‘You Said – We Did’ November 2024

Our activity in November 2024 included:

You Said:

We heard from an enquirer no longer able to make their appointment with Health in Mind due to their caring responsibilities and unclear on how to contact them to reschedule.

We Did:

We provided contact details for Health in Mind and advised calling to discuss options. We also shared details of ESCC mental health support page for details of other mental health support and low-cost counselling.

You Said:

We were contacted by a person concerned they no longer received regular blood tests to check kidney and liver function, blood count and cholesterol.

We Did:

We acknowledged their concerns, contacted Sussex ICB on the  individual’s behalf to ask what a patient should expect when on this medication and shared the feedback we received.

You Said:

We spoke to an individual who needed to lose weight for a planned operation,  and wanted to know what support options were available to help them achieve this.

We Did:

We shared details of One You East Sussex, who offer weight management and healthy lifestyle support, and suggested speaking to their GP if specialist weight management services are needed.

You Said:

We heard from someone who was concerned their mobility was deteriorating and were struggling to move around their house. They may need a walking aid, but don’t know where to go.

We Did:

We shared details of Health and Social Care Connect, where they can request a care needs assessment and an adaptations and mobility assessment which aim to help people remain independent at home.

Our Contributions and Interventions

• We attended a drop-in session with Healthwatch England to report on people’s experiences of the NHS complaints process and make suggestions on how this could work better for patients. We provided patient feedback gained through our work and identified how the complaints process could better serve as an opportunity for healthcare providers to learn and improve services. Our insight will inform Healthwatch England’s submission on patient safety to the Dash Review.
• We met members of the All Age Continuing Care (AACC) team at NHS Sussex to share feedback we’d received about people’s care packages, including concerns around responsiveness to enquiries and queries, changes to provision not being communicated and pressures on carers of managing day-to-day. NHS colleagues clarified what AACC services do and don’t cover, steps being taken to improve communications and how service users may share feedback and raise concerns. We also discussed opportunities to capture and learn from patient experience.
• We met with Adult Social Care and Health colleagues at East Sussex County Council to explore how Healthwatch staff and volunteers may be able to support the council in evolving its digital resources on Adult Social Care. We will join the steering group overseeing the project during the next few months and may also undertake some independent user testing of the current ESCC website.
• We shared feedback with NHS Sussex Primary Care team about COVID vaccinations, such as the limited geographical spread of vaccination sites, lack of information on which vaccines are used and how people with allergies may access alternatives, and how those with specific needs can access support and advice.