Annual Report 2019/20

Healthwatch Warwickshire report on their key achievements during 2019/20.  It:

• Improved access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness through the Rights to Access Project, delivering 40 workshops, distributing over 1,600 access cards and working with 37 organisations to help people understand their rights to register with GPs and access healthcare. 
• Carried out Enter and View visits to three care homes, making recommendations on issues including dementia care, resident safety, transport access and the care environment. Concerns raised by Healthwatch also contributed to regulatory scrutiny and subsequent service improvements. 
• Influenced the development of South Warwickshire Foundation Trust’s Patient Portal by gathering 428 responses on what patients wanted from a digital healthcare platform and identifying key issues around usability, accessibility and data security. 
• Led engagement on the NHS Long Term Plan and changes to primary care, gathering more than 795 views on local NHS priorities and 905 responses about Patient Participation Groups and Primary Care Networks, helping health and care partners understand public priorities.
• Published six reports, including three Enter and View reports and three project reports, based on more than 2,100 pieces of public feedback and survey responses about health and social care services. 
• Continued to support residents through advice and information services, helping people understand health and care systems, resolve access issues, and navigate concerns relating to GP services, care at home, hospitals and mental health services. 
• Adapted rapidly at the end of the year to respond to COVID-19, maintaining public engagement, launching a county-wide survey on people’s experiences during the pandemic and ensuring local voices continued to inform service planning.