Annual Report 2014/15

Healthwatch Waltham Forest report on its key achievements for 2014/15.  It:

• Influenced improvements to GP services through visits, surveys and patient feedback exercises involving around 500 patients, leading to changes in areas such as appointment systems, communication, health information and patient involvement. 
• Carried out a major review of blood testing services, producing recommendations that were subsequently incorporated into the Clinical Commissioning Group’s redesign and future commissioning of the service. 
• Improved care home services through Enter and View visits to 13 care homes, making 44 recommendations and helping providers improve activities, resident engagement and quality of care. 
• Ensured local people influenced major health and care decisions by engaging 176 residents in the development of Waltham Forest’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, with feedback directly informing the final strategy.
• Worked closely with Whipps Cross Hospital, the Care Quality Commission and local commissioners to ensure patient concerns about quality, safety and patient experience were reflected in improvement plans following inspections and service reviews.
• Amplified the voices of underrepresented groups through projects involving homeless people, carers, African and African Caribbean communities, deaf residents, looked-after children and care leavers, ensuring their experiences informed local service development. 
• Developed one of the borough’s largest collections of patient experience evidence, analysing more than 11,000 issues raised by residents and using this intelligence to influence commissioners, providers and regulators.