Community Health Services
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Healthwatch Warwickshire undertook research to feed into local plans to deliver health services in the community in the light of the recommendations of the NHS Ten Year Plan. They undertook a survey to which 262 people responded.
- 96% of respondents had received support from a GP in the last 12 months.
- 38% of respondents said their experience of working with professionals was positive. The number of professionals people told us they worked with ranges from 1 to 10.
- 50% of respondents said that in their experience professionals worked ‘very well’ or ‘well’ together
- 35% of respondents said they have explained their circumstances many times to different professionals. 16% said they explained once and all the professionals knew their circumstances.
- 35% of respondents said ‘yes’, they have been given more than one appointment, with different professionals, for the same issue. 36% of these said this was a positive experience for them, and 41% said it was negative.
- 37% of respondents said ‘yes’, they feel that health, care and support professionals caring for them know who else is involved in their care. 25% said ‘no’, and 25% said ‘sometimes’.
- 79% of the people who responded to the question about travel said yes, they have travelled for their treatment or care, and 46% told us they have faced challenges.
- 44% of respondents said that they think of the nearest town in their district or borough as their ‘neighbourhood’.
- 36% of respondents said that, if it was suggested, they would make contact with a voluntary or community organisation to see what they can offer.
By analysing people's feedback, Healthwatch came up with the following:
Community health and care services are working well if…
- I can see my GP when I need to, they listen to me, and they communicate well with the other people providing my care.
- The professionals involved in my care give timely and accurate feedback about my care.
- When I need multiple appointments with different professionals, they know about my care journey so far.
- I only need to travel as far as my nearest town, for my most frequent appointments.
- When I need to travel for specialised care, it is only to the nearest/ most appropriate place.
- I find it easy to park my car or use public transport, particularly buses, to access health or community services, this makes it easier to travel further for the best care.
- I am signposted to voluntary and support organisations that are relevant to me, trustworthy and professional, so I have confidence that they can help me.
- I know that support organisations work well with health services. They proactively contact me and connect me to other local support.