Listening Tour Area Report: Rother

Report - 10 February 2026

In 2025, Healthwatch East Sussex spoke to people in Rother about their experiences of health and care services in the area, including how easy they found it to access the right support for them, any particularly good or bad experiences they have had, and what factors they feel most effect their wellbeing.

This report outlines the key findings from this activity:

  • Although people shared mixed experiences of GP services across Rother, those living in the Rye and Robertsbridge areas generally shared good experiences of the GP services in their area
  • Concerns were raised over how long people are asked to wait in A&E waiting rooms which tend to be busy and noisy when they are unwell, with this being a particular issue for those with mental health needs, and those who are neurodivergent
  • There is currently no treatment pathway for those with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), with parents reporting difficulties in getting support and treatment for their children
  • Parts of Rother have limited mobile and broadband coverage, making contacting services such as GP practices more challenging

Healthwatch will publish a wider report once we have completed our Eastbourne Listening Tour in 2026. 

View the report

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What is the Healthwatch East Sussex Listening Tour 

Our Listening Tour helps us maximise what we hear about people’s health, care and wellbeing across East Sussex.

We use our dedicated survey and stakeholder events to listen to the experiences and views of residents, communities and professionals. The insight we develop is used to:

  • Identify where services are working well or where change may be needed, by sharing feedback with commissioners and providers.
  • Escalate concerns or issues to decision-makers such as the Health & Wellbeing Board or Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC)
  • Inform and prioritise future Healthwatch activity and projects
  • Support Integrated Community Teams responses to local priorities

To find out more about our Listening Tour please click here. 

Share your experiences with us quickly and simply at any time by completing our online digital survey. 

Through our survey we are keen to hear:

  • your experiences of local health and care services
  • what works and what needs improving
  • how your wellbeing can best be supported

You can take part in our survey by clicking the link below. If you require any help with completing the survey or require it in a different format, please get in touch. 

Listening Tour Survey

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

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