What are people telling us about COVID 19 (July - September 2020)

Healthwatch Luton have reported on their feedback during July to September 2020 about the impact of the pandemic.  They spoke to 300 people.

During this period Luton was placed on the government’s watchlist and came off again, and moved into the national Tiers of concern.  It is therefore no surprise Luton residents are feeling slightly ‘confused’ by the communications on what to do, how to act, and what rules to follow.

People in Luton are still experiencing problems accessing health and care services, whether this is around understanding how to access services, struggling to access appointments either online or face to face, or understanding why service access has changed. Some of the feedback received relates to how services have communicated changes to accessing services and managing patient expectations through this pandemic. People are also increasingly concerned about accessing check-ups for long-term conditions.

People fed back their experiences and concerns about being tested for Covid-19, including understanding when and where they could get tested.

Over the period there was an initial reduction in feedback about the impact of the pandemic on people’s mental health, but this began to rise again in September.

During the quarter there was a change in the feedback about confusion on the rules and guidance on infection control.  During September Healthwatch Luton heard that with the introduction of local measures to improve communications, there appeared to be greater understanding from the local population on how to adhere to the rules and guidance sent out to the public.