Student Engagement 2024

Our aims were to:

• Hear about young people’s voices about experiences of health and social care
• Raise awareness of Healthwatch East Sussex role in shaping better local health and care services
• Promote our volunteering opportunities

What we heard:

• Some students found services easy to access and use, while others had more negative experiences.
• Students also shared different ways healthcare services could better support them.
• Some students reported having to pay privately to access dental care.
• We heard a mix of experiences about students registering with a GP in the same area as their university.
• Students felt the cost of living was having a negative impact on their mental health. Some students told us how rising costs are causing them stress and financial worries.
• Some students found it difficult to book and attend appointments outside of their lessons because of the times that services operate.

Next Steps

1. Healthwatch East Sussex will attend further events and local venues across the county to hear from as many local people as possible.
2. We will share what we have heard with key partners and decision makers to make recommendations for improvements to health and care.
3.  We will use the learning from this activity to inform future engagement activity.
4. Healthwatch will continue to engage with young people across East Sussex , to ensure that young people’s voices are heard.

Tell Us Your Experiences

Please tell us your experiences of local health and care services via our Feedback Centre and let us know how this has been for you.

We want to hear if it has been good, bad or indifferent.

Help and support with Health and Care

If you need help or support related to health or care, then please contact our Information & Signposting Service via

0333 101 4007 or enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk