Health Care, Social Care and Well-being services during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Download (PDF 889.46 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Shropshire ran a survey on their website from 9th April to 31st May to find out about the experiences of health and social services in their local community during the pandemic.
They found that most people had found it easy to find clear and understandable information about how to keep themselves and others safe, however, some had asked for better information around shielding, social distancing and use of personal protective equipment (PPE), especially masks.; majority of people relied on messaging from National and Local Government and the NHS; they were accessing information from television, radio, websites, social media and from their workplace and voluntary and community sector organisations. There was a correlation between those who found the information difficult to understand and their lack of confidence in accessing support if needed during the lockdown. Some had expressed frustration about a lack of detail information around social distancing and that they didn’t know what to do if they saw someone breaking the lockdown rules. Key workers and people working during the pandemic reported a greater impact on their mental health and wellbeing than those not working. Disabled people had experienced greater impact on receiving healthcare. People expressed concerns about relatives and friends in care homes who they were unable to visit, particularly those with dementia who did not understand the restrictions.
The report provides five recommendations to health and social care services across the Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Sustainability and Transformation Partnership to improve the information about the services available to people during this time; provide better support to patients when their treatments are cancelled or postponed; provide better mental health support to those affected the most by the pandemic; support carers by providing practical and emotional support; and promote public health messaging about self-care and healthy lifestyles in the context of the pandemic.