Annual Report 2021/22

Healthwatch County Durham report on its key achievements for 2021/22. It:

• Carried out one of its largest pieces of engagement work with children and young people, hearing from 989 young people about mental health. The findings were shared with stakeholders and service providers to inform future mental health support and service development.
• Investigated access to NHS dentistry by contacting 42 dental practices across the county, identifying problems with availability and inaccurate online information, and making recommendations to improve access, information quality and dental health promotion. The findings also contributed to Healthwatch England’s national work on dental reform. 
• Influenced improvements to GP access by reviewing GP telephone systems and websites. Evidence gathered by volunteers was used by the Clinical Commissioning Group to direct funding and support improvements to practice websites and telephone systems.
• Gathered feedback from refugees about their experiences of healthcare services, helping to ensure the views of communities whose experiences are often less heard informed local discussions about access to care. 
• Introduced video diaries to capture and share people’s real-life experiences of health and care services, helping providers and commissioners better understand the impact of services on patients’ lives. 
• Helped improve public access to health information and services by supporting 277 people with advice and information on issues including mental health, COVID-19, NHS dentistry and healthcare access. 
• Influenced the development of a new online financial assessment tool for adult social care by gathering public feedback and helping ensure the tool would be informative, accessible and user-friendly.
• Contributed local evidence on young people’s experiences of COVID-19 vaccination and dental access to Healthwatch England, helping inform national insight and policy discussions.