Annual Report 2023/24

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove report on its key achievements in 2023/24.  It:

• Influenced improvements to local hospital services through Enter and View visits, PLACE assessments and participation in plans for the Emergency Department and Cancer Centre, helping shape changes to patient communication, accessibility, signage and the hospital environment. 
• Ensured patient feedback on GP services led to action, including work with Woodingdean Medical Practice, WellBN and local commissioners to address concerns about access, appointments and service quality, while helping shape future GP contracts and Patient Participation Group development. 
• Amplified the voices of seldom-heard communities, including LGBTQIA+ young people, ethnic minority elders, transgender and non-binary people, people affected by dementia, and those with communication or accessibility needs, ensuring their experiences informed local health and care services. 
• Improved the quality of homecare services through the Homecare Check programme, gathering feedback from service users and helping the council and providers improve care quality, communication, activities and support for residents. 
• Influenced local and regional work on NHS dentistry by sharing patients’ experiences with commissioners, scrutiny committees and national bodies, helping shape dentistry improvement plans and supporting efforts to increase access to care. 
• Supported service improvements for people using Direct Payments, helping the council identify issues around support, recruitment of personal assistants and communication, with plans for ongoing co-production and service development. 
• Worked collaboratively across Sussex on major projects including dementia pathways, outpatient services, long Covid, patient transport and dentistry, ensuring local people’s experiences influenced wider NHS planning and commissioning decisions. 
• Engaged extensively with residents and service users, publishing 30 reports and using evidence from local people to influence health and social care policy, service design and quality improvement across Brighton and Hove.