Annual Report 2022/23

Healthwatch Sheffield report on their key achievements for 2022/23.  It:

• Heard from 2,736 people about their experiences of health and social care, shared 9,161 pieces of information and advice, published four major reports and 11 regular insight reports, helping services understand what was and was not working for local people. 
• Influenced improvements to access and communication in healthcare, including highlighting the impact of the cost of living crisis on access to care, driving support resources from NHS South Yorkshire, and securing action to improve GP websites after identifying significant variation in digital accessibility across the city. 
• Led the Chance to Choose project with Disability Sheffield, enabling adults with learning disabilities and carers to shape future council services through creative engagement, surveys and events. The findings informed Sheffield Council’s new Adults with a Disability framework.
• Improved understanding of older people’s experiences in care homes through visits and engagement with residents and families, producing recommendations that directly informed Sheffield Council’s commissioning arrangements and quality monitoring framework for care homes. 
• Raised awareness of the ongoing NHS dentistry crisis, supporting more than 100 people seeking dental advice, presenting evidence to local and national decision makers, and contributing insight to parliamentary and national discussions about access to NHS dental care. 
• Increased the voice of underrepresented communities through projects on Long Covid, maternity services, learning disabilities, care homes, ME and Fibromyalgia, homelessness, African women’s health, South Asian taxi drivers’ health, and the experiences of older people from communities marginalised by race.
• Strengthened public influence on major health system changes by supporting engagement around South Yorkshire’s Integrated Care System, helping residents influence plans for primary care hubs, and creating opportunities for local people to shape health and care strategy through forums, steering groups and partnership work.