Annual Report 2024/25

Healthwatch Coventry report on its key achievements for 2024/25. It:

• Influenced maternity services for migrant women, with earlier research leading to the appointment of a specialist migrant midwife, improved access to support, better translation provision, direct referral routes and stronger partnership working between services. 
• Championed improvements in urgent and emergency care at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire through visits to A&E, Minor Injuries and same-day emergency care services. This led to immediate changes including new seating and drinks facilities, alongside longer-term plans for accessibility improvements and better communication between services. 
• Improved patient information by involving volunteers in reviewing NHS complaints processes and GP website information, helping make complaints procedures clearer and easier for the public to understand. Findings were shared with the Integrated Care Board quality team. 
• Influenced discussions about access to dentistry and community health services through work with residents in Housing with Care schemes, highlighting unmet needs and prompting further collaboration with Coventry City Council to better understand and address these issues. 
• Gathered evidence about local experiences of Pharmacy First from both residents and pharmacists, ensuring public views fed into the Pharmacy Needs Assessment and wider pharmacy planning.
• Raised awareness of the health needs of men and young people through targeted community engagement, highlighting issues including mental health, difficulties accessing GP appointments, vaping, confidentiality, and access to appropriate support. 
• Contributed to the development of a new visiting policy at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, helping ensure it was understandable, equitable and reflected patients’ and families’ experiences. 
• Amplified the voices of communities whose experiences are often less heard, including LGBTQ+ people, Hong Kong communities, people living in deprived areas, residents in Housing with Care, and men experiencing health inequalities, ensuring their experiences informed local health and care discussions.