Long waits at A&E and difficulties accessing GP services and prescriptions are among the concerns raised by Isle of Wight residents in the latest feedback gathered by the Island’s health and social care watchdog.
Between 13th July and 12th August, watchdog Healthwatch Isle of Wight gathered feedback from Islanders which was 63% negative (107 responses), 34% positive (57) and 3% mixed or neutral (6).
The 2 most prominent topics highlighted in its new Intelligence Report are GP and A&E services, with at least 30 negative responses respectively.
Areas with largely positive feedback include residential and nursing care homes as well as urgent care and dentistry. There was also praise for A&E staff.
Healthwatch heard that one resident was referred to A&E by her GP and waited two hours before being told she would be admitted.
Despite this, she spent the next 24 hours sitting on a chair before reaching a ward, where she then waited over an hour for a bed.
Another said:
“I am writing to highlight the unacceptable difficulties my family has in getting a simple prescription from the GP to the pharmacy to access medicines.
Article continues below this advertisement “Every single time we have to reorder his medication there is an issue and my (relative) has to spend hours on the phone to the GP and the pharmacy trying to sort it out.”
A third told the watchdog that as a cancer patient, support from their GP surgery has been “pitiful”. However, referring to The Bay GP practice, a fourth said they got a phone appointment quickly and easily using an online system.
James Roach, director for neighbourhood health at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said:
“We are grateful to Healthwatch for continuing to listen to people and share their experiences of health and care services.
“This insight is valuable in helping us understand what matters to local people, recognise where services are working well and identify where people may be experiencing difficulties.
“We can demonstrate progress in terms of extending GP access, supporting our community pharmacies to extend access and service provision and have an ambitious Neighbourhood Health Plan for the future on the Isle of Wight.
“We take the experiences shared through Healthwatch seriously and will continue to work with our providers and partners to understand the issues raised and use this insight, alongside other information, to help shape and improve services for people across the Island.”
A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:
“We are sorry that, due to difficulties with flow, some patients are experiencing longer waits than we would like when attending our Emergency Department.
“Like many hospitals across the country, we have a high number of patients who are medically fit to leave hospital but are awaiting their next place of care or package of support.
“This can affect our ability to admit patients from the Emergency Department quickly. We are working closely with our partners across community, social care and mental health services to improve this together, including developing new pathways to care and helping people access the right care, in the right setting, at the right time.”
