End of life care focus group

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

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

Care homes, Covid-19 and beyond

Care homes, Covid-19 and beyond

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In September 2020 it was widely reported that people who were living in care homes in Northumberland during lockdowns had struggled to keep in touch with their loved ones, as visiting restrictions were in place to protect the most vulnerable from infection.

We responded by asking for feedback from people whose loved ones were in care homes in Northumberland. We hosted a series of online forums which took place in November 2020, January 2021, March 2021, and June 2021. We had 46 attendees across these four forums consisting of 26 different people, as many attended more than one and in some cases all of the forums.

At different stages of changes in visiting guidance for care homes these forums gathered feedback from relatives around their experience of visiting and other ways they were keeping in touch with loved ones during the pandemic. We also heard from professionals who work with older people including those with dementia, their carers, and other professionals in the health and social care field.

It is important to acknowledge that the Covid-19 pandemic was unprecedented and care home staff had to work under extremely difficult and challenging conditions for a long time. Whilst many relatives who attended the forums generally had less than positive experiences to share, they were also keen to know what good practice was taking place across care homes.

Visiting experiences had also improved by our final forum and survey responses have also shared positive approaches taking place. We ran a survey for relatives of those living in care homes and care home staff from mid-March to early June 2021 to gather additional feedback. The survey had a total of 22 responses.

Read more in our report: Care Homes, Covid-19 and Beyond

Find lots of information and support at our Your Health pages

We’re recruiting – join our board!

We’re recruiting – join our board!

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Could this be you?

  • Are you passionate about improving local NHS and care services?
  • Could you act as the ‘eyes and ears’ of your community and let us know about any changes needed to local health and social care services?
  • Do you want to ensure Healthwatch Northumberland works in an inclusive and equitable way?

Great! We would like you think about joining our board.

You would be one of 15 board members who guide and oversee Healthwatch Northumberland’s work.

It is very important the people involved with Healthwatch Northumberland have experience of using health and social care services including as a carer. We are keen to hear how you could use what you know to help understand what is happening in our diverse communities.

How much time is involved?

The minimum commitment is four board meetings per year plus a review day.  Meetings take place during the working day, and last approximately 2.5 hours.  We meet in different places (we pay travel expenses) or online.

If you want to you can get more involved including helping us at community engagement events or with research.  It would be up to you.

If you want to know more have a look at our information pack and or contact Derry Nugent, Project Co-ordinator on 07590 880016 or derryn@healthwatchnorthumberland.co.uk.

Please return completed application forms by 1 October 2021.

Information Pack

Application Form

This vacancy has now closed.

Dementia diagnosis: what next?

Dementia diagnosis: what next?

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Getting a dementia diagnosis can be a big shock, and it can be hard to know what to do next. Take a look at this guide to find out what support you should receive.
The essential information you should get after a dementia diagnosis
  • Your type of dementia and how it will affect you.
  • Any further tests, treatment, activities or therapies that might help you.
  • Who will provide your care and how to contact them, including the professional who will coordinate your care.
  • Support groups and charities that can help you.
  • How dementia can affect your driving and what you need to do.
  • How your employer should support you if you work (or are looking for work).
  • Any research studies you could take part in.

This information should be explained to you and given to you in writing. You can also ask for it in a format you understand. If you don’t need this information straight away, you can ask for it later on.

What else should you talk about with your GP?

  • Consent – Do you agree to services sharing information about you? Who can they share information with, and what are you willing for them to share?
  • Information – Do you know who to contact for more advice if your needs change?
  • Future contact – You may not need any help or further appointments now. If that is the case, would you like to be contacted again and if so, when?

Next step checklist

It’s not just health and care support you need to think about when diagnosed with dementia. To help you, Dementia UK has created a checklist to follow, which includes information on benefits and discussing plans and wishes with your family.

Dementia UK checklist

What support have you received? 

Have you or loved one had a dementia diagnosis? We want to hear your experience of dementia care and support – good and bad. We have the power to make sure NHS leaders and other decision makers listen to and act on your feedback. So, if you’ve got a story to share, tell us!

Planning your care

Now

After your dementia diagnosis, your GP should direct you to services that can give you more information and support. You should also be given the name of a professional who will coordinate any care and support you might need.

The future

Thinking ahead can feel overwhelming, but planning care can help make sure people know your wishes for the future. When you’re ready for this, you should be offered support and information to discuss your options.

Support for carers

Anyone with caring responsibilities for a person with dementia is entitled to a Carers’ Assessment. Their local Authority will carry this out. The Assessment will look at the impact of caring for a person with dementia and what support is needed. Take a look at Dementia UK’s guidance on Carers’ Assessments for more information.

As a carer, it is essential to think about your health and wellbeing. It is a significant adjustment, so you should take a look at the options available to you. These can include:

  • Training
  • Support
  • Advice

More information

The information on this page is from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guide for people with dementia and their family and carers. Take some time to read the guide in full to understand better the support available to people with dementia and their carers.

Read full guidance

Visit our dementia health page for information on local services

Click and Connect: GP online services report

Click and Connect: GP online services report

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GP online services report

GP online services can cover a range of different functions, for example, booking appointments online, ordering repeat prescriptions and viewing medical records, test results and medicines. Many people find it more convenient to register for online services rather than having to rely on telephone or in person contact with their surgery. This has been magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic, due to social distancing restrictions.

We were contacted by someone who told us about the difficulties they had experienced trying to register for GP services online. They found the process complicated, particularly as they were asked to visit the practice in person with ID, in the middle of the pandemic. We decided to do some work to look at how people in Northumberland could register for online services at GP practices across the county.

Click and Connect: GP Online Services Report

What you told us: April to June 2021

What you told us: April to June 2021

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Healthwatch Northumberland Feedback Report April to June 2021

Between April and June 2021, we received feedback from 63 individuals from talking to people at face-to-face engagement events, telephone calls, emails, our website, social media, and other sources. We signposted 20 of these people to services.

This quarter we received feedback and enquiries from:

  • Telephone calls (42%)
  • Emails (23%)
  • Website (19%)
  • Social media (12%)
  • Engagement event (5%)

Each quarter we look at who we are hearing from across the county, including location, gender, age, and whether the respondent is sharing their own health and social care experience or speaking on behalf of a friend or relative.

We also look at the general sentiment of comments, with specific reference to the service type, for example whether that’s primary care (doctors, dentists, pharmacies), secondary care (hospital services), mental health or social care, as well as whether the feedback relates specifically to quality of the care or access to services.

Find out more about who we heard from and what we were told, below.

Feedback Report April – June 2021

Annual Report 2020/21

Annual Report 2020/21

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Find out what we got up to in the last 12 months in our . Read about the highlights of our year including our work on care home visits and how we worked with others to get results.

There are also examples of how our Information and Signposting service helped individuals, and how our fabulous volunteers continued to support us and our communities through the pandemic.

There are lots of fantastic Northumberland photos inside too!

If you’d like to tell us about your experiences of care or have a query for our Signposting and Information Service, please get in touch.

 

View the Healthwatch Northumberland Annual Report 2020/21