Annual Report 2017/18

Healthwatch Sheffield report on its key achievements for 2017/18.  It:

• Expanded community engagement and influence, hearing from local people through 481 reviews covering 158 health and care services, hosting 183 people at events, and working through new initiatives including Healthwatch Local, Student Healthwatch and the #SpeakUp Small Grants programme. 
• Published the ‘My Health, My Say’ report on the experiences of people with learning disabilities, working closely with Sheffield Mencap & Gateway to gather evidence and make recommendations to improve health and social care services and accessibility. 
• Published the ‘Not Equal’ report on the experiences of Deaf people, highlighting failures in the provision of British Sign Language interpreters and accessible communication, prompting action plans from Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and learning events for primary care staff. 
• Conducted major research into community mental health services, hearing from 450 people and gathering evidence to inform improvements in mental health support and service delivery across Sheffield. 
• Strengthened patient involvement in the NHS Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed programme, ensuring people with long-term conditions helped shape digital health innovations, improve project design and increase participation from harder-to-reach communities.
• Increased its reach into seldom-heard communities through Healthwatch Local and the #SpeakUp Small Grants scheme, funding 15 community projects involving groups including people with learning disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers, Deaf people, people experiencing mental ill health, wheelchair users and people living with dementia. 
• Strengthened quality improvement and scrutiny by sharing intelligence on 24 services with the Care Quality Commission, contributing to NHS Trust Quality Accounts, and ensuring local experiences informed inspections and system-wide reviews of health and social care.