Reading people’s experiences of health and social care services during the first Covid-19 lockdown
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Healthwatch Reading conducted a survey between June and August 2020 with 153 people to understand people's experiences of health and care services during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
The report found that whilst people appeared to accept new ways of working, a third of respondents had stayed away from services due to the pandemic, potentially delaying the early diagnosis and treatment of health concerns. Services changed greatly at this time to cope with treating people with the virus safely and there was a strong message from findings that clearer and more up-to-date communications would have helped support people to navigate and use services.
6 recommendations were made in this report relating to accessibility of information, regular communications from services, and better support for mental health.