Informing Thurrock Residents about the Essex Success Regime

Healthwatch Thurrock has been working alongside the ESR NHS England Team to ensure that the Thurrock community that use these NHS Services are aware of the changes taking place and what changes they should expect to see.  They visited a number of local groups.  They spoke to 415 people.

It is clear that people understand the need for the health and social care system to undergo improvements in order to address the current pressures on the system, such as: the NHS funding deficit in Essex, population growth and an ageing population in Thurrock. Over 90% of people we spoke to agreed that there needs to be systemic changes. 

Thurrock residents recognise that having a more joined up health service not only has financial benefits but creates greater confidence of the system itself. People’s greatest concerns were around the health and care system not being adequate enough to support them and care for them when they become ill. The quality of that care was also a concern. It is known that there is a shortfall of GP’s Thurrock currently, this has led to growing waiting times and difficulty getting GP appointments hence “improved waiting times” and “accessing services made easier” being high up on the agenda when people were asked what one thing they would change about the health and care system. 

The feedback from both events shows that there are various challenges that are wider than just issues around the local health services. Concerns were raised such as community issues, infrastructure and transport concerns. These challenges may be partly addressed through better joined up working across communities and organisations in Thurrock.