Welcome to our November newsletter
This month our newsletter includes:
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The NHS in Sussex are beavering away on a new health and social care strategy for the whole of Sussex now that the three Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) for Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex are no more. There is much to commend in early drafts of the strategy, which seeks to achieve a balance between improving services and helping people to live healthy lives to prevent illness.
The strategy has been informed by the results of public engagement undertaken by the NHS over the past few months and further engagement is planned for early 2023 when an early version of the strategy will be published. Early priorities will include making the best use of new technology and workforce development across the NHS, local authorities and the voluntary sector.
There are plans for greater partnership working at neighbourhood and local authority level, whereby services are more joined-up and accessible for local people. This should help counteract the shift to commissioning NHS services away from local areas to Sussex-wide.
Healthwatch are closely monitoring these new developments to see if they bring benefits to the people of East Sussex, especially when we enter the action plan stage of the strategy in 2023. If you have any views on how these changes may impact on your health, care and wellbeing please get in touch and tell us about your experiences.
John Routledge
Executive Director
East Sussex Community Voice delivering Healthwatch in East Sussex
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Healthwatch Poll: Where should our Listening Tour head next?
In October we conducted our 2022 Listening Tour across Eastbourne Borough. During the tour we listened to local people and their feedback on and experiences of health and care services.
The feedback we receive during our Listening Tour is used to make recommendations to support positive changes to local health and care provision.
We will be sharing our findings from the Eastbourne Listening Tour over on our website here, so keep an eye on the page for updates and reports.
We are also already looking ahead and planning our Listening Tour for 2023, so we want to hear your views on where our Listening Tour should be heading next?
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Results for last month's poll
In our October newsletter we asked you about your experiences of using Pharmacies in the last 12 months.
The most common purpose (highlighted by 90.9% of respondents) for using a pharmacy was to collect a prescription and 68.2% of people had bought over-the-counter medicines or treatments.
A smaller number of respondents had used a pharmacy to get advice on treating minor health conditions or healthy living, to obtain Flu or COVID-19 vaccinations, or to dispose of unwanted or out-of-date medicines.
Pharmacies can provide a wide range of advice and services. For more information about how your pharmacy can help you, visit the NHS website here.
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East Sussex Community Voice is looking for people to join their Equality and Inclusion Advisory Panel.
Are you interested in;
- Health and Social Care?
- Equality and Diversity?
- Sharing your lived experience?
- Volunteering your time?
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Our host organisation, East Sussex Community Voice are looking for people to join their Equalities and Inclusion Advisory Panel, a group made up of diverse volunteers working together to help East Sussex Community Voice ensure that their work is as accessible, inclusive, and representative as possible.
To express an interest or for more information please contact East Sussex Community Voice via:
Jessica Gee
Volunteer and Community Engagement Officer
Email: Jessica.Gee@escv.org.uk
Call: 0333 101 4007
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NHS England is raising awareness of cancers in the abdominal area and urological cancers
As part of the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign, NHS England is encouraging anyone who has had tummy troubles such as discomfort or diarrhoea for three weeks or more, or seen blood in their pee – even just once, to contact their GP practice.
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Persistent tummy troubles can be a sign of a number of cancers, including bowel, ovarian orbpancreatic cancer, and blood in pee – even just once, can be a sign of urological cancers, including bladder or kidney cancer.
While it’s probably nothing serious, any of these symptoms could be a sign of something that needs treatment. If it is cancer, finding it early makes it more treatable and can save lives.
Visit nhs.uk/cancersymptoms for more information.
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Healthwatch East Sussex Feedback Centre
At Healthwatch East Sussex we always want to hear your experiences about health and care services, so that we can identify where these are effective and where they can improve.
We have recently updated our guidance and developed a video to make the process of leaving feedback with us even easier.
To view the video click the image below, or visit our website here.
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Healthwatch East Sussex Feedback Centre Step-By-Step Guide
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Why not spend a few minutes telling us whether you are finding services good, bad or indifferent each time you use them on our dedicated, specially constructed Feedback Centre.
Service providers can also respond to the feedback left by the public and patients.
Your comments help us build a picture of where services perform well, and where improvements could be made.
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Cold Alert service for East Sussex is now Live
Cold Alert is a free service for the people of East Sussex that alerts you by text, voicemail, or email when there is severe cold weather forecast in your area.
It provides information about when, where, and how long a period of sever cold weather is forecast to help you plan ahead.
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The service runs from the 1st November 2022 to 31st March 2023.
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Healthwatch England launches national survey to understand if care works for new mothers and birthing parents.
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With one in four women experiencing mental health problems during pregnancy and in the first year following the birth of a child, support from maternity services can significantly impact their mental health and wellbeing.
Healthwatch England have launched a national survey to understand better what is working and what needs improving for people who develop mental health difficulties relating to their maternity experience.
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The East Sussex Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Alliance launch their first newsletter.
The East Sussex Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Sector Alliance is made up of 19 local voluntary and community organisations who work across East Sussex.
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Earlier this month, the Alliance published their first newsletter which gives a flavour of some of the initiatives, projects and events that are currently taking place within the VCSE sector locally. The first edition includes;
- An introduction the Alliance
- Recent Alliance activity
- Meet the newest member
- Information about upcoming events
Read the full newsletter here.
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