Meeting documents

To receive the presentation.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board considered and commented on the information and presentation.

Representatives from Healthwatch Somerset presented their update and noted that Healthwatch exists to speak up for local people on issues of health and social care. 

First up was the Young Listeners project, which aims to give young people a chance to speak up about services that they use.  The project was involved in recruiting up until March this year and in training up until July; afterwards they consulted on mental health issues, eating disorders, GP access, and cancer support.  They then attended external events and conducted online surveys to get feedback from young people all over Somerset, receiving 65 responses in total from August through September.  These responses reflected the beliefs that there is a lack of communication between the different services provided with respect to young people’s health and wellbeing, that the services are not communicating effectively with young people, that there is not enough information or education about health and social care in schools, and that many of the services do not promote or advertise themselves in a way that is easily accessible to young people.  Therefore, it is recommended that:

·         More training be provided for all school staff about mental health and wellbeing and the support that is available locally

·         That health and social care services should examine how they communicate with patients and with other services, and perhaps have a centralised system to share patients’ information

·         That services make more frequent contact with patients

·         That services promote themselves in ways that reach young people more easily

·         That schools and services encourage young people to seek answers and assistance, which will reduce the stigma around health and social care issues

·         That services involve young people more in planning and decision-making

The report then turned to main areas of work for Healthwatch in general, including gathering feedback and providing information, influencing and reporting change, and "enter and view" visits to service providers (sometimes unannounced) followed by a report.  It was noted that they publish an annual report every year outlining the work done and the impact made.  Their projects have included:

·         Determining how people access primary care through GP surgeries

·         Evaluating the NHS 111 service

·         Community care and care homes

·         District nursing service

Currently, one of their projects is focused on referrals to treatment; they have found that 48 out of 72 of the respondents had been waiting for more than 40 weeks for surgery, that suffered a lack of communication from their specialists during that time, and that a large number of them experienced a reduction in mobility and deterioration of their condition while waiting.  Another project deals with emergency departments and the increased pressure on them; Healthwatch Somerset, NHS Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group and local hospital trusts all worked together to gather information on the reasons for A&E visits and whether the patients had accessed other services beforehand.  Additionally, Healthwatch is following up on the NHS 111 service in coordination with Devon and Plymouth, is working on a programme for access to primary care, and in the first quarter of 2022 will be involved with the supported discharge from hospitals to care homes or care at home.

The Board then discussed the presentation; the Director of Public Health praised the report and the work of Healthwatch, especially regarding tangible coordination, which can be examined along with the school survey work regarding young people.  The Director of Children’s Services stated that the report was very timely and that it would be helpful to build some of the recommendations in the report into the Children and Young People Services Plan.

The Board thanked Healthwatch for the presentation and noted that they had considered and commented on the report.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board received, discussed and noted the presentation.