In its latest Annual Report, Together we’re making health and social care better, Healthwatch Gloucestershire highlights how it has used patient and public feedback to help NHS and social care decision makers prioritise the issues that matter most to local people.
Healthwatch Gloucestershire published 11 reports last year about the improvements people would like to see to local services, covering a broad range of topics including:
- Making GP services more accessible
- Improving access to paid care at home services
- Reducing digital barriers to health and care services
- Improving communications in health and care services
- Improving the autism assessment process and support for adults with autism
- Developing social support to help young people manage their mental health
- Better access to NHS dental care
- Monitoring and improving the quality of care homes.
Healthwatch Gloucestershire shared all the reports with NHS and social care leaders and their recommendations are being used to guide service developments in the county.
Announcing the annual report, Nikki Richardson, Chair of the Healthwatch Gloucestershire Board, said: “Last year, one of our key priorities was to tackle inequalities around access to health and care services. We focused our work on people rather than specific services and we sought to champion the voices of those who are often unheard. We shared people’s stories and feedback to highlight the challenges and barriers people can face when they try to access services. We used this insight to help health and care leaders understand how to improve access to care for everyone in our community and we challenged local providers to deliver the high quality, responsive services that people in Gloucestershire want and need.”
Commenting on Healthwatch Gloucestershire’s work last year, Becky Parish, Associate Director, Engagement and Experience, NHS Gloucestershire, said: “NHS Gloucestershire ICB has greatly valued many opportunities for partnership working with Healthwatch Gloucestershire in the past twelve months. Highlights have included: co-development of the new ICB Working with People and Communities Strategy; sharing and discussing patient stories; and working together to improve the accessibility of information for local people.”
Healthwatch Gloucestershire also announced four public engagement projects that it will work on during 2023-24:
- The impact of the cost of living crisis on people’s ability to access health and care services
- The quality of information, services and assessments for Adult Social Care
- Urgent and emergency care
- Access to GPs.
Read the report