Survey of people who are housebound or care for the housebound, Devon
Download (PDF 322.32 KB)Summary of report content
As part of the national NHS programme Transforming Community Services, the Devon Clinical Commissioning group asked Healthwatch Devon to undertake a survey aimed at housebound people and their carers to gather their feedback about a range of current services provided in the community. A postal and online questionnaire was distributed via the Healthwatch Devon networks for a 6 week period in October - November 2013.
The respondents were living with a broad range of health conditions that rendered them housebound, but the most frequently cited were strokes and dementia. The two most commonly used services were identified as Community Therapies (Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Pulmonary Rehabilitation) and Podiatry. When people were then asked which of the services listed are most valuable to them, there was an increase in the relative value attributed to some For Example: Stroke Rehabilitation, Urgent Care and Adult Continuing Care.
Issues that cause people difficulty in accessing community services included: specific services not being available in some localities, access via telephone can be difficult for people with hearing impairment, availability of appropriate appointment times and long lead-in times, several people said that they did not know what was available nor how to find out what is available in their area.
When asked for suggestions as to what could be improved about the services, the most frequent suggestion was for greater consistency of provision across localities and improving the availability and quality of interventions provided by professional carers. Responses also highlighted positive experiences from specific services; in particular the Complex Care team at Crediton Hospital and the Community Nursing service were mentioned as being excellent.
The Clinical Commissioning Group have agreed to keep Healthwatch Devon informed of progress with those future plans so that they can inform participants and other interested members of the public of any impact resulting from their involvement in this survey and of any further opportunities for public involvement.