Annual Report 2019/20

Healthwatch Bolton report on its key achievements for 2019/20.  It:

• Conducted a major project on cervical cancer screening, engaging with women from diverse communities and collecting more than 1,300 survey responses. The work identified barriers to screening and led to the recruitment of over 200 Cancer Champions to help promote awareness and uptake. 
• Explored children and young people’s emotional wellbeing, engaging over 80 professionals and producing recommendations to improve mental health training, support pathways and access to information for professionals, parents and young people. 
• Led local engagement on the NHS Long Term Plan as part of the Greater Manchester Healthwatch network, gathering feedback from 333 Bolton residents. The resulting report was recognised nationally with a ‘Highly Commended’ award from Healthwatch England. 
• Hosted Bolton’s first Dying Matters engagement event, bringing residents and local organisations together to encourage conversations about end-of-life planning, bereavement and future care wishes. The event was fully booked and received very positive feedback from attendees. 
• Gathered 2,098 health and social care experiences and over 2,300 public comments, using this intelligence to identify priorities for improvement and inform local health and care partners. 
• Identified recurring problems with access to NHS dentistry and inappropriate referrals from NHS 111, working with commissioners and providers to address these issues and improve the information and support available to residents. 
• Responded quickly to the emerging COVID-19 pandemic by launching dedicated information resources, gathering public feedback and working with public health partners to ensure residents’ experiences informed local responses.