COVID-19 briefing 1
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Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Healthwatch Peterborough invited people from across the area to complete a survey to find out the impact of service changes on their health and care. The survey asked about:
- Health and care services they had experienced
- Information they needed to stay safe and well
- Help and support they had received.
- Any messages for local NHS and care staff and other key-workers.
Key findings included:
- Overwhelming support for NHS staff, care and other keyworkers.
- Mixed experiences of the changes to health services.
- Cancelled services and procedures led to uncertainty; people wanted better communication about their care.
- People were worried that delays would affect the progress of their illness and prognosis.
- Some people put off seeking help for their health because they feared catching COVID-19, did not want to bother staff, or thought the service they needed would be unavailable.
- People increasingly turned to their family, friends, neighbours and local communities for both practical and emotional support as other services shut down.
- Three quarters of the people who responded said their mental health or wellbeing had been affected in some way.
- 77% people were able to access information about keeping safe during the pandemic relatively easily; however some had little or no information about services available to them, and others found the information unclear.