Annual Report 2021/22

Healthwatch Liverpool report on their key achievements in 2021/22.  It:

• Improved understanding of barriers to healthcare for people who do not speak English well, gathering experiences from patients and NHS staff and producing recommendations that are helping shape local and national work on accessible information, interpretation services and communication support. 
• Supported improvements to Covid-19 vaccination programmes by engaging with 195 young people about vaccine concerns and access barriers. Findings informed local communication, outreach and engagement approaches, including work with young people with learning disabilities and additional needs. 
• Influenced care home recovery planning by gathering experiences from care home staff, managers, residents’ relatives and families, ensuring lessons from the pandemic informed future service planning, visiting arrangements and support for residents and staff. 
• Made mental health and wellbeing a major priority, running surveys, focus groups and public events to understand the impact of Covid-19, with findings helping inform local mental health recovery planning and future service development. 
• Continued to highlight the NHS dentistry crisis, helping people access available services where possible, sharing evidence with commissioners, and ensuring the impact of poor access to dentistry on local communities was understood at both local and national levels. 
• Provided extensive information, advice and advocacy support, helping residents navigate health and social care services, NHS complaints processes, vaccination issues, GP access, dentistry, hospital care and mental health support. 
• Strengthened community wellbeing through the Wellbeing Liverpool programme, engaging with community organisations across the city, promoting social prescribing, reducing isolation and helping people access activities that support physical and mental wellbeing. 
• Ensured public experiences informed local health and care policy by contributing insight on long Covid, vaccination programmes, language barriers, cancer services, student wellbeing and wider health inequalities across Liverpool.