Annual Report 2020/21

Healthwatch Coventry report on its key achievements for 2020/21. It:

• Gathered and shared the experiences of local people and care home managers during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring their views informed local NHS and social care decision-making and service planning. 
• Improved information and support for local residents by launching a new website, responding to 335 enquiries, creating dedicated COVID-19 and vaccination information resources, and helping people understand rapidly changing health and care services.
• Reviewed all Coventry GP practice websites and identified improvements needed to information and accessibility. As a result, Primary Care Networks and the Clinical Commissioning Group used the findings to support work to improve GP websites and patient communications.
• Influenced the development of public information about shared health and care records, leading to clearer communications and the production of Easy Read materials.
• Gathered lessons from care homes during the pandemic by speaking to 71% of residential care home managers in Coventry. The findings highlighted issues around testing, hospital discharge, PPE guidance and resident wellbeing, and were shared with health and care leaders. 
• Highlighted the impact of digital healthcare and remote appointments, raising concerns about digital exclusion and barriers faced by some groups, and using local evidence to influence discussions with NHS leaders, Primary Care Networks and Healthwatch England.
• Influenced improvements in care home environments through a review of Victoria Manor Care Home, resulting in actions to improve physical accessibility, dementia-friendly design and support for residents with hearing loss. 
• Raised concerns about access to NHS dentistry after identifying that only five NHS dental practices in Coventry were seeing patients following the first lockdown, contributing evidence to Healthwatch England's national campaigning on dental access.