Annual Report 2020/21

Healthwatch Liverpool report on its key achievements in 2020/21.  It:

• Responded rapidly to the Covid-19 pandemic, engaging with more than 12,000 people through surveys, focus groups, information services and wellbeing activities, ensuring local experiences informed public health responses, recovery planning and vaccination programmes. 
• Influenced improvements in care homes by gathering the experiences of care home staff, managers, residents’ relatives and partners during the pandemic. Findings informed Liverpool City Council’s planning, including improvements to communication, visiting arrangements and support for care home staff.
• Elevated mental health and wellbeing as a major priority, gathering evidence on the impact of Covid-19, access to services and community support needs, with findings feeding into local mental health recovery planning and future service development. 
• Highlighted the experiences of homeless people, identifying gaps in mental health provision, dual diagnosis support and access to healthcare, with findings informing discussions about future homelessness and support services. 
• Improved support and access to information for people seeking health and care services, helping thousands of residents through advice, signposting, advocacy and the Live Well Directory, while identifying gaps in local provision such as dentistry, advocacy and specialist support services. 
• Ensured the voices of children and young people with SEND and their families influenced future planning, with findings and recommendations used by Liverpool’s SEND Partnership Board to inform local strategy and commissioning. 
• Supported service improvement through NHS complaints advocacy and patient feedback, helping individuals navigate healthcare concerns, improve communication with providers and influence changes to policies, processes and patient information. 
• Strengthened wellbeing and social prescribing across the city through the Wellbeing Liverpool programme, connecting residents to community activities, reducing social isolation and supporting recovery from the effects of lockdown and the pandemic.