How residents view and use same day urgent care services in Somerset
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Somerset ICB asked Healthwatch Somerset to gather the views of people living across Somerset about using Same Day Urgent Care Services. They launched a survey to which 167 people responded.
The vast majority of respondents (over 90%) could recall that MIU, the 999 call service and the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department offer same day urgent care services.
Less than half of respondents were able to recall that mental health services, dental practices and opticians offer these services.
A large proportion of respondents rely solely on online sources (Google search, NHS and GP websites) to get urgent care information.
The level of confidence respondents had towards finding same day urgent care information varied. Respondents in the under 55 age group ranked their communication preferences differently to those in the over 55 age group. However, both groups listed the NHS 111 website and GP websites as their top two preferences.
Most respondents said they think the NHS should communicate about SDUC services ‘when a service is changed’ or ‘monthly’.
Healthwatch received the most amount of feedback on MIUs. The majority of the positive feedback related to the quality of care/service of MIUs. Negative feedback centred around access issues - particularly opening hours and staffing levels.