Annual Report 2021/22

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove report on its key achievements for 2021/22.  It:

• Influenced improvements to GP services through work with patients at New Larchwood Surgery, helping secure additional NHS funding and restoring GP opening hours after local residents raised concerns about reduced access. 
• Supported more than 2,600 people after hospital discharge through a wellbeing project, helping people access community support, social care, mental health services and practical assistance, while reducing isolation and improving recovery. 
• Played a key role in improving end-of-life care, with earlier recommendations accepted by NHS organisations and embedded into local strategies and policies, leading to ongoing improvements in how patients and families are supported. 
• Ensured patient experiences shaped major NHS service changes, including work on patient transport, community diagnostic centres, mental health services, equipment and adaptations services, and outpatient care. 
• Supported access to healthcare during the pandemic through the Covid-19 vaccine enquiry service, helping residents navigate vaccination issues and providing reliable information and reassurance to the public. 
• Amplified the voices of young people through Young Healthwatch, influencing mental health and wellbeing services, exploring barriers to remote appointments and helping shape wider children and young people’s mental health strategies. 
• Helped improve access to NHS dentistry by producing guidance, supporting residents to find treatment and raising concerns with commissioners and policymakers about access problems across Sussex.
• Gathered feedback from around 9,000 people and published 20 reports, ensuring local experiences influenced health and social care planning, commissioning and service improvement across Brighton and Hove and Sussex.