Celebrating ten years of people speaking up to make care better
In 2013, Healthwatch Bury was launched with one simple aim, to make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear the care experiences of people in Bury and use your feedback to improve support. Healthwatch Bury also helps people to find reliable and trustworthy information and advice.
Over the last decade, people have shared their stories, good and bad, with Healthwatch Bury, telling us what's working and what isn't regarding health and social care. With the help of local people, Healthwatch Bury has been able to help improve health and social care services in Bury.
To mark this important milestone, Healthwatch Bury is celebrating the contribution of its Healthwatch Heroes - the members of the public who have spoken up about their care and the health and social care professionals who have acted on this feedback.
Our Healthwatch Heroes
People like Kaloyan. Kaloyan contacted us following his experience of seeking emergency help for a middle-ear infection in November 2022.
The pressure on urgent and emergency care services has been a big story recently, with significant press coverage of ambulance delays and long waits in accident and emergency departments (A&E).
To understand how the pressures have affected patients, Healthwatch England looked back at the experiences of urgent and emergency care services people shared with them between December 2020 and August 2022. In August 2022, they worked with Survation to ask a nationally representative sample of 2,036 people their thoughts on urgent and emergency care services.
Healthwatch England reached out to local Healthwatch with a request for members of the community who would be willing to share their experience with the media. Kaloyan's story featured in the Financial Times.
The difference people Bury have made
The evidence provided by local people's experiences has helped improve NHS and social care services nationally and locally.
For example, last year the Healthwatch network supported more than two million people to have their say on care and get the right advice.
Here are just some of the ways people helped make a difference in 2021-22:
- Healthwatch research exploring vaccine confidence with people from different backgrounds provided vital lessons for public health campaigns.
- Public feedback helped highlight the negative impact poor NHS admin can have and recommended five principles for services to improve people's experiences.
- The Government updated national hospital discharge guidance to put patient safety first, thanks to the views of patients and carers.
- NHS England announced improvements to non-emergency patient transport services thanks to public feedback.
- After Healthwatch and other organisations called for an urgent response to hospital waiting lists, and better interim communication and support, the NHS set out a recovery plan to address the backlog.
- Healthwatch uncovered that only a third of NHS Trusts fully comply with their duty to help patients with sensory impairments and learning disabilities, which has helped lead to a national review of the Accessible Information Standard.
More people urged to get involved
Commenting on the anniversary, Chief Operating Officer of Healthwatch Bury said:
Over the last ten years, we've been able to help improve health and social care services for people in Bury. But nothing would have changed if local people had not spoken up about their care and services had not listened. So thank you Kaloyan and everyone else who has played their part.
"However, we can't stop here. With NHS and social care services facing such big challenges, your feedback is more critical than ever. By sharing your experience, you can help professionals to put themselves in your shoes, to understand your reality and the issues that need tackling to improve care.
"So next time you use a health or care service, take a moment to share your experience. It won't take long and could make a real difference in making care better for you and your community."
Be a Healthwatch Hero and have your say today.
