Islington care homes: experiences of accessing health services for residents

Healthwatch Islington interviewed local care home managers about resident access to five key primary health care professionals/service areas, including GP services, dentistry, opticians, patient transport and other therapies, such as podiatry, physiotherapy etc.

Healthwatch found how services adapted at the start of the pandemic to continue to provide care to some of the most vulnerable residents. There were some homes which seemed to have more responsive service provision for dental and eye care. Healthwatch encouraged care home managers to share good practice at their regular team meetings so that other care homes could also benefit from this set up where possible.