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. 

We wanted to learn about the effects of earwax build up on people’s physical and mental health, how clear and easy it was to obtain treatment and the experiences of different forms of treatment.

People were able to complete the survey online, in print or over the phone and 115 gave us their feedback.

We heard:

• 34.8% of respondents found accessing earwax removal very easy/easy and 26.9% found it difficult/very difficult. Barriers included understanding who offers earwax removal and treatment types, appointment wait times and costs of treatment.
   
• Most people look to their GP when they experience symptoms of earwax build-up and are disappointed if practices have long waits or no longer offer removal at all. Patients are often unclear why some GPs offer earwax removal and others don’t.
   
• Where GP practices still offered earwax removal this was often valued for several reasons, including quality of service, provision of self-help advice, consideration of wider symptoms and concerns, as well as being at no cost.
   
• People experienced a range of symptoms due to earwax build-up including loss of hearing, tinnitus, loss of balance, headaches and often more than one of these symptoms.
   
• Half of our respondents (52.5%) experienced significant or severe physical impacts due to earwax, and a third (31.3%) experienced significant or severe mental impacts due to earwax.

• Communication from GP practices to patients about the earwax removal services they and others offer can be unclear and risks generating further confusion.
   
• The most frequent cost for non-NHS earwax removal was between £50 and £75 per treatment, which is unaffordable for some patients, especially frequent users.
   
• A reduction in NHS [free] earwax removal and increased signposting to private paid-for services may have an impact on health inequalities, especially those on lower incomes or who require frequent treatment.
   
• Feedback suggests seeking treatment for earwax can be confusing, challenging to navigate and time-consuming. Clearer guidance on earwax treatment options and how to identify safe and cost-effective services would be valued by patients.

Activity and achievements

During 2023-24 we:

• Undertook Enter and View activities at care homes in rural Rother, paediatric services at The Conquest, emergency departments at The Conquest and Eastbourne District General Hospital and Bexhill Community Diagnostic Centre
   
• Directly supported 578 people with enquiries through our Information & Signposting service, including users of food banks, migrants and residents in Lewes Prison
   
• Undertook our Listening Tour in Rye and rural Rother to gather experiences and views from local people and shared these to influence local services
   
• Published 36 reports detailing insight and recommendations that were shared with commissioners and providers to inform health and care service development
   
• Shared advice, guidance and information via our website, social media and bulletins to raise awareness of health and care issues
   
• Drew on 125 days of Healthwatch volunteer time in the development and delivery of projects
   
• Progressed our Young Healthwatch, recruiting new volunteers, and starting development of an accreditation to rate GPs in Hastings for their suitability for children and young people
   
• Shared our insight and key messages through a diverse range of local, regional and national partnerships and boards, including the East Sussex Health and Wellbeing Board and Sussex Health and Care Assembly
   
• Raised awareness of challenges people face in accessing primary care, especially GPs and NHS dentistry, as well as acute and community services, including mental health

• Many respondents were aware of the new services offered by pharmacies. For example, over 50% of respondents knew they could get a flu vaccine and a blood pressure check at a pharmacy and access support for sore throats and earaches.
• Uptake of new pharmacy services by respondents was generally lower than their levels of awareness, ranging from 2-12% with flu vaccinations the highest at 28%.
• If respondents had not used the services offered by pharmacies, the majority would go to either a GP (82%) or a nurse at their local surgery (38%) instead. Nearly a third (30%) would also use 111 services.
• Respondents were generally very satisfied with the services offered by pharmacies.
• However, 62% of respondents had been affected by a lack of available medication in pharmacies and 28% by pharmacy opening hours.

Our contributions and interventions

• We engaged with NHS Sussex about the impacts of GPs announcing collective action and what this means for patients as well as other services. We shared concerns over the potential effects of limiting appointments to 25 per clinician per day and changes to e-referral mechanisms, especially given existing challenges in accessing timely appointments at some practices.
• In partnership with other Sussex Healthwatch, we shared feedback with NHS Sussex that patients seeking to use Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) were being told the eligibility criteria had changed and they were no longer able to use the service. We supported the development of clear and simple messaging to enable the NEPTS provider to ensure users were made aware of the changes.
• In August we met with Healthwatch, Advocacy and NHS colleagues to explore how people’s experience of leaving feedback or making complaints to NHS organisations in Sussex can be improved. Healthwatch called for both processes to be simple, clear and accessible to all, and for complaints to be responded to in a meaningful and timely way. Clearer feedback on learning and changes made by services in response to feedback/complaints was also called for.
• This month we received several enquiries related to Right-to-Choose, which is patients' right to choose where they are treated by the NHS, with people telling us they faced challenges including clinicians declining requests to be treated elsewhere, being unclear on the process for such referrals, or indicating decisions lay with the Integrated Care Board. We shared this feedback with NHS Sussex with a view to achieving greater clarity and consistency in delivery of Right-to-Choose.

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)