Resources for health and social care partners
Engaging with patients – a dos and don’ts guide for GP practices
Patients tell us that how they are communicated with can have a real impact on their experience with, and thoughts on, their general practice. Whether you’re asking for views on a proposed change, communicating a new process, or simply keeping patients updated, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
Our guide covers 5 key areas:
- Location
- Format
- Language
- Transparency
- Questions.
Engaging with patients – merger’s guide for GP practices
Patients tell us that changes to local GP practices – such as mergers, closures and boundary changes – are often a source of concern. This checklist has been developed to support commissioners and providers in ensuring appropriate engagement and communication occurs before, during and after such decisions are made. It sets out how Healthwatch Surrey would expect them to support patients during this time.
This guide has been produced by local Healthwatch in the South East: Healthwatch Kent Healthwatch East Sussex, Healthwatch West Sussex, Healthwatch Brighton & Hove, Healthwatch Medway and Healthwatch Surrey.
Downloads
Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funding - individual experiences of the process
A new report from the Nuffield Trust shines a light on the postcode lottery, “opaque” rules, and “financial cliff-edges” people face when accessing Continuing Healthcare (CHC, the fully funded package of care that some people over the age of 18 are entitled to receive due to disability, accident or illness). These concerns are mirrored in a new blog from Healthwatch Engand examining what people have shared about their experiences of accessing or trying to access CHC.
This reflects what we have been hearing in Surrey, over the last few months and years we’ve had an increasing number of people coming to us to share their frustrations, concerns and confusion around CHC. We spoke to 2 people, Maria and David, who have both received CHC funding, and have created a video providing insights in to how the process really feels to help our system partners to make improvements.
For members of the public, we have also created an information page on our website offering an overview of CHC and answering a few of the common questions we’d been asked and including a video with hints and tips from someone who has been through the process: Continuing Healthcare | Healthwatch Surrey.
Holding to Account Toolkit
Holding health and care services to account is a vital part of the role of local Healthwatch. The Integration White Paper (2022) sets out some of the ways health and care systems will draw on the resources and skills across the NHS and local government to better meet the needs of communities, reduce waiting lists and help level up healthcare across the country.
Healthwatch England wants to ensure that local Healthwatch have the information and skills they require to do this effectively. As local Healthwatch work independently, changes to the commissioning process may affect local accountability processes differently.
Healthwatch Surrey produced this toolkit to help each Healthwatch understand the local impact of developments in the system and our role in holding to account. The toolkit provides suggestions and examples for building relationships and facilitating collaboration across systems, at place and within neighbourhoods.
