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Your feedback March 2026

Your feedback March 2026

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Your NHS and social care feedback March 2026

Top issues

This month we heard about issues with hospital outpatients appointments including insufficient parking and poor communication. We also received feedback about difficulties accessing audiology services and GP appointments.

This month’s focus

This month we presented our first Stellar Award to the Hyperacute Stroke Unit team at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital.

Our Stellar Awards celebrate the people and services who go the extra mile to provide positive health and social care experiences for people across Northumberland

We held our regular Here to Hear drop in sessions at Bedlington, Alnwick, Ashington, Morpeth and at Hexham General Hospital.

We also attended some additional face-to-face sessions at Northumberland County of Sanctuary in Ashington, the Meet and Eat session in Allendale, Hadston House, and Hexham Livestock Mart.

Throughout the month we promoted our Annual Survey and aim to publish the findings by the end of April.

This month’s online talk was from Autism in Mind which covered the support available for autistic adults. This was a very popular event, attracting our largest audience for 2025-26.

Positive feedback example

A woman and her husband came to our Hexham Here to Hear drop-in session to tell us that she had been in Haltwhistle hospital for ten days. She was very happy with the care she had experienced. The staff were very friendly and supportive and nothing was too much bother for them. Excellent service!

Tynedale resident

Negative feedback example

Discussion with member of the public who is an NHS hearing aid user. States that they are having long waits for appointments to get hearing aids tuned. Has not struggled so much with getting parts but appointments for tuning more of a problem and it can be a struggle with hearing properly in the meantime.

North Northumberland resident

Impact

We were recognised for our contribution to Northumberland County Council Director of Public Health’s annual report: “I would like to thank Public Health team members for their individual contributions and Healthwatch Northumberland for their valuable input into understanding healthcare access.”

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including local hearing aid support clinics, sight loss support groups, hidden disability lanyards and homeless support.

Read more in our feedback summary for March 2026

Your feedback February 2026

Your feedback February 2026

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Your NHS and social care feedback February 2026

Top issues

This month we heard negative feedback about the maternity and baby unit at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital (NSECH). We received both positive and negative feedback about GP services. We also heard about issues with hospital outpatients appointments – mainly poor communication and long waits for an appointment.

This month’s focus

This month we held our regular Here to Hear drop in sessions in Alnwick, Morpeth and at Hexham General Hospital.

We have had additional in-person sessions at Northumberland County of Sanctuary in Ashington, Hexham Livestock Mart, and at Newbiggin Community Hub.

We were also invited to attend the Northern Cancer Voices event held at Cramlington Manor Walks, and we gave a talk about our services to the Age UK group in Ponteland.

Our online talk was given by Healthworks and was about women’s cancers.

We launched our Annual Survey this month, which asks ‘what matters to you?’ The results will help set our work priorities for the year ahead. You can leave feedback online until 31 March 2026.

Positive feedback example

A woman told us she was really happy with her GP surgery. They helped her stop vaping and continued to monitor her after stopping. They had also given her antibiotics when she had a chest infection.

Tynedale resident

Negative feedback example

A woman told us she was concerned about the reduction in podiatry services. She said they don’t just cut toenails but they provide a vital early detection service for conditions like diabetes. She said she is concerned that more health conditions will go undetected or not be picked up early with the new service levels.

Castle Morpeth resident

Impact

One of Northumberland County Council’s Locality Coordinators reported that she had taken our mental health booklets to Ashington College where they were well received and ‘picked up by a surprisingly high number of students’.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including cancer support groups, Parkinson’s support, care in the home and social prescribing.

Read more in our feedback summary for February 2026

Your feedback January 2026

Your feedback January 2026

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Your NHS and social care feedback January 2026

Top issues

This month we heard about long distances to travel to audiology appointments and oversubscribed audiology drop-in clinics. We also heard about GP services with some people telling us they received poor service and others had difficulty getting appointments.

This month’s focus

This month we held our Here to Hear public drop-in sessions in Blyth, Bedlington, Morpeth and at Hexham General Hospital. We also attended Northumberland County of Sanctuary’s session in Blyth, Hexham Livestock Mart, and Adapt (NE)’s Warm Space as additional sessions hearing from local communities.

We have been heavily involved with planning and delivering the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board’s end-of-life care planning engagement and Northumberland County Council’s Mental Health Needs Assessment.

Our online talk was delivered by Vision Northumberland for which we had a good audience.

Positive feedback example

A person told us that they received excellent care from a hospital ward team specialising in urology.

The person was first on the list for being operated on, and this happened promptly. The staff were extremely busy but still went out of their way to make time to chat with the patient. The anaesthetist made them feel at ease, even cracking jokes with them. The person was well cared for once out of theatre, provided with a good breakfast with added homely touches such as a teapot rather than just a mug of tea.

They were given clear information on discharge and about what would happen next regarding test results and a follow-up appointment. The staff made the whole process as positive as it could be.

Ashington, Blyth and Newbiggin resident

Negative feedback example

“The new audiology drop-in session in Morpeth, dealing with hearing aid checks, is totally oversubscribed and people are turned away on the third Monday of the month because the technician can only see 25 people in the session and it is not possible to make an appointment – first come, first served basis or just waiting to see if you can be seen at the end of the session.

“Getting tubes and lobes is exceedingly difficult. Personally I think the audiology department is a shambles.”

Castle Morpeth resident

Impact

We received an email from Head of Services and Support, Community Pharmacy North of Tyne: “Thanks, I had received a copy of the Pharmacy First report, which makes for interesting reading. It confirms our feeling that the older population is probably not as aware of the services offered by community pharmacy and the skills and knowledge that pharmacists have.

“We have already started to make contact with Age UK, etc. within Northumberland to start addressing this inequality.”

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including GP practice registration, NHS complaints, benefits advice and scams awareness.

Read more in our feedback summary for January 2026

Your feedback December 2025

Your feedback December 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback December 2025

Top issues

This month we heard mixed feedback about GP and hospital inpatient services. Some people told us about issues with hospital outpatients appointments including poor communication and distance to travel, although again there was also positive feedback about the quality of care received.

This month’s focus

As well as our usual Here to Hear drop-in sessions across the county we also attended Hexham Livestock Mart, the Meet and Eat session in Allendale and the Northumberland County of Sanctuary session in Blyth. Adapt (NE)’s Community Hub opened in December 2025 and we are staffing the Warm Space once a week on Tuesdays, as an additional Here to Hear.

We have been supporting the NHS in our region to find out more about people’s awareness of the Pharmacy First scheme, GP extended opening hours services and the NHS App. We also carried out a piece of work for the NHS to gauge the public’s opinion of proposed dentists’ awareness publicity materials.

Our online information event this month was from Tyneside and Northumberland MIND and was about the mental health services it provides to people in Northumberland.

Positive feedback example

A patient left positive feedback about the gastroenterology department at Wansbeck General Hospital.

They said, ”This was a first appointment. I wasn’t sure what to expect or how long my appointment would be. I didn’t see the consultant named on my appointment letter, I saw a more junior member of her team who took a full history. I had planned what to say and she listened and asked lots of questions. This took about 30 minutes. Then she went to relay all that information to the consultant. She was gone for 20 minutes and then returned to talk to me about next steps and likely diagnosis. This was another 15 – 20 minutes. I felt listened to and that the impact of my condition on my life was understood. I was given enough time to ask questions about likely diagnosis, possible treatment, tests required before this could start and interim medication to control symptoms while waiting for tests. I could not have asked for a better experience.”

North Northumberland patient

Negative feedback example

Feedback from a professional on behalf of a member of the public:
92 year old female unable to access hearing support in the form of a hearing test at home. The Freeman Hospital audiology department has confirmed she can have a domiciliary visit. However, this needs to be recommended by her GP. The patient has macular, is nearly blind and suffers from anxiety. Daughter has been trying to get this done for her mum for a while but the GP has not been supportive. Having to go through GP for this request is a barrier to access.

Ashington and Blyth resident

Impact

We received an email from Vision Northumberland which said, “Just to confirm Public Health have now agreed to undertake a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment of eye care. I have met with the Public Health person leading on it and central to her knowledge is the Healthwatch Northumberland report.”

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including NHS dentists, exercise classes, support for carers and help to make a complaint.

Read more in our feedback summary for December 2025

Your feedback November 2025

Your feedback November 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback November 2025

Top issues

This month we heard mixed feedback about GP and hospital services. We heard negative feedback about hospital IT systems not being joined up with other parts of the NHS and that post-operation advice was not always provided to patients. However, several people did mention good quality service from both GPs and hospitals.

This month’s focus

Our Here to Hear drop-in sessions took place in East Bedlington, Hexham, Morpeth, Prudhoe and Ashington. We also attended Wooler Warm Hub, Hexham Livestock Mart, Ageing Well’s Winter Warmer event in Ponteland, Carers Northumberland’s Carers Rights information day in Morpeth and the ‘Digital health in rural communities: bridge or barrier?’ conference, organised by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise.

This month’s free online information session from the ME Association was an update on the latest research on ME and Long Covid. A recording of the talk can be found on our Online Events webpage.

Working with local Healthwatch and the NHS in our area, we asked for feedback on three services designed to help people access the care they need more quickly. These are GP out of hours appointments, the NHS App, and the Pharmacy First Service. You can leave feedback about these services online.

Positive feedback example

A person told us they have attended a hospital on many occasions for cancer care, and found all the staff they came into contact with to be friendly and very attentive. They particularly liked that the staff remember their name and use it throughout their interactions, making the person feel more at ease and like a person not a number.

Tynedale resident

Negative feedback example

“The Newcastle Hospitals and Northumbria Trusts operate totally different IT systems and appointment systems and don’t cross over. Arranging appointments between them as new patients to the English NHS was farcical and tortuous and not helped by the Scottish hospital records not being sent over into the England systems – which apparently is ‘normal’. Why? This is an everyday occurrence and surely can be
facilitated much more professionally, bearing in mind the huge and potentially serious range of health issues that are needing to be monitored/managed?”

North Northumberland resident

Impact

“Healthwatch Northumberland does a great job in terms of collating all of the patient feedback, distilling it, and presenting the key themes of that back to us. This evidence base can give us more to go on from a commissioning/contract perspective.“

Comment received from the Strategic Head of Primary Care (Northumberland and North Tyneside Delivery Team) at NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including sight loss support, elderly support groups, respite day care and drop-in hearing aid clinics.

Read more in our feedback summary for November 2025

Your feedback October 2025

Your feedback October 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback October 2025

Top issues

This month we heard mixed feedback about GP services with a few people saying the appointment booking process had improved. We also heard about long waiting times for audiology appointments and long distances to travel to hospital outpatients appointments.

This month’s focus

This month we were out and about at our Hear to Hear events in Alnwick, Hexham, Morpeth, Seaton Valley, Prudhoe, Blyth and Cramlington. We also attended Hexham Mart, Thriving Together’s information sharing event in Ashington and had a table at the Young at Heart event in Blyth.

We hosted a ‘Mind the Gap’ session organised by Northumberland Health and Wellbeing VSCE Network, around farmers’ mental health.

Our online session was from Northumberland Talking Therapies, Tyneside and Northumberland MIND, and Northumberland Recovery College on ‘prioritising mental health in the workplace’, in support of World Mental Health Day. The session included a guided reflection and tips for dealing with stress. This was our second highest attended online event of this year.

Our ‘Pharmacy First’ project took place throughout October, with the aim of finding out people’s awareness and experience of the scheme. The results of this will be published in November.

Positive feedback example

A patient left positive feedback about their GP surgery.

“I get fantastic treatment at my GP surgery. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the receptionists, the practice nurses, the GPs or recently a trainee GP, they are all knowledgeable, approachable, thorough and very, very caring. I don’t think anyone can ask for more.”

Ashington and Blyth resident

Negative feedback example

A patient asked for a simple audiology appointment as her hearing aids are whistling. There are no obvious signs of what’s wrong but the person is very social and relies on the hearing aids. They have been told it’s at least 13 weeks wait for an appointment.

Cramlington, Bedlington and Seaton Valley resident

Impact

A person asked us for support at our Hexham General Hospital Here to Hear event in June 2025. They wanted help to find a missing hospital appointment letter and scan result on the NHS App. Their GP had received the letter but it wasn’t showing on the App.

We confirmed the details were not there and advised them to contact the consultant’s secretary or PALS for support to get the information uploaded onto the App, or speak to GP reception.

This month we received an update. The patient had followed our advice and contacted PALS, who had carried out an investigation.

The outcome was that the letter and scan result were added to their health record on the NHS App and they had an apology from the department concerned.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including counselling for young people, audiology, carers’ rights and cancer support groups.

Read more in our feedback summary for October 2025.

Your feedback September 2025

Your feedback September 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback September 2025

Top issues

This month we heard about issues with GP services including difficulties getting an appointment and digital exclusion. We also heard about the distance patients had to travel to get to hospital outpatients appointments and difficulties getting an appointment with an NHS dentist.

This month’s focus

The main focus was on delivering our Annual Event in Hexham. 80 people joined us to hear about local services and our review of the year.

We’ve been out and about with our Hear to Hear events in Bedlington, at Hexham General Hospital, Morpeth Library, Seahouses Hub and Newbiggin. We attended Thriving Together’s information events in Amble and Haltwhistle, a Northumberland County of Sanctuary session at Ashington, the Meet and Eat session in Allendale and we also heard from adults with learning disabilities at Journey Enterprises in Acomb.

We launched our Pharmacy First work, and started analysing results of the ‘Taking a Break’ carers project.

For the Persistent Physical Symptoms project, we held the second Patient Participation Governance group meeting and gave a promotional talk to Blyth Rotary club.

Our online talk this month was from Age UK Northumberland. The subject was Scams Awareness and the event was well attended.

Positive feedback example

A patient left positive feedback about their endoscopy appointment at Hexham General Hospital.

“A very positive experience from entering the department to leaving. The reception was very welcoming, the waiting area was comfortable and clean. The initial assessment was slightly rushed in a small room but still allowed time for questions etc. I cannot thank Dr Lee and the endoscopy staff in the room enough. I was very stressed about the procedure but I was talked through it and it was over before I knew it. Recovery was swift and I was given a print out of findings. The staff contacted my husband to collect me. Excellent, professional and patient centred care. All credit to the team.”

Tynedale resident

Negative feedback example

“Whilst I feel digital is great for those that can use it, I am concerned that older people are feeling pushed into using digital services. Many who are much older have never used smartphones, or even computers, so patients still need to have choice of how to access GPs. Surgeries should consider the demographics of an area when deciding on patient access.”

North Northumberland resident

Impact

We received positive feedback on our Annual Event. “Pharmacy First presentation was very informative. Useful to hear about service I was unaware of such as the 111 emergency prescription service. More local publicity definitely needed for Pharmacy First. Direct Payment session also very clear and helpful.”

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including NHS complaints, mental health support, finding an NHS dentist and hearing aid repair.

Read more in our feedback summary for September 2025.

Your feedback August 2025

Your feedback August 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback August 2025

Top issues

This month we heard about issues with GP services including a lack of up-to-date menopause treatment knowledge. We also heard about poor communication for hospital outpatients and how some people found it difficult to read letters from hospitals.

This month’s focus

This month we have been attending our regular Here to Hear sessions at Cramlington Hub, Alnwick Weaver’s Court, Hirst Welfare Centre, Hexham General Hospital and Morpeth Library. We also attended Hexham livestock mart as part of the joint working to support farmers’ mental health.

Our online talk this month was by Colostomy UK on living with a stoma.

Details of our Annual Event in Hexham – Delivering in Tynedale! – were promoted widely to people in the area and across Northumberland.

Positive feedback example

A woman came to see us very happy with the care she had experienced when she had hurt her ankle. She said all aspects of the care she received were excellent, timely and delivered by caring staff. Whether that was NSECH where she first went, the orthopaedic surgeon, the GPs or JMAPS, everything was well coordinated and picked up seamlessly from one another.

The Cora Health (previously Connect Health) physiotherapy ankle class was really good and she felt that ‘everyone should have access to it.’ The only improvement she could suggest is that the physiotherapy input should have started before she left hospital, rather than a short while after she had been discharged.

Castle Morpeth resident

Negative feedback example

A person told us that they have been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and find NHS letters difficult to read because they are often printed on both sides of paper. This means the print from the other side can be seen through the paper, as well as sometimes being printed upside down on the reverse side.

The person told us that issues like this can seem unimportant to others, but are very distracting for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and can make focussing on the content more difficult.

Tynedale resident

Impact

We learnt that Northumberland County Council has been running Mental Health First Aid training for its staff, at which they issue our ‘Mental Health Support in Northumberland’ booklet to attendees.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including mental health support, antenatal classes, adult social care and public transport.

Read more in our feedback summary for August 2025.

Your feedback July 2025

Your feedback July 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback July 2025

Top issues

This month we heard about issues with GP services. You told us about difficulties making appointments over the phone, poor quality of care and poor communication. However, a third of feedback about GP services was positive.

This month’s focus

We have been out and about in the good weather delivering our Here to Hear sessions. We also attended Thriving Together’s networking event in Newton, the Seafit event at Amble Harbour, Hexham Auction Mart, Blyth wellbeing event, and the Digital Phone Switch online training session.

Our online talk was from Prostate Cancer UK which our attendees found both informative and engaging. We began the first of the public participation meetings for our Persistent Physical Symptoms project. More details to follow.

Promotion is under way for our Annual Event, ‘Delivering in Tynedale!’. This free event for people who live or work in the area is a chance to hear about the NHS ten-year plan and what changes mean locally, the Pharmacy First service, plus Direct Payments and taking control of your care.

Positive feedback example

A person told us that they recently moved into the area and have been pleased with care from their GP surgery – much better than previous surgery out of the Northumberland area. They said that it was easy to get in touch online for help and they were offered support with mental health around menopause without asking, which they felt was really positive.

North Northumberland resident

Negative feedback example

A patient told us they feel anxious about NHS services (as well as other things) creeping towards digital reliance. They said they don’t feel confident or comfortable using digital services, leaving them excluded in many ways and feeling quite vulnerable.

Tynedale resident

Impact

This month we helped someone find the information they needed around support for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME). They told us “Thank you for so much for your email and for all of the information provided – it has been so helpful, along with the video too. I am sincerely grateful.

“Thank you also for your listening and the sympathetic ear. Words just can’t express the relief that comes with knowing that there are people out there willing to help and support those who are going through this rather debilitating illness, rather than having to fight it alone which I feel I have had to do over the last five months!

“So thank you for your understanding and a great service – it is very much appreciated.”

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including NHS complaints, mental health support, Adult Social Care, dementia support, stoma support and physiotherapy.

Read more in our feedback summary for July 2025.

Your feedback June 2025

Your feedback June 2025

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Your NHS and social care feedback June 2025

Top issues

This month we heard good things about the care received at GP surgeries, but also that it can take time to get an appointment. You also told us about communication issues with services, and that you were sometimes having to travel long distances to hospital appointments.

This month’s focus 

We held drop-in sessions at our usual Here to Hear venues plus Seaton Sluice Community Centre. We also went to Allendale Village Hall for the meet and eat session, the Work Smart, Live Well event at Cramlington, Berwick and Borders Carers’ event, and the public drop-in session for Felton surgery.

Our online talk was from the ME Association on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and got a very good reception from those that came along to learn more about these conditions.

Our Annual Report 2024-25 – ‘Unlocking the power of people-driven care’ which highlights how we’ve made a difference over the past year.

Positive feedback example

A person told us that, having been discharged from a larger hospital where they hadn’t been pleased with the service, they were then in a smaller, local hospital where they say the level of personal care was notably better. Staff were very attentive, watching patients and ensuring their safety whilst moving about to go to the bathroom etc. They reported the food as being excellent, with several choices.

The hospital arranged for an Occupational Therapist to visit their home whilst they were in hospital and by the time they arrived home via ambulance (also arranged by the hospital), hand rails and other safety
features had already been fitted.

Tynedale resident

Negative feedback example

A member of public who recently had a Covid-19 spring booster told us they’d had a reminder through post, However, this did not say where to go for a vaccination. They tried local pharmacy then GP surgery to see if they could get the vaccination there, but neither offered the service.
They found a pharmacy in Seaton Delaval which provided a walk-in service. The person didn’t try to call 119 to ask where could get the jab and is not online, so they just tried local services first.
They were surprised that the services did not tell him where he could go or that the invitation letter did not include this useful information.
Cramlington, Bedlington and Seaton Valley resident
Impact

“I thought today was really informative. I especially loved that once you have ME/CFS other symptoms of further illnesses are not picked up! I invited my uncle who’s a retired medic with a daughter with this; he’s been fighting for support for her for a long while! He’s going to get in touch with Russell direct. A great approach from someone with lived experience, thank you!”.

Feedback from attendee of June’s online talk by ME Association.

Information and Signposting Service

We were able to help people find the information they need on a range of issues and services, including NHS dentists, continence services, hearing aid batteries’ collection points, NHS complaints, paediatric first aid courses and transport to cancer care appointments.

Read more in our feedback summary for June 2025.