Read our latest insight on
health and care issues

Our recent projects and initiatives have used the feedback and experiences you have shared with us to generate insight on local health and care issues. 

We have used these to create a number of publications which set out our key findings and our recommendations for change.  
 

Our recent publications include:

How we use this insight?

We share our publications with decision-makers, such as NHS Sussex, East Sussex County Council and Voluntary and Community organisations to distribute insight, inform decisions and support service development that meets the needs and aspirations of local people. 

Details of each of our initiatives and what you told us are set out below. 

Our reports:
Our 'headlines' report summarises everything people told us, as well as setting out our conclusions and recommendations for Healthwatch, health and care services and other local partners with the goal of supporting positive change.

Further details of what we heard are in our supporting reports that present the findings from the activities we undertook as part of our Listening Tour. Also included is an Easy Read version of our headlines report:

• HWES Rye Listening Tour Engagement Report
• HWES Rye GP Mystery Shop Report
• HWES Rye Enter and View – Care Homes in Rye and Rother Report
• HWES Rye Listening Tour Easy Read Report

We heard:

• Whilst frustrations remain about speed of access to appointments, people’s appreciation of positive GP experiences was clear, with people sharing examples of good care from a range of practice staff.
• The effects of poor public transport provision and the cost of transport impacting people’s ability to access health and care services.
• Health and care services don’t appear to record, accommodate or make appropriate adjustments for those with communication requirements.
• A number of areas outside of Rye, such as Camber and Icklesham, have seen local services and particularly GP provision reduced, with patients having to travel further to access healthcare.
• People shared their positive experiences at the Conquest Hospital, and reported hard working staff and feeling safe.

What we found

Our Mystery Shopping activity identified:

• All practice websites performed well in delivering clear and quick access to the most common functions patients require.
• Appointment information may be too detailed, risking confusion rather than making it easier for patients.
• Information on waiting times or delays for contact or appointments wasn’t generally provided, but may be useful in managing patient expectations.
• One area where practice websites could collectively improve is in signposting to other health, care and community services.
• In terms of accessibility, language translation options appear common, but website adaptations for other needs, such as visual impairment were less identifiable. So too was information about adaptations and adjustments at practices’ physical sites.
• A key area for consideration is ensuring practice websites are compatible with mobile devices, as these become ‘go to’ methods for many people.

What we found

Our Enter and View of Care Homes in Rye and Rother identified:

• Residents did not have any significant issues about access to health and social care services, with the exception of dentistry.
• Residents preferred face-to-face meetings with health professionals, and this is what generally happens.
• A few care homes had a dedicated phone number and email for the GP surgery, and this enabled quicker and better access to healthcare services and support.
• Examples where residents with a learning disability and autism experienced challenges in accessing healthcare at hospitals.
• Feedback from care home staff that people with a learning disability and autism had not been given priority for the Covid booster vaccine.
• Care homes for people with a learning disability and autism reported that some local authorities provide additional funding specifically to enable the service to support people to access the community, whilst others did not provide such additional funding.
• The biggest challenge for care homes in rural areas is the lack of an effective public transport system, which impacts staff recruitment, limiting the pool of available staff. 

Our Recommendations:

Our report sets out our nine headline recommendations, all targeted at improving the experiences of users of UTCs and EDs, before, during and after their visits.

They focus on several themes, including:

• Relationships with other services, such as South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) and NHS 111, so people’s expectations on which services to use and when are clearly managed.
• Suggested changes to the ‘check-in’ process for people arriving at UTCs and EDs, so that this is clear, simple and intuitive, but also accessible to all. We also feel staff support needs to be available at all times.
• A better system for calling patients to be seen, which provides confidentiality, but supports those with hearing impairments, language barriers or other needs.
• Improved communications to allow UTC and ED visitors to move around, use toilets and obtain refreshments, but not lose their place in the waiting list.
• Better facilities, such as more choice of food and drink and toilets which were clean, safe, and easily accessible, should be made available.
• Improved signage to guide check-in, differentiate between UTC and ED waiting areas, and support the patient journey.

Healthwatch East Sussex will continue to work closely with ESHT and others to follow up on our recommendations, monitor the implementation of any changes and share the feedback we receive on these services.

We heard:

159 people from across Sussex shared their views with us.

– A majority (51.6%) felt Patients Know Best made experiences of managing their health and care easier/better, but 10.1% felt it made it harder/worse.

– Test results were the feature most identified as Very useful/Useful (76.8%), followed by Clinical Documents (62.9%) and Appt management (51.6%).

– The least useful features were: messaging with health professionals and resources (advice and information).

We always want to hear the experiences of local people when they use health and care services.

You can share your experience by leaving a review on our Feedback Centre at any time and tell us how things were for you. What was good and what could be improved?
 
You can also share your experience or seek further support with health and care enquiries from our Information & Signposting service via:
 
Email: Enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk
 
Telephone: 0333 101 4007 Monday – Friday (10am-2pm)