Long Term Plan Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes Report
Download (PDF 1.83 MB)Summary of report content
Four local Healthwatch in the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes STP area conducted surveys and focus groups engaging 961 local people. This engagement work was completed as part of the network-wide NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) project.
The findings in the report state that service users valued caring and responsive staff and that support in the community from the voluntary sector was commended. People commented that there is a range of methods to communicate with health services, for example apps for appointment bookings and accessing medical records. However, it was reported that there is a need for 24/7 support that is not just during working hours. It was highlighted that services need to work more efficiently together to form a joined-up approach. In particular, basic health literacy is desperately lacking, which is impacting on people’s ability to make informed and supported decisions about their health and care.
A number of recommendations were made, including that the Integrated Care System (ICS) needs to develop a plan to improve access to services outside of normal working hours; patient information and advice about services should be mapped and revised to be more visually engaging; health professionals need to consider a more holistic approach to care and treatment; the ICS needs to review the screening process and eligibility criteria; and demonstrate how provision of early intervention and prevention support will be increased.
The Bedford, Luton, and Milton Keynes ICS are working with Healthwatch to address these recommendations.