Annual Report 2018/19

Healthwatch Coventry report on its key achievements for 2018/19. It:

• Influenced improvements to services supporting people leaving hospital by gathering the experiences of people using Discharge to Assess and Reablement services, as well as staff delivering them, leading to action plans and increased attention to discharge planning and medication management.
• Improved home support and care services by interviewing people receiving care at home and making recommendations that were adopted by Coventry City Council and providers, including better complaint handling, provider monitoring and sharing of good practice. 
• Secured improvements in a care home following Enter and View activity, including environmental improvements, better use of outdoor spaces and greater involvement of residents in deciding activities. 
• Influenced changes to the Prescription Ordering Direct service by raising patient concerns about call waiting times, information and choice. This led to improved public information, scrutiny by elected members and a commitment to review the service with Healthwatch involvement. 
• Improved communication support for hospital patients by highlighting issues experienced by people with hearing loss and other communication needs. In response, the hospital introduced measures including better identification of patients requiring communication support and increased awareness of available resources. 
• Promoted better public involvement in health and care services through its Good Engagement Charter, which was adopted by local NHS organisations and used to improve approaches to gathering patient feedback and involving local people in service changes.
• Supported people raising concerns about NHS services through its complaints advocacy service, helping secure outcomes including apologies, improvements to patient safety processes, changes to clinical practice, faster access to treatment and successful Ombudsman decisions. 
• Amplified the experiences of local people by gathering feedback from 2,167 residents, providing information and advice to 350 people, and ensuring patient and public perspectives were represented in local health and care planning and service redesign.