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Health and social care report October 2023

What you told us: October 2023

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Health and social care feedback Northumberland October 2023

This month the biggest issue, apart from difficulties getting an appointment at GP practices, has been poor communication by services. This is around prescriptions in particular, and the communication between patient, GP practice and pharmacy. There has also been communication issues with other services either not communicating with the patient or with each other, which has adversely affected the patient.

What did we get up to?

October was a busy month with an increased number of one-off sessions and events on top of our regular Here to Hear events. We were at Choppington Disability Group’s AGM, Blyth Wellbeing event, Silver Sunday and Mental Health Celebration event (also in Blyth), and Alnwick Garden’s Wellness event, all of which have been well attended and have enabled us to speak to many more people than usual.
Our AGM and listening event at East Bedlington Community Centre was well-attended and we received lots of positive feedback from guests.

This month’s online session on self-harm from Battle Scars was very popular, with our highest ever attendance since we began these sessions.

We ran an online campaign asking people to tell us what they think about their local pharmacy which generated a lot of feedback, almost exclusively positive, with many glowing references to Allendale
Pharmacy. This meant that for the first time since we started the monthly reports in July 2022, we received more positive feedback than negative.

Find out more in our October 2023 feedback report

Health and social care feedback Northumberland September 2023

What you told us: September 2023

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Health and social care feedback Northumberland September 2023

This month we heard from 268 people about health and social care services; either as a service user, or a carer or family member. The main issues were around getting a GP appointment and getting through to the surgery on the telephone. We did however hear a lot of praise for the quality of care once seen by healthcare professionals at the surgery.

We also heard that some people are not receiving all of their prescription medication from the pharmacy, where there are issues with supply. The third main area we had feedback on was mental health services, and how getting an appointment can be difficult, and communication could be better.

What did we get up to?

As well as our regular Here to Hear drop-ins in East Bedlington, Blyth, Morpeth, Prudhoe and Alnwick, we were out and about hearing from people at other events including a SeaFit event in Amble with the Fishermen’s Mission, Northumbria Cancer Patient and Carer Group’s Health and Wellbeing event in Haltwhistle, Queen Elizabeth High School Freshers’ Fair in Hexham and a drop-in session in Newbiggin.

Find out more in our September 2023 feedback report

health and social care feedback Northumberland May 2023

What you told us: June 2023

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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

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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

Health and social care feedback Northumberland April 2023

What you told us: April 2023

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Health and care feedback Northumberland April 2023

The main issues we heard about in April were accessing GP services, and the quality of service when seen, hospital service and access to NHS dentists – we are still hearing from people about the lack of provision in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Our main focus this month was passing on to the council and the NHS what we heard from you at our Here to Hear drop-in sessions. We promoted the COVID-19 spring booster vaccination programme and our public online info session this month was around disordered eating, with guests from Eating Distress North East.

Read our short report below to see at a glance who we heard from during the month and the services we heard about.

 

Healthwatch Northumberland report April 2023

Healthwatch Northumberland feedback February 2023

Feedback report February 2023

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Health and care feedback February 2023

Our monthly reports provide an overview of the feedback we have had and who we’ve been hearing from. In our February 2023 ‘at-a-glance’ report you can read some examples of positive and negative feedback we received and what our main focus has been throughout the month.

 

Healthwatch Northumberland feedback report February 2023

 

Tell us YOUR experiences

health and social care feedback Northumberland December 2022

Health and care feedback Dec 2022

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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

What you told us: November 2022

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What you told us November 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.

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 our feedback report for November 2022

 

Tell us about the services you and your family have used.