Healthwatch Brighton and Hove - Annual Report 2024-25

"I am immensely proud of the breadth and quality of work described in this year’s report and the impact it is having. Our 2024 Impact Award (shared with colleagues in Healthwatch East Sussex and Healthwatch West Sussex) and other nominations recognise the work we do on behalf of local people. 

"The credit and my thanks go to my skilled staff team and our dedicated volunteers (including those who moved on this year), as well as to partners who support our work for all their tireless efforts."  

Alan Boyd, Chief Executive of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove

Highlights this year

• 41 amazing volunteers contributed an estimated 4,155 hours of their time to support our work. That's an incredible 173 days in total over this last year!
• We published 40 reports, and made 112 recommendations made to improve health and social care  - based on the feedback you shared with us.
• 48 newsletters and bulletins issued and over 359 social media posts giving you information and updates about services.

We helped:

• 228 people who contacted us via our helpline.
• Overall, we engaged with 2,587 people this year.

Using your stories to deliver change:

• We continued to visit people in their homes to ask them about the care they receive and their feedback was used to make improvements and appoint new providers.
• We escalated concerns about hospital discharge with our acute Trust and NHS Sussex after hearing that frail, elderly patients had been discharged after midnight.
• We evaluated a programme that involved giving blood pressure checks and sharing knowledge about heart health in spaces such as food banks and with Black and Racially Minoritised (BRM) community groups.
• We received feedback from patients experiencing increasing challenges in obtaining NHS treatment for earwax removal. We ran a short survey in response, asking people to share their experiences of seeking advice and treatment for an earwax problem.
• Through our helpline, we heard that some people were finding it difficult to book an appointment at Woodingdean Medical Centre. We discussed these concerns with NHS Sussex and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and then met with the practice manager and Patient Participation Group (PPG) to deliver a patient survey.
• We used our legal power to Enter and View services to visit the Fracture Clinic in the Louisa Martindale building, following helpline feedback.
• As part of our outpatient focus, we developed a Communication Charter. University Hospitals Sussex used this to shape their Welcome Standards programme, introduced in 2023-24, which has included staff training on delivering good customer service.

And much more!

We attended:

• 392 decision-making meetings about health and social care services. We asked questions on your behalf and shared your experiences so that those in charge understand the impacts of the decisions they make, and put the patient voice at the heart of the changes they make to health and social care.