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Newsletter - August 2023

Welcome to our August newsletter

This month our newsletter includes:

Directors Update
As you may have seen last week, we have started sharing information about our 2023 Listening Tour. This year we are heading to Rye and the surrounding villages.You can find out more about the Listening Tour further on in this newsletter.

We are building our full calendar of events; but we already have a range of activities scheduled around Rye from the 10th to the 24 of September as well as the launch of our Survey. We will be updating our website with all the details, once available, so keep an eye on there to see where we will be. 

This activity is a great opportunity to hear the views and experiences of the residents of Rye and the surrounding villages and to understand the needs of the community in more detail.

If you are able to join us on the tour, we look forward to hearing from you. You can also share your experiences from across East Sussex with us at anytime via our Feedback Centre or by contacting our Information and Signposting Service.

Veronica Kirwan
Executive Director
East Sussex Community Voice, delivering Healthwatch in East Sussex

Latest news and updates

Healthwatch poll: 

Last month we asked about your experiences of accessing health and care information.

We heard that the most common sources people use when seeking information and advice about a health condition are GP Surgeries and Web-searches, both identified by 3 out of 4 people (75.86%).
 
Pharmacies (65.52%) and NHS 111 (44.82%) were also common sources of information about health conditions for our respondents. 
 
Web searches were the most common method people used to find information and advice about Support Services (44.82%), followed by the County Council (31.03%).

Rye Listening Tour 2023

Each year we focus on an area of East Sussex to engage with local people and understand the needs of their communities in more detail.
Our 2023 ‘Listening Tour’ will capture feedback from residents of Rye and the surrounding villages.
 
From 11th September, Healthwatch East Sussex will be launching two-weeks of activity to talk to local people about their experiences of health and social care services.
 
We will use the feedback we receive to make recommendations to support positive changes to the health and care services used by residents.
 
Click the link below for more information and for ways you can get involved with the Listening Tour.
Rye Listening Tour 2023

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – Annual General Meeting 2023
 

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust are holding their Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 12 September at St Mark’s Church Hall, Green Lane, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN39 4BZ
The meeting will be an opportunity to hear about their achievements over the last year and their plans for the future.
 
The AGM will be followed by an ‘Ask the Board’ session.
  
For more information please visit the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust website here.
Book your place here

Help NHS Sussex improve heart failure services in Sussex


NHS Sussex are currently running a survey for adults living with heart failure and those who care for them.
 
They want to improve their heart failure services so that people can access high-quality care across the whole of Sussex. To help them make the right changes, they are keen to understand your experiences and hear what you think a good service would look like.
 
If you live with heart failure or are a carer or family member of someone who does, please complete the following survey by 8th September 2023 and let NHS Sussex know your thoughts.
The survey is a available to complete online via the link below.
Take the survey here
A physical version of the survey is available for download here. You can print this version and follow the instruction on the front page for returning the survey.

Save the date for the East Sussex Voluntary, Community, Social Enterprise (VCSE) Alliance Annual Conference.


On Wednesday the 8th November, the East Sussex VCSE Alliance will be holding their 2023 Annual Conference at The View Hotel in Eastbourne.

The event is open to the public, community groups and local organisations, so do come along and contribute your views and experiences to the discussions.
 
Please add the date to your diary, more information and booking details coming soon.

Priority 1-54 Youth Consultants group

Priority 1-54 are currently recruiting for their Youth Consultants Group.
 
Priority 1-54’s aim is to promote the rights and well-being of every child where they live, learn and play.
 
Their Youth Consultant program is their way of putting the voice of young people at the heart of everything that they do, guiding all their projects and other commissioned youth voice activities.

In return for your time, you will: meet new people; learn new skills; and be rewarded for your time and involvement.
 
To find out more click here.

What Matters To You: new adult social care strategy for East Sussex

East Sussex County Council have launched ‘What Matters To You: care, support and independence for adults in East Sussex’ the brand new adult social care strategy for the county.
The title reflects the approach taken to developing the strategy: asking people who need care and support, their carers and families, what was important to them.
 
Around 700 local people responded to surveys or came along to focus groups and interviews to share their opinions. Using this feedback, and with the help of East Sussex County Council’s Citizens’ Panel, six priorities were agreed. They are:
  • Right support, right place, right time
  • Information and communication about care and support
  • Cost of living and cost of care, now and in the future
  • A suitable home
  • Personal connections with others
  • Group activities, hobbies and volunteering  
Now the next step is to build an action plan based around the 15 ‘we will’ statements that set out the strategic response to the six priorities in ‘What Matters To You’.
Read more

Health research partnership Conference – 19th October 2023


The second Health Research Partnership Conference, which will be held on Thursday 19 October 2023.

The conference will be an opportunity to:
 

  • Learn about the Partnership’s strategy for developing Health and Care Research in Sussex 2024-2030
  • Find out how the Partnership can help you develop your research
  • Help shape the work of the partnership
  • Hear about different areas of health and care research across Sussex
  • Highlight your research and strengthen its impact
  • Build collaborations across the Partnership.

Book your place at the conference here. 
 
This year at the conference there will be a wide range of talks and poster presentations to showcase the work of Partners in delivering research excellence in health and care in Sussex.
 
The Health Research Partnership invite contributions from researchers working in health and care across Sussex to make a short presentation, or poster, of their research.
 
They are particularly interested in projects that showcase collaborations between institutions, across service providers and with community involvement and in research in one of the following areas: digitally enabled healthcare, sustainable healthcare, addressing inequalities, and life-long mental health.
 
Deadline for submission: Monday August 14th. Successful proposals will be notified by Sept 15th.
 
You can submit your abstract here.

Healthwatch England – the hidden wait for cancer care

Healthwatch England research on GP referrals highlighted the frustration patients experience due to long waits and a lack of support.
 
The research paints a picture that suggests there is still much to do to ensure cancer is flagged at the earliest opportunity and that pathways to diagnosis and treatment are as smooth as possible.
 
The research also aims to help the government and NHS leaders understand the importance of seeing the person behind the cancer, and that small changes can make a big difference to people at an incredible difficult time in their lives.
 
Key Findings
 
Almost half, 45%, of respondents are not referred for suspected cancer at their first appointment.
 
Over one in four, 28%, wait up to a month after their first appointment to be told they are being referred.
 
And almost one in six, 16%, wait over a month after their first appointment.

Around one in seven, 14%, are still waiting for referrals to be confirmed over a month after the decision to refer.
 
And one in 10 cancer referrals don’t directly progress to a hospital appointment, with some referrals either rejected, lost, or otherwise not booked.
 
Read more

Healthwatch -  What we have heard about health and care services in East Sussex
We regularly review the experiences you told us through public events, surveys, Feedback Centre and Information & Signposting enquiries.  
 
These help us understand where things are working well and where they need to change.  We hear positive stories about how services have supported and assisted you, as well as mixed experiences, and where things need to be better.   
 
Healthwatch uses your feedback with health and care decision-makers to seek a positive difference. Below are just a few of the changes you have helped us deliver during July 2023.
 
  • We received feedback that the Prescription on Demand (POD) Service would cease operating in September 2023, with users outlining how they would be affected. We contacted NHS Sussex commissioners to share the feedback and seek assurances that affected patients are being contacted in good time and suitable alternatives put in place.  We also distributed information to the public to raises awareness of the changes.  
 
  • Healthwatch liaised with NHS Primary Care colleagues to support GP practice awareness and preparations to support the local fishing community in undergoing medicals and obtaining ML5 certificates before going to sea, as part of changes being implemented from November 2023.  
 
  • Patients highlighted extended wait times for responses to complaints made to University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. We raised this with the Complaints team at the Trust and Patient Experience team at NHS Sussex to highlight the anxiety of patients when they don’t receive timely responses and ask that complaint policies and timeframes from all NHS Trusts are clearly and regularly communicated. 
Read our full July You Said, We Did Report here.
Tell Us Your Experiences
 
Please tell us your experiences of local health and care services via our Feedback Centre and let us know how this has been for you.
 
We want to hear if it has been good, bad or indifferent.
 
Help and support with Health and Care
If you need help or support related to health or care, then please contact our Information & Signposting Service via
 
0333 101 4007 or enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk

Our volunteer activity
Our volunteers have been busy with lots of activities over the last few months, this has included:
  • Conducting Accessibility visits at GP practices in Eastbourne
  • Listening to people’s experiences of health and care at our Summer Roadshow activities
  • Attending various meetings and groups as Healthwatch Representatives
  • Mystery shopping of GP websites
  • Enter and View visits at hospital A&E departments.
  • Attending our Annual Event on the 13th July
  • Taking part in our quarterly in person Volunteer Meeting
  • And not forgetting, getting ready for the Rye Listening tour taking place next month.
 
We are always on the lookout for new volunteers.
 
Our volunteers currently range from 14 years to 80 plus years, so there is role for you whatever your interest background or availability.
 
To join our amazing volunteer team, get in touch today.
 
Call 0333 101 4007
 
Email volunteer@escv.org.uk to request more information.
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