Findings from the Healthwatch Wandsworth Assembly – 25 March 2021

What we were told

Communication and information were key themes to come out of the discussion groups. This was in relation to information about health and social care services as well as opportunities to get involved in patient and public involvement.

Many people relied on the Government and NHS websites as sources of information throughout the pandemic. Other sources included newspapers, local newsletters and social media. Patient engagement by SW London CCG have been very active in reaching out to different community groups with information about COVID-19, particularly the vaccine programme. These relationships can be built on to help raise awareness of patient involvement opportunities for the public.

GP surgeries have played a key role as both an information source as well as a healthcare service in the last year. It was suggested that GPs can do more to establish themselves as information hubs such as using their websites and social media to share information as well as utilizing GP Patient Groups.

Digital platforms continue to be one of the main routes of communication between patients and health and social care services. While many see this as an efficient method, this is not suitable for everyone and a variety of communication methods need to be used in order to tackle digital exclusion.

The hospital discharge system has had to adapt in light of the increased admissions during the pandemic. This has shifted to one approach across organisations. Patients and relatives are asked to feedback on their experiences to help shape the system in the future.