Annual Report 2019/20

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

• Supported improvements in hospital discharge and palliative care by sharing families’ experiences with hospital trusts, leading to changes in bereavement information, staff guidance and support for vulnerable relatives following the death of a loved one. 
• Influenced improvements to SEND services after hearing from 208 children, young people, parents, carers and professionals. Findings and recommendations were used by Liverpool’s SEND Partnership Board to inform future planning, co-production and service development. 
• Carried out a major project on homelessness, hearing from more than 100 service users and organisations, highlighting barriers to housing, health and social care, and ensuring people with lived experience informed future policy and service development. 
• Helped improve support for carers through research into the Carers Voucher Scheme, gathering feedback from carers, professionals and providers, with findings used by Liverpool City Council to review and improve the service. 
• Strengthened access to information and support by helping over 3,600 people through advice and signposting, maintaining the Live Well Directory, and supporting people to navigate health, social care, wellbeing and complaints services.
• Expanded work on wellbeing and social prescribing through the Wellbeing Liverpool programme, connecting people to community activities, reducing isolation and helping residents access support to improve their health and wellbeing. 
• Continued strong engagement with students, supporting more than 1,500 students with information on GP registration, mental health support, vaccinations and accessing NHS services.
• Amplified patient experiences across the city by engaging with 6,885 people, publishing reports on key issues including GP access, SEND, homelessness and care services, and ensuring local people’s experiences informed decision-making across health and social care.