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Newsletter - February 2023

Welcome to our February newsletter

This month our newsletter includes:

Directors Update
On the brink of retiring from East Sussex Community Voice (ESCV) in March 2023, John Routledge our outgoing Executive Director shared the following message:
"I would like to say how much I have enjoyed my time at ESCV and Healthwatch East Sussex over the past five to six years and what a huge debt of gratitude I owe to the ESCV staff, board members and volunteers in supporting me over this time.
I would also like to thank all the partners I have worked with from the public and voluntary sectors, without you I would not have been able to play my part in making positive changes to public engagement in health, care and other services that Healthwatch [ESCV] has helped achieve over the past few years."  

Last week, Veronica Kirwan started with ESCV as our new Executive Director and commented:
"I would like to introduce myself as the new Executive Director, I’m delighted to be joining ESCV and to be working with the team of committed staff, volunteers and partners to continue the excellent work already underway to engage the local community in the design and delivery of services. I look forward to meeting many of you over the coming weeks.
 
I would also like to thank John and the team for their warm welcome in my first week."

Latest news and updates

Healthwatch Poll: Where would you go for advice about care for you or a family member?


This month we are looking to hear more about people’s experiences of getting information about finding care or support with care for themselves or a loved one. Where would you go?
 
To share your experience with us please take our one question poll below.
 
We’ll share the results in our next newsletter.
Click here to take our poll!

Healthwatch in Sussex: Access to GP appointments across Sussex – public opinion
 

Healthwatch in Sussex finds 56% of people have chosen not to make a GP appointment despite having a need.
A survey of 851 people from across Sussex undertaken in December 2022 by the three Sussex Healthwatch, found that 56.3% of people had delayed making a GP appointment following the COVID crisis.
 
The research also found:

- When controlling for the influence of other factors (gender, ethnicity, etc), people with disabilities and younger people were more likely to have ever delayed an appointment with a GP since the pandemic.

 - Those reporting a mental health condition had increased from 17.9% in 2020 (among those reporting a disability) to 28.7% in 2022.

 - Around 1 in 6 people objected to all remote options and preferred exclusively face-to-face appointments with GPs.

- Online booking (for example through Patient Access or the NHS App) is not always available or preferred even if people have the necessary digital skills.

- Differences by age were a consistent theme in the data. Older people were less likely to use an online booking system, less likely to prefer remote appointments, and saw less importance to being able to book a phone and/or video appointment via an online booking method. 

The report findings, conclusions and recommendations are being shared with local health and care decision-makers to help raise awareness of patient and public preferences and inform the provision of services. 
Read the report and findings here

One-stop cardiology service opened at Bexhill Community Diagnostic Centre.


A one-stop cardiology service is now ‘live’ at Bexhill Community Diagnostic Centre.

The service provides the full range of support for patients needing cardiology diagnostics and outpatient care, including echo-electrocardiogram (ECG), fitting of wearable blood pressure monitors and consultant appointments.
This new centre in Bexhill is purpose-built and is a brand new state of the art centre.
 
For more information, click here.

The Integrated Care System in Sussex sets out its strategic and operational priorities


Improving Lives Together sets out the ambition across health and care services in Sussex over the next five years.
Its aim is to improve the lives of local people by supporting them to live healthier for longer and making sure they have access to the best possible services when they need them.

Partners across health and care have agreed three key areas for change that will bring about the greatest benefit to local people:
  • Building integrated community teams and local partnerships across Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex – to allow services and organisations to work in a joined-up way to better meet the needs of each local community.
     
  • Growing and supporting our Sussex health and care workforce – to attract more people to work in health and care, as well as supporting and developing the skills or careers of our existing staff.
     
  • Improving the use of digital technology and information – to help join-up our services and enable people to access advice or care more easily.
Read more here

Healthwatch East Sussex - Impacts of the rising cost-of-living on health and wellbeing Survey
Healthwatch East Sussex is working to gather the latest insight into people’s experiences of the rising cost of living, including any direct impacts on your day-to-day life and changes in your behaviour.
 
We want to hear from anyone who has or is being affected by these changes, especially where they impact on your wellbeing, including the use of health and care services.

Have you been impacted? Have you changed your behaviour?
 
Your feedback will help us tell decision-makers how things currently are for local people.
 
Please spend 10 minutes to complete our short survey so that we can hear how things are for you.
Tell us here

Finding an NHS dentist near you?


At Healthwatch one of our most regular enquiries is from people trying to find a dentist accepting new NHS patients.

One issue for many people has been that the NHS ‘Find a Dentist’ website has not been a particularly user-friendly platform.

The ‘Find a Dentist’ website has now been updated, allowing you to see dental practices in specific locations and those near where you live.

Listings should now make clear in a visible way whether practices are accepting new NHS patients and any identify restrictions that apply e.g. children (under 18), but not adults.
 
Please be aware that information changes regularly, and the website might not keep pace. Therefore, we suggest anyone looking for a new NHS dentist contacts practices in the first instance.

Need support with ongoing symptoms of COVID-19 or long COVID?


Whilst most people who have had a COVID-19 infection feel better within a few days or weeks of their first symptoms, for others this can last longer.
Anyone whose symptoms last more than 4 weeks may be described as having ‘long COVID’.

Symptoms may include but are not limited to:
  • Extreme tiredness
  • Shortness of breath
  • Muscle ache/joint ache
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Loss of smell or taste
  • Headache
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Worry/Anxiety
  • Fast heart rate
Getting support for long COVID
If you are experiencing ongoing symptoms then further information and advice can be found at the NHS ‘Your COVID recovery’ webpage.
 
If you have new or worsening symptoms following a COVID-19 infection, especially for if they are present for 4 weeks or longer then contact your GP surgery. They will assess you and provide support that is best for you – this may include a referral to the Post COVID Assessment and Support Service (PCASS).  
 
You do not need to have had a positive COVID-test result to get help.

How much do you know about accessing welfare benefits and debt advice in East Sussex?
 
NHS Sussex and East Sussex County Council want to make sure the welfare benefits and debt advice services available to the county's residents are meeting people's needs.
 
They’ve put together a short survey to better understand the level of awareness of the welfare benefit and debt advice and how to access it.
 
Share your views in this short survey to help create better ways to support people across East Sussex to access advice about managing their money.
 
The survey closes 17th March.
Share your views here

Hub of Hope - Mental Health Support 


The Hub of Hope is a UK mental health support database, provided by national mental health charity, Chasing the Stigma, and brings more than 9000 local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together in one place.
To find Mental Health Support available near you for yourself or a loved one, you can access the Hub of Hope free online or download for the free app. 
Visit the Hub of Hope website here

Health and Wellbeing Tips from our staff: Combating loneliness
 

Feeling lonely is something that all of us can experience.
 
In January 2023, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) launched their new loneliness campaign activity as part of the 'Better Health - Every Mind Matters' campaign.
Within the campaign they are sharing some simple steps that we can take to lift someone out of loneliness. These include:
 
• Giving a friend or family member a call
• Inviting someone for a walk
• Reaching out to those you haven’t heard from in a while
 
This winter, reach out to a friend to help lift them out of loneliness and in doing so, it may lift you up too.
 
For more information and support visit the Every Mind Matters website here.

Healthwatch -  What we have heard about health and care services in East Sussex
Each quarter we collate and analyse what we have heard from the public and patients about health and care services.
 
Our quarterly report provides an overview of the enquiries that we have received via our Information & Signposting service, as well as the reviews that have been left on our Feedback Centre.
 
From these, we identify the services that people have commented on, the key themes and experiences we have heard and provide an overview of how we have used this information to help inform changes.
 
We share this information with you and with Health and Care providers to help develop and improve services.
Read our Quarterly Feedback report here
This quarter we heard:
  • that dentistry remains a key cause of concern for many local people, with people reporting that they were unable to find NHS dentists accepting new patients, despite extensive searching.
  • from people wanting support with complaints about their experiences of using local Hospital services.
  • people in East Sussex have expressed ongoing frustration with the accessibility of GP appointments, but highlighting some positive experiences when they were able to access services.
  • about a lack of clarity in appropriate advocacy support with needs falling between NHS and Care eligibility requirements.
  • concerns around delays and cancellations for hospital procedures, as well as variable quality of care and treatment and poor communication in some instances.
  • positive examples highlighted pharmacy staff giving prompt, friendly and useful advice.
Tell us your experiences
You can leave a review of health and care services in East Sussex each and every time you use them via our Feedback Centre.

This only takes a few minutes and helps commissioners, providers and Healthwatch understand how services are performing.
Click here to leave a review on our Feedback Centre

Information and Signposting Service 


Our Healthwatch East Sussex Information and Signposting (I&S) Service helps people to access the right health or social care service or organisation for their needs.

We also enable people to share their experience or make a complaint about services they have used.

To contact our Information and Signposting Service please:
 
Call: 0333 101 4007 Monday – Friday (10am-2pm)
 
Email: enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk
 
Send your query to: Freepost RTTT-BYBX-KCEY, Healthwatch East Sussex, Greencoat House, 32 St Leonards Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3UT (no stamp required)

Our volunteer activity

Hear from Reuben one of our Youth Participation Workers who has also worked with us as a Young Healthwatch Volunteer.


"My first interaction with Healthwatch was through the East Sussex Community Voice (ESCV) Youth Inspect and Advise Group (IAG), which was a piece of work allowing young people to share their opinions and experiences on mental health provisions in secondary schools.
This was an amazing project to be a part of, as it really opened my eyes as to what effective youth voice activities can look like, as well as helped me to develop skills in a variety of areas such as teamwork, communication, and leadership. When this project ended I transitioned to being a volunteer with Young Healthwatch East Sussex. I have been a part of a piece of work assessing the accessibility of primary care services to young people. This has allowed me to share my own opinions on a variety of topics, as well as learning facilitation skills to assist in leading focus groups to gather the opinions of a wide range of young people.
 
Near the end of last year, I transitioned from my volunteer role into my current role as a Youth Participation Project Worker. The skills and experiences that I had gained throughout my time as a Young Healthwatch volunteer allowed me to transition confidently into a member of the staff team. I currently facilitate sessions with the Young Healthwatch group fortnightly to gather their opinions on a variety of topics, as well as conduct some planning and organisational tasks supported by members of the staff team. This role has really pushed me outside of my comfort zone and increased my confidence in decision-making and communication with a variety of people. It is great to be in this role as having a young person facilitating sessions with the young volunteers really embodies the ethos that Young Healthwatch was created under.
 
I have really enjoyed all of the roles I have had with ESCV and Healthwatch and am grateful to have been given the opportunity to become a staff member. I hope to be able to further develop my skills and experiences in the months ahead."
 
Do you feel inspired?
If you are interested in becoming a Young Healthwatch Volunteer or finding out more about our work get in contact;
 
Call: 0333 101 4007
Email: enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk
Or visit our website: https://healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk/young-healthwatch/
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