January 2021 Feedback Report

Healthwatch Greenwich collected 364 responses from a range of sources, such as meetings, emails and social media about people's experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report highlighted that people are still unsure about the COVID-19 vaccination roll out process, such as why some people are sent to centres further away and why carers haven't been able to access vaccines. As the COVID-19 vaccination programme rollout has commenced, continuing poor communication with relatives from some elderly care homes has created concerns about the vaccination programme in Greenwich elderly care homes and a perception that it is not happening at a rapid rate. People also reported difficulties accessing GP support, due to long waits on the phone and difficulties using online services. GP reception staff were perceived as gatekeepers. Service users report poor experiences accessing physiotherapy remotely. For some, telephone consultations are felt to be inappropriate and inadequate. People are experiencing long waits for NHS dental appointments but not as private patients. There have also been issues with consent for Do Not Resuscitate orders for both patients and their families. In hospital, some relatives of in-patients report difficulty trying to speak to staff on the ward. Some service users are confused about where to order prescriptions -whether patients need to call GP surgeries, order them online, or contact pharmacies directly.

No recommendations were made in this report.