Torbay Health-related Community-based Services Review
Download (PDF 744.49 KB)Summary of report content
In 2015, Healthwatch Torbay conducted a survey with 328 local people to learn about their experience of how they obtain advice and treatment for an illness or injury, and their understanding of community-based services, in Paignton and Brixham.
The work was done as part of a programme of engagement in Torbay to inform local commissioning decisions.
The report identified the following:
- There is not enough information on local community-based health-related services available to the public locally, including information on the criteria for visiting each place and its opening times.
- Minor Injuries Units (MIUs), although quite highly rated, are used a lot less than other services, with TQ1 and TQ2 residents (Torquay) significantly less aware than others where MIUs are, when they were open and how to contact them.
- The most frequent community-based health-related services used in Torbay by far are Torbay Hospital A&E, local GPs and Pharmacists. The Mental Health Crisis Team is used least, but those who have used it rate the service as the lowest quality amongst the remaining services, with many citing the need for more mental health support services locally.
One respondent said, ‘although I would always try to attend a service straightaway I would telephone first to see whether I could be seen. Staff always seem overstretched and services very busy. I wish they had more money’.
The report recommended the following:
- An extensive local marketing campaign is required, particularly in the TQ1 and TQ2 postal areas, to inform residents of the types of community-based health-related services available to them locally, particularly centred on MIUs and why they should be used before Torbay A&E for less serious medical issues
- A review of the current MIU signage should be conducted to ensure that both Paignton and Brixham MIUs are clearly signposted, including in the TQ1 and TQ2 postal areas
- A further investigation asking the community exactly how they would like to access community-based health-related services should be conducted