Proud to make a difference

At ECS our mission is “to ensure the voices of those who use public services are at the forefront of service design and delivery” – as part of this process, the network of nine ECS Healthwatch published 57 reports in 2020/201, across, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Halton, Warrington, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell, Leicester, and Leicestershire during COVID-19 pandemic, about the improvements people would like to see to health and social care services. From these reports, we made 272 recommendations for service improvement, based on people's experiences of health and social care.  

We achieved great success in all our projects thanks to the great commitment of our staff team and dedicated volunteers. To showcase the great work of the team at Healthwatch Sandwell and Healthwatch Halton, here are two examples from our Healthwatch Sandwell team’s work around “Listening to Carers experiences in Sandwell” and from the team at Healthwatch Halton regarding “Maternity Matters”.   

Listening to Carers experiences in Sandwell  

Thanks to adult carers sharing their experiences, their views have influenced the development of the Joint Carers Strategy by the Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, Clinical Commissioning Group, and the Voluntary Sector for 2020-2024.  

This project made use of a survey, focus groups and interviews and overall, there were 227 participants in the project.  

Levels of caring responsibility were identified with 63% of survey respondents saying that they had not had a Carer’s Assessment, 57% of survey respondents had used information and advice services in the last 12 months, carers health had been affected due to their responsibilities, loneliness, employment, and finances were also identified as issues.  

Our main recommendations included:  

  • A publicity campaign by the Local Authority or relevant voluntary sector to publicise: - tasks which would define a Carer - carer support services - promote the carers assessment.  

  • Provide a central point of access that would give relevant information to address financial social support, practical support, respite, health information (carers and the cared for) and support for getting back into employment.  

  • Adult practitioners and associated staff to receive training in the needs of carers, including their role as sign posters.  

  • Promote/provide service for people who provide emotional support to carers e.g., a buddy/befriending service 

Maternity Matters – Halton  

Thanks to people sharing their experiences of local maternity services Healthwatch Halton have been able to help commissioners with their plans to improve the local maternity pathway for women and their families. 

From December 2020 to February 2021, we gathered the experiences of local women who had given birth in the past 12-18 months. 132 women took part in an online survey and 10 gave more in depth details of their experiences.  

Our report highlighted positive aspects of local maternity services, with 78% of women feeling health professionals had been supportive during their pregnancy.  

There were some areas for improvement, including continuity of care, with 46% saying they had seen 4 or more midwives during pregnancy, while almost a third felt appointments were not always at convenient times and 27% did not feel listened to when they raised a concern.  

9 out of 10 women told us they had used maternity apps and the internet for support and information during pregnancy. Our report asked for further engagement with women over the use of apps and called for an 'approved' list of online information and advice.  

Halton CCG is currently leading on a project to improve the local maternity pathway and responded to our report and recommendations with a willingness to work with Healthwatch Halton on the development of the pathway.  

We would like to first of all thank Healthwatch Halton for taking the time to coordinate this piece of work, as we found it extremely useful and timely, with it coinciding with a project we are currently leading on to improve the local maternity pathway for woman and their families. Leigh Thompson Chief Commissioner NHS Halton CCG 

Elizabeth Learoyd, Managing Director of ECS said, “our work is driven by the belief that understanding local people’s experiences of health and care is key to providing effective support. A belief that is backed up by a considerable body of evidence through our research and reporting”. 

For more information, all ECS Healthwatch reports can be downloaded through these links:  

ECS