquiries from:

  • Talking to people at local community events
  • Telephone calls, emails and social media
  • Surveys
  • Focus groups on specific issues

We are open to all feedback about health and social care services but respondents to our Annual Survey identified five priorities for specific focus these are mental health services, dementia care services, home care, GP services and access to services.

Between July and September 2018 we had 59 individual pieces of unsolicited feedback and we spoke to 170 people at 32 engagement events.

Read the Report

Stephen Blackman presenting at Healthwatch Northumberland AGM 2018

Healthwatch Northumberland AGM 2018

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Our AGM this year saw around 100 people come together at Newbiggin Sports and Leisure Centre, to hear about the work of Healthwatch Northumberland over the last 12 months. Thank you to everyone who attended. Special thanks go to our guest speaker, Stephen Blackman of North of Tyne Local Pharmaceutical Committee, who gave an informative address on the role of community pharmacies in Northumberland and answered questions from our attendees. Big thanks also go to our information stand holders, who provided a wealth of information about services on offer from NHS, voluntary and community organisations in our region.

The minutes of the event and presentations from Healthwatch Northumberland and North of Tyne Local Pharmaceutical Committee can be downloaded below.

 

Healthwatch Northumberland AGM 2018 Draft Minutes

Presentation: Derry Nugent, Project Coordinator, Healthwatch Northumberland

Presentation: Stephen Blackman, North of Tyne Local Pharmaceutical Committee

Annual Report 2017/18 front cover

Annual Report 2017/18

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Our Annual Report is a bitesized account of what the Healthwatch Northumberland team has been up to over the previous year. You can read about what you’ve told us about health and social care, how we’ve helped people find answers and how we’ve made a difference. We will be expanding on the report at our AGM on 16 October (more details to follow), and you can download a copy below or contact us to be sent a hard copy.

Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report 2017/18

Onecall

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Keep safe and well with Onecall

If you are worried about an adult’s welfare who lives in Northumberland, contact the Onecall service.

All adult social care services in Northumberland can be contacted through the single point of contact, Onecall:

Telephone: 01670 536 400

Email: onecall@northumberland.gov.uk

or report a concern online

Onecall is one number for all adult social care, children’s services and community health enquiries in Northumberland, helping the most vulnerable people to keep safe and well 24-7.

Onecall brings together staff from Northumberland County Council’s adult social care and children’s services and partners in Northumbria Police.

When do I use it?
Onecall aims to help the most vulnerable people to keep safe and well 24 -7.
For example if you need help with:
•    Living safely and independently at home
•    Looking after someone who is ill or disabled
•    Caring for a child or young person
•    Family support if you are concerned about a child or young person
•    Reporting abuse or neglect of a child or adult
•    Finding alternatives if you can’t live at home
•    Recovering from an illness or injury at home

If you need medical advice and support fast, but it’s not life threatening, call your GP or NHS 111.

You should always call 999 in an emergency, for example when someone’s life is at risk or someone is seriously injured or critically ill.

 

 

Stroke – Act F.A.S.T.

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You could save your own or someone else’s life, or help limit the long-term effects of stroke, by learning to think and Act F.A.S.T. F.A.S.T. or Face-Arms-Speech-Time is easy to remember and will help you to recognise if you or someone else is having a stroke.

 

Face – Has their face fallen on one side? Can they smile?

Arms – Can they raise both arms and keep them there?

Speech  – Is their speech slurred?

Time to call 999 if you see any single one of these signs of a stroke.

 

There are also other symptoms that may occasionally be due to stroke. They include:

  • Sudden loss of vision or blurred vision in one or both eyes
  • Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of your body (including your leg)
  • Sudden memory loss or confusion
  • Sudden dizziness, unsteadiness or a sudden fall, especially with any of the other symptoms

Why Act F.A.S.T?

If you notice any single one of the signs of stroke, call 999. The faster you act, the better the chance of recovery. Find out more from NHS Choices.

You asked us about Cold Caps

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Healthwatch Northumberland was contacted by someone who reported that cold cap hadn’t been available for them during cancer treatment at Hexham General Hospital. The cold cap is a special cap filled with cold gel that can reduce hair loss caused by chemotherapy. It works by reducing the amount of chemotherapy drugs reaching the hair follicles.

We contacted some local groups for more information and were invited to attend a coffee morning held by the Northumberland Cancer Support Group. The people we spoke to seemed sure there is in fact a cold cap available at Hexham Hospital. Some people told us that they were offered the cold cap treatment but declined because of potential drawbacks and limited success rates;  others told us that because of the type of cancer and its severity, they had not been eligible for this type of treatment.

We also met a volunteer with Macmillan Cancer Support at the coffee morning, who agreed to ask some questions when she was next at the hospital.  The volunteer got back in touch with the following information:

“Hexham Oncology Day Unit has two cold caps.  These are offered to patients and are readily available as appointments can be made to accommodate everyone.  Usually the patient’s consultant would have discussed the situation with them beforehand.”

“Everyone is eligible but the consultant may be of the opinion that the patient could be at risk of metastasis to the brain if taking a certain drug during treatment.”

Healthwatch Northumberland also spoke to the staff on the Macmillan Cancer Support bus which was visiting Hexham at the time.  They suggested two useful websites for further information on hair loss during treatment:

 

Breast Cancer Care

Macmillan Cancer Support

 

Further research concluded that it is the decision of the individual cancer specialist whether or not the cold cap is suitable for a patient.  Cold cap treatment is not available for use during radiotherapy.  It can be used with chemotherapy but if the chemotherapy treatment is very strong or if the patient has very long periods of chemotherapy treatment, the cold cap will not be suitable.  In short, the severity of the cancer and the strength of the treatment will determine whether the cold cap is recommended.

Patient Transport Service Northumberland

Patient Transport Services insight

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North East Ambulance Service’ non-emergency Patient Transport Service provides a vital link in the treatment chain for people with a medical need, who would not otherwise be able to get to hospital appointments.  With a 90.7% satisfaction rating across the North East we know the service is greatly valued by those who use it, but what became clear to Healthwatch Northumberland from feedback and monitoring information is that people in Northumberland have experienced problems actually getting to the service via the booking procedure – many only securing a service when they appeal after first being turned down.

Our initial analysis showed:

  • 4000+ people per year being declared ineligible for patient transport when they are later found to be eligible through the appeals process.
  • Around 5000 people per year are being declared ineligible for patient transport and not appealing
  • Almost 75% of ineligibility decisions appealed through the Patient Transport Appeals Team are overturned
  • Around 50% of ineligibility decisions are overturned due to distance where distance is not part of the initial eligibility criteria
  • The trend in Northumberland was worsening relative to other areas

This suggested to us that Northumberland patients are experiencing additional stress and anxiety by being put through a seemingly unnecessary appeals process, while others are missing out by not appealing even though they are eligible.

We decided we needed more insight on the transparency and application of eligibility criteria. We talked to North east Ambulance Service, NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group, North of England Commissioning Support Unit and North of Tyne Patient Advice and Liaison Service. Each organisation engaged with the issues quickly and positively and we are pleased to report the eligibility criteria have been changed. Of particular note is the extension of automatic eligibility for people with dementia or a 30-mile boundary and the ability to book multiple trips when people are undergoing a course of treatment.

Read the full report and the response from North East Ambulance Service

Amble Pier Northumberland

Annual Report 2016/17

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Amble Pier Northumberland

The latest Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report is now available, outlining the work undertaken by Healthwatch Northumberland during the year. See how we made a difference to people’s expeiences of health and social care in the county.

Download the Annual Report.