The newletter is produced by the NHS Devon funded community healthwatch organisation based in Plymouth who have a statutory responsibility for providing feedback on healthcare issues to NHS Devon. This report includes the most interesting and relevant elements from their latest digital newletter.

Carers' Survay

Our Phase 2 survey report of Carers’ experiences provides valuable insight into the impact that caring for someone for more than 20 hours a week can have on Carers’ lives.

We heard from more than 200 Carers who live in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay who shared their experiences with us, following on from an earlier report published in November 2022. We also conducted a guided conversation with 17 individual Carers to help us understand in more detail how a Carer’s role was impacting on their everyday life and their emotional wellbeing.

More people report poor discharge experiences and deterioration in health while waiting for treatment but interactions with staff are largely positive. The results of the latest annual survey of hospital inpatients published on 21 August by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) show patient satisfaction levels are largely unchanged since 2022 but remain significantly worse than pre-pandemic. They also highlight continued frustration with waiting times and an increase in the number who felt their health worsened while waiting to be admitted for elective care.
 
The 2023 adult inpatient survey captures the views and experience of more than 63,500 people who stayed in one of 131 acute and specialist NHS trusts in England for at least one night during November* last year. It has been carried out annually since 2002 and is the longest running survey in CQC’s NHS Patient Survey Programme (NPSP).
 
The survey asked people to give their opinions on the care they received, including quality of information and communication with staff, whether they were given enough privacy, the amount of support given to help them eat and drink, and on their discharge arrangements.

Healthwatch Quarterly Impact Report: April – June 2024

This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.

Key highlights include:

• We’ve met hundreds of local people at community events across Devon, Plymouth & Torbay
• 328 of you have shared your health or care feedback with us this quarter
• We’ve escalated 115 of your complaints or concerns to those in charge
• We’ve helped signpost 71 of you looking for advice on other organisations