News and reports

Healthwatch East Sussex (HWES) today publishes a new report on the experiences of homeless people living in Emergency and Temporary Accommodation (ETA) in Eastbourne.

We engaged with individuals and families living at an ETA site in Eastbourne for homeless people deemed eligible for housing by local authorities. We asked about their experiences of the accommodation, the support they received and accessed, and their access to health and care services.

Long COVID is a legacy of the COVID virus for many people in Sussex, impacting on their day-to-day lives, as well as their physical and mental wellbeing.

To raise awareness of long COVID and the services available to support residents, as well as people’s preferences for assistance, the three local Healthwatch undertook a public survey during August and September 2022.

Healthwatch East Sussex’s Information and Signposting service helps people to access the right health and social care services for their needs. We also enable people to share their experiences or make a complaint about a service they have used.

We have recently heard about the experiences of people with dementia being admitted to hospital.

In previous years, the week has been known as World Autism Awareness Week, but this was changed to World Autism Acceptance Week to align with the goal of communities being inclusive of autistic people.

During two weeks in October 2022, Healthwatch East Sussex used its first face-to-face ‘Listening Tour’ since 2019 to engage with Eastbourne residents and communities to hear people’s experiences of health and social care.

Our report summarises everything people told us, as well as setting out our conclusions and recommendations for Healthwatch, health and care services and other local partners with the goal of supporting positive change.

The 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.

Each month we feedback on the themes and issues people have contacted us about.

We share this information with you and with health and care providers to help develop and improve the services.

Who are PALS? Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) are based in hospitals, and offer confidential advice, support and information on health-related matters. They also provide a point of contact for patients, their families and their carers. A detailed explanation of PALS is available on the NHS website.

This Healthwatch in Sussex report assessed people’s views about accessing GP appointments.
A total of 851 people responded to an online survey. Some questions allowed us to see whether people’s views and experiences about remote GP appointments have changed two years since the pandemic began (by comparing some findings from a project undertaken in June 2020).

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.

The 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.

Each month we feedback on the themes and issues people have contacted us about. We share this information with you and with health and care providers to help develop and improve the services.

The 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.

Each month we feedback on the themes and issues people have contacted us about.

We share this information with you and with health and care providers to help develop and improve the services.

From May until July 2022 Healthwatch East Sussex (HWES) volunteers and staff visited nine Memory Moments Cafés, run by Know Dementia across the county.

We listened to people’s experiences of accessing and using health and care services, either as a person experiencing dementia or as a family carer.