Healthwatch Isle of Wight has launched a new survey to give local residents the opportunity to help shape the focus of its work for the coming year.
The health and social care watchdog, which was established in April 2013, plays a key role in helping Islanders get the best out of their local health and care services, not least by campaigning on the issues highlighted by residents as being most important to them.
Over the last year, it has successfully secured changes to local maternity services and to the experiences of inpatients on wards at St Mary’s. It has also made recommendations to providers of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), undertaken visits to GP practices and launched a major survey of deaf and hard of hearing residents to help improve communications with health and care service providers.
Now Healthwatch Isle of Wight is asking residents to highlight the health and social care issues they would like taken up on their behalf in the coming 12 months.
To help kick-start the process, a workshop day was held on 10 June at Newclose Cricket Club. Informed by over 700 pieces of feedback received in the last 14 months and attended by around 30 community representatives, the event sought to identify some initial areas that could be tackled.
In discussions, mental health issues emerged as the key concern, with five other areas – complaints, navigating the care system, diagnostic pathways and support for adults and children with autism, hospital appointments and self-care (particularly the quality of information given) also highlighted.
Healthwatch Isle of Wight Locality Manager, Gretel Ingham said:
“I hope that we have demonstrated over the last year that we are able as an organisation to give the community a voice and to help make positive changes to the way that health and social care services are delivered on the Island.
Article continues below this advertisement “I would encourage as many people as possible to take part in our survey and to help us shape the next phase of our work so that we can continue to represent the community and help recognise those services that are working well and to improve those that need to make changes.”
The survey, which will run until 31st August, can be accessed here.
