360° Review

This report is a summary of the findings of a 360° review of Healthwatch West Sussex carried out in February and March 2014.

Information was collected by 2 surveys - one for significant stakeholders, the other for people that had used the Healthwatch West Sussex helpdesk. Te summary is split between these two sets of results and findings.

Findings from the stakeholder survey included:

- Respondents who said they were familiar with Healthwatch were more likely to agree that it had clear purposes and aims.

- The responses of some participants implied a view that a successful local Healthwatch would be engaging directly with their organisation (and would therefore be ineffective if it wasn’t).

- Others appeared more aware that it may not be possible for HWSx to reach everywhere, and were more sympathetic of the need to work selectively. This group appeared more likely to draw its conclusions of Healthwatch from the evidence which it presents, perhaps believing that the depth and breadth of its data will indicate how effectively it is engaging with various groups.

Findings from the helpdesk user survey included:

- Participants were asked what help they had received when they contacted HWSx. More than half (52%) had received advice about making a complaint, while 33% had made a comment or provided feedback. At least a quarter of calls involved receiving more than one type of help.

- There was a strong expectation that the feedback provided would be acted upon quickly and constructively. Some comments conveyed an expectation that action would be taken on individual pieces of feedback, whereas others saw Healthwatch as more likely to act on aggregate.

- Respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the service they had received from HWSx. 30% rated this as good and 22% average. However, it should be noted at almost one in five (19%) viewed the service as being poor.