How Healthwatch Brighton and Hove has used your stories to help improve health and social care services
Healthwatch Brighton and Hove collects patient stories, experiences, concerns and ideas about health and social care all year round on a wide range of topics.
In this report, we describe what we have been doing with some of your feedback this year. It’s through your feedback that we are empowered to act and to seek changes and improvements to services.
What we achieve on your behalf is delivered by 6 staff members and over 30 volunteers. It’s also thanks to other local organisations who we work with, including Switchboard, Sussex Interpreting Services, Friends, Families and Travellers, Bridging Change, the Trust for Developing Communities and many more. And it’s also thanks to our colleagues in Healthwatch West Sussex and Healthwatch East Sussex, our partners at local hospitals, NHS Sussex and Healthwatch England.
We’ve gathered your feedback by attending public and partner events, such as the Brunswick Festival and Ageing Well festival, through surveys, face-to-face and telephone interviews, focus groups, deliberative engagement workshops, social media and via our Helpline which is available online and over the phone.
Between 1st April to 31st December 2023 our patient engagement has included:
- we received nearly 300 enquiries to our helpline (phone calls, feedback through our website and emails). The majority of people were raising a concern or complaint about a service but people also sought advice and guidance about health and social care services.
- we spoke with 50 people at the Brunswick Festival (August 19th 2023), explaining more about what we do, and hearing about people’s ‘burning issues’.
- 13 people attended our Ageing Well event and shared their experiences of using services with us.
- we spoke to 11 people about maternity services, interviewed 45 about dementia services and 127 people about Direct Payments.
- we heard from over 40 people at an event exploring Patient Participation Groups (which are groups of patients who support GP practices, ensuring they hear from patients).
- we have interviewed people about their experiences of pharmacy services, maternity, and the Louisa Martindale Building.
- we have spoken to over 100 people about the home care they receive.
- we were invited to attend and present at the Older Peoples’ Council and local Osteoporosis Meeting.
- And much more.
