Annual Report 2019/20

Healthwatch Southwark report on its key achievements for 2019/20.  It:

• Published major reports on unpaid carers, mental health crisis care, LGBTQ+ experiences and social prescribing, providing evidence that influenced local NHS and council planning, including carers’ services, mental health pathways and LGBTQ+ inclusion work. 
• Influenced support for unpaid carers through extensive engagement with carers and direct involvement in the development of Southwark’s Carers Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and ongoing Carers Board work. 
• Helped improve nursing home services by following up recommendations from Enter and View work at Tower Bridge Care Centre and supporting service-user involvement in the commissioning and procurement of future nursing care services. 
• Ensured local people’s views shaped implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan. Feedback from Southwark residents influenced South East London NHS plans on areas including digital access, cancer screening and talking therapies. 
• Led the “Strong in Southwark” LGBTQ+ engagement project, involving 210 survey responses and a major public event, with findings contributing to work by the council, NHS providers and public health teams to improve services for LGBTQ+ residents. 
• Influenced the future development of social prescribing through research into patients’ experiences, with findings used by Southwark’s Social Prescribing Network and local partners developing new models of support.
• Responded rapidly to the emergence of COVID-19 by creating dedicated information resources, feeding residents’ experiences into local response planning, and supporting vulnerable residents through information and signposting.