Annual Report 2023/24

Healthwatch Waltham Forest report on its key achievements during 2023/24.  It:

• Developed the “Good Care Framework” after extensive community engagement, identifying that good care should be accessible, competent, person-centred and trustworthy. The framework is now being used across the local health and care system to shape service design, commissioning and performance measurement.
• Influenced improvements in GP access through community insight work, leading to changes in phone systems, appointment processes, online consultations and wider primary care transformation initiatives. 
• Improved understanding of vaccine hesitancy within Pakistani, Black African and Caribbean communities, with findings used to shape local, regional and London-wide vaccination communication campaigns. 
• Helped drive improvements in social care and care homes, including better coordination between care providers, more personalised care planning, improved communication with families, and practical service improvements following reviews and Enter and View work. 
• Influenced improvements to women’s health services by gathering feedback from over 200 women, highlighting access issues and informing plans for a Women’s Health Hub in Waltham Forest. 
• Used community insights to improve hospital and community services, including influencing discharge processes at Whipps Cross Hospital and supporting more integrated community-based care closer to home. 
• Reached over 5,000 residents, published 51 reports, and ensured local experiences directly informed decisions made by the Health and Care Partnership, Health and Wellbeing Board and primary care leaders.