2018 Annual Survey

Healthwatch Northumberland sends a survey to its supporters and wider networks each year to gather information about their experiences of health and social care services. In 2018, they received 579 responses to the survey which had nine questions about the types of services used, frequency of visits and an opportunity to leave comments.

The report highlights the findings of the survey which showed that majority of the respondents rated their overall experience of health and social care as good or excellent over the last twelve months. However, the figures were slightly less (65%) than that of the previous year (67%) while there was an increase of 6% in rating the services poor. The overall sentiments expressed about all services showed negative response, with GP appointments receiving the most negative comments. However, Primary Care services, opticians and dentists received the maximum positive comments.  

The report categorised emerging and ongoing themes across all the health and social care services, including Mental Health. It also reports on what Healthwatch Northumberland is doing with this information and what external opportunities can be explored. There were five priorities set out by the respondents for Healthwatch Northumberland to investigate in 2018-19. They included mental health services, dementia care services, home care, GP services and access to services.