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health and social care feedback Northumberland May 2023

What you told us: June 2023

Health and social care feedback Northumberland June 2023

During June you told us about your continued frustration at your experiences of making a GP appointment. Poor communication, both with the public and between services, came out strongly as a theme this month – sometimes with serious repercussions.

This month we have reviewed our Here to Hear session venues. We have visited a lot of potential venues to gauge how they will help us hear from different communities. Further details of the new venues will be announced soon.

We also published our Annual Report for 2022/23, which gives an overview of the work we have done over the past 12 months in Northumberland, to engage with communities and where we have worked with commissioners and providers to highlight key issues.

Read our short report below to find out more.

Healthwatch Northumberland report June 2023

 

 

 

 

health and social care feedback Northumberland May 2023

What you told us: May 23

Health and social care feedback Northumberland May 2023

During May you told us about the difficulties you were having ordering and getting hold of prescription medicine. We also heard from a number of people that they were still having issues booking a GP appointment. Poor service in local hospitals was another theme from feedback this month.

This month we spent time listening to customers of Lloyds Pharmacy in Sainsbury’s Cramlington, about the impact of the planned closure of the pharmacy this summer. We visited the pharmacy, which is the only 100 hours per week pharmacy in Cramlington, at different times of the day and week, to speak to customers and the wider community, to see what effect the closure would have on local people and other pharmacies in the area. We also provided an online feedback form and heard from 230 people.

As well as our regular Here to Hear drop-in sessions in Berwick, Blyth, Prudhoe, Morpeth and Bedlington, we attended events which included Prudhoe Health Week, the Fishermen’s Mission SeaFit event in Amble and the Choppington Disability Group monthly session.

Read our short report below to find out more.

Healthwatch Northumberland report May 2023

Feedback report January 2023

Health and social care feedback – January 2023

Our short monthly reports give an overview of what people have been telling us about the NHS and social care services they have used recently. We can also see who we have been hearing from and if we’ve had more feedback from some parts of the county than others.

What you tell us helps us build a picture of what is working well and where there are issues in services, and is taken into account by those providing services when making decisions about local care.

Read our ‘at a glance’ feedback report for January 2023.

 

health and social care feedback 2022

Mid-year trends report Jul-Dec 2022

Our mid-year report looks at the trends in who we heard from over the last six months, and what we heard about services. We are a listening organisation and 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 local services in their area through our Signposting and Information Service.

Between July and December 2022, we received feedback from 368 individuals from talking to people at face-to-face engagement events, telephone calls, emails, our website and our social media pages.

The feedback we have had in the past six months has been around two big issues:

1. Accessing GPs and arranging appointments – 29% of all feedback received.

2. Accessing NHS dentists – 20% of all feedback received.

Read more in our mid-year report for July to December 2022

 

 

health and social care feedback Northumberland December 2022

Health and care feedback Dec 2022

Health and social care feedback December 2022

Thank you for continuing to tell us about your views and experiences on NHS and social care services last month. What we hear helps us build a picture of what is working well and where there are issues in NHS and social care services, and is passed to those providing services to help with decisions about local care.

Below is our ‘at a glance’ report for December 2022, which gives an overview of the main issues we heard about during the month and some examples of feedback.

Healthwatch Northumberland feedback report December 2022

NHS and social care feedback Northumberland

The power of your feedback

It’s easy to think that the feedback you give us doesn’t make a difference. We want to show you how this isn’t the case. Read some examples of how you helped the Healthwatch network and Heathwatch England make positive changes in care services.

1. Improving support for Long Covid patients thanks to you

We analysed the stories people shared with us about Long Covid throughout the pandemic. Although small in number, they told a powerful story.

You shared your stories with us, and, as a result, real change happened.

Here’s how:

You told us your GP didn’t understand Long Covid, often dismissing your symptoms.

We raised these concerns, and, as a result, the NHS is improving Long Covid resources for healthcare professionals to help them better diagnose symptoms and provide support.

Additionally, the NHS is investing in a new training programme to increase doctors’ and nurses’ knowledge of the tests, treatments and rehabilitation available for Long Covid.

What else?

You told us there wasn’t enough support for Long Covid mental health.

We raised these concerns and in response the NHS is now taking several steps to improve how services work together to support psychological and cognitive issues.

Oh, and one more thing:

You told us that not everyone was getting treated the same when it came to their Long Covid symptoms and it seemed unfair.

We passed this on to the NHS, who have now committed to improve this and understand why some groups are underrepresented when it comes to using Long Covid services.

Share your experience of NHS and social care services

We want to know more about the care you and your loved ones have received during the pandemic – both the good and the bad. Help your local NHS and social care services understand issues that are affecting care for you or a loved one.

Tell us your experience

2. The experience of waiting

You told us that you or your loved ones weren’t getting the help and information you needed while waiting for care – making you feel anxious, ignored and forgotten about.

We listened to you and set out recommendations to NHS England to change this.

Our key recommendations have led to commitments from the NHS to:

  • Improve communications with people while they wait, making sure they don’t feel lost or forgotten.
  • Make it easier for patients to update the NHS when there are changes in their condition.
  • Improve the support for people while they wait, such as better access to pain management, physiotherapy, and mental health support.
  • Provide support with transport and accommodation where patients need to travel for care.

The NHS has told us that people waiting over two years for care have directly benefited from our recommendations.

One of the key changes that have been made is around people having their transport and accommodation costs covered when offered quicker care away from their local hospital.

Without your feedback, we couldn’t have provided NHS England with these recommendations, and the option to be seen quicker could have been limited to only those who could afford it.

3. How your experiences have shaped NHS improvements around GP appointments

In March 2021, we looked at almost 200,000 people’s experiences of trying to access GP services. You told us that it was hard to book an appointment and you weren’t satisfied with the communication.

These barriers were especially difficult for people with disabilities, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and those on lower incomes.

With this feedback, we called on NHS England to take a formal review of the ways people access GPs to make sure they work for everyone. Your experiences informed every stage of the NHS’s review.

We’re pleased that the NHS’s report recognised improvements needed to be made. However, whilst we’ve highlighted a critical issue, even more must be done to ensure you can see a doctor regardless of where you live or your ethnicity.

4. The impact your feedback has made on NHS Dentistry

During the pandemic, more of you than ever got in touch with us to report problems seeing an NHS dentist. This problem certainly isn’t new and one we will continue to  raise. The impact this has been having on people’s lives has been heart-breaking to see. Many of you have told us you’ve been left feeling frustrated, ignored and, most importantly, in pain.

Thanks to your feedback, we were able to share your experiences with the Chief Dental Officer’s team at NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care.

MPs have used your experiences in debates in the House of Commons and Westminster Hall, to highlight the significant issues people are facing. They have made it clear that they see access to dentistry as a critical problem that needs urgent action.

Whilst the NHS announced £50 million of extra funding for dentistry in January – we know it’s a fraction of what’s required. However, it is a sign that the NHS and Government are listening and responding to the need for action.

What’s new?

On 19 July, NHS England announced some changes to the dental services contract.

This included improved pay for dentists, to encourage them to take on more complex cases; flexibility around who will be able to provide treatment; and the ability to reallocate unused capacity to other dental practices.

We can’t yet say how much impact these changes will have, and a lot more needs to happen before everybody who needs an appointment can get one, but these are the first steps.

We won’t stop campaigning for your right to an NHS dentist.

Change takes time, but with your help, we will continue shining a light on the issues that matter to you.

Whether good or bad, it’s really is important that you share your experiences with us. Remember, your feedback is helping to improve people’s lives. So, if you’re ready to tell your story – we’re here to listen.

colourful pie chart

What you told us: October 2022

Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback on NHS and social care services last month.

Below is our ‘at a glance’ report for October 2022, which gives an overview of who we have been hearing from and what they told us. What we hear from people living and working in Northumberland helps us build a picture of what is working well and where there are issues in NHS and social care services.

Often, we can get a quick response to your enquiry or signpost you to the right service.

Some issues are already being looked at by other organisations and we pass on your comments and concerns to them so that they have as much feedback as possible from those using services, to help them make decisions and improvements to services.

There are some issues that we look into in more detail and set aside time and resources to investigate further and put together recommendations for change.

Read more about our work.

Healthwatch Northumberland feedback report October 2022

What you told us: August 2022

Our ‘at a glance’ monthly reports provide a summary of who we have been hearing from and what you have told us. What you tell us helps us build a picture of what is working well and where there are issues in the NHS and social care services we use here in Northumberland. In many cases, we can get a quick response to your enquiries.

Some issues are already being looked at by other organisations and we pass on your comments and concerns to them so that they have as much feedback as possible from those using services.

There are some issues that we look into in more detail and set aside time and resources to investigate further and put together recommendations for change.

Read more about these projects.

These feedback reports are also shared with those paying for and providing the services.

Healthwatch Northumberland feedback report August 2022

What you told us: July 2022

Our ‘at a glance’ monthly reports provide a summary of who we have been hearing from and what you have told us. What you tell us helps us build a picture of what is working well and where there are issues in the NHS and social care services we use here in Northumberland. In many cases, we can get a quick response to your enquiries.

Some issues are already being looked at by other organisations and we pass on your comments and concerns to them so that they have as much feedback as possible from those using services.

There are some issues that we look into in more detail and set aside time and resources to investigate further and put together recommendations for change.

Healthwatch Northumberland feedback report July 2022

 

 

 

healthworker smiling at the camera

What you told us: Oct to Dec 2021

NHS and social care feedback October to December 2021

Thank you to everyone who told us about their experiences of NHS and social care services over the last three months.

Between October and December 2021 we had feedback from 73 people who live in Northumberland. This was from face to face events across the county, telephone calls, emails, our website and social media. We gave 14 of these people details of local services and support as part of our Signposting and Information Service.

One person, who came along to one of our Here to Hear drop-in events wanted to know what support there was available for his wife with arthritis. She is getting good care for her borderline diabetes and high blood pressure but doesn’t want to ‘make a fuss’ about getting support and treatment for her arthritis. Her arthritis is so bad that she can barely walk 20 metres. The GPs have referred her to the physiotherapist but this was during the height of the pandemic when they weren’t doing face to face work and she hasn’t followed it up since. We recommended to the husband that she pursue her case at the GPs to get the physiotherapy treatment, and we signposted them to Arthritis Action for advice and support and also DWP for PIP assessment.

Read more in our Feedback Report October to December 2021