The Kirkwood: using people’s opinions and experiences to shape future services
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Healthwatch Kirklees ran two surveys to ask the general public and professionals, and service users, about the end-of-life care and support on offer at The Kirkwood.
The Kirkwood are a movement of local people dedicated to caring for people in Kirklees affected by life limiting illness. Together, they offer a wider range of services designed to support patients, carers and family members at every stage of illness.
Healthwatch Kirklees heard from 147 people, 24 of whom were service users at The Kirkwood.
Key findings:
The majority of people are aware of the end of the end of life care and the support/therapy groups on offer at The Kirkwood.
Some people are not aware of the full range of support services on offer, or who is eligible and how to access different services.
Overall, people feel positively about ideas for proposed new ways of offering support in the community, e.g. in hubs or using ‘Kirkwood on Wheels’. People don’t want existing services to be replaced by the new ideas.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the way in which people access services at The Kirkwood; some changes have been positive such as digital access working well for some people, whereas others, such as a lack of face-to-face support groups, has had a negative impact.