Healthwatch Darlington Annual Report 2023
Listening to your experiences
Services can’t make improvements without hearing your views. That’s why over the last year we have made listening to feedback from all areas of the community a priority. This allows us to understand the full picture, and feedback to services to help them improve.
Advice and information
If you feel lost and don’t know where to turn, Healthwatch is here for you. In times of worry or stress, we can provide confidential support and free information to help you understand your options and get the help you need. Whether it’s finding an NHS dentist, how to make a complaint or choosing a good care home for a loved one – you can count on us.
This year we’ve helped people by:
• Providing up to date information people can trust
• Helping people access the services they need
• Helping people access NHS dentistry
• Supporting people to look after their health during the cost of living crisis
Volunteering
We’re supported by a team of amazing volunteers who are at the heart of what we do. Thanks to their efforts in the community, we’re able to understand what is working and what needs improving.
This year our volunteers:
• Visited communities to promote their local Healthwatch and what we have to offer
• Collected experiences and supported their communities to share their views
• Shared up-to-date information on health and care services, and health and care events of interest to local people
Top three priorities for 2023-24
1. Mental Health - Continue to influence local strategies by following up on our recommendations and evidencing impact.
2. GP and Dental Services – Continue to monitor the experiences of people accessing services and the impact of extra funding and commissioning changes.
3. NHS Pressures – Monitor the impact that workforce issues and industrial action are having on people accessing services.
Next steps
In the ten years since Healthwatch was launched, we’ve demonstrated the power of public feedback in helping the health and care system understand what is working, spot issues and think about how things can be better in the future.
Services are currently facing unprecedented challenges and tackling the backlog needs to be a key priority for the NHS to ensure everyone gets the care they need. Over the next year we will continue our role in collecting feedback from everyone in our local community and giving them a voice to help shape improvements to services.
We will also continue our work to tackling inequalities that exist and work to reduce the barriers you face when accessing care, regardless whether that is because of where you live, income or race.
As well as continuing to do the ‘bread and butter’ work of collecting public feedback;
influencing the decision makers of local health and care services; and signposting
people towards the services that are most likely to meet their need, we are also
carrying out project work both for the Integrated Care Board and other health and
social care organisations . This ensures they are more responsive and equitable to the
people of Darlington.
Healthwatch Darlington is your local health and social care champion.
We make sure NHS leaders and decision makers hear your voice and use your feedback to improve care. We can also help you to find reliable and trustworthy information and advice.
