Annual Report 2013/14

Healthwatch Somerset report on its key achievements for 2013/14. It:

• Established Healthwatch Somerset as the new consumer champion for health and social care, building relationships with local communities, providers, commissioners and voluntary organisations across the county.
• Influenced local health and care decision-making by securing representation on key strategic boards and committees, ensuring local people’s experiences were reflected in discussions about health and social care services.
• Conducted Enter and View visits to care services, gathering evidence about people’s experiences and making recommendations to improve quality of care and service delivery.
• Reached a wide range of communities across Somerset through outreach events, surveys and engagement activities, collecting feedback from local people about their experiences of health and social care services.
• Developed information and signposting services to help residents understand and access health, social care and support services across the county.
• Worked closely with local partners to identify priorities for improvement, including access to services, quality of care and the experiences of vulnerable and seldom-heard groups.
• Established a volunteer network to support engagement, research and Enter and View activity, helping ensure local people had a stronger voice in shaping services.