‘You Said – We Did’ October 2024

Our activity in October 2024 included:

You Said:

We heard from an individual who was shocked to receive a large bill for home care, arranged when they were discharged from hospital, as no costs had been fully discussed with them.

We Did:

We provided information on how to raise their complaint with ESCC ASC complaints and feedback team, and shared contact details for Care for the Carers, who can offer support and advice to carers in East Sussex.

You Said:

We heard from a patient who paid privately for a white filling at the dentist, but after the treatment became concerned the filling may not have been necessary.

We Did:

We advised the enquirer they could request a copy of the dental practice’s complaints policy if they wish to complain. We also shared a copy of the HWES dentistry guide which sets out patient rights and to whom concerns may be raised.

You Said:

We heard from an individual concerned that the current wait time for a hearing test was identified as 60 weeks. They described the impact this delay is having on their ability to live a normal life.

We Did:

We shared information on the right to choose, so they can explore if other providers have shorter wait times and they can be referred to them instead and offered complaints advice in case they wished to make a formal complaint.

You Said:

Several individuals contacted us due to the shift to digital access of GP services. Their concerns included inequality to access, barriers to face to face appointments and worries over data protection and patient confidentiality.

We Did:

We informed the individuals about modern general practice which outlines the national drive towards GPs optimising contact channels and provided information on how to share feedback on services with Sussex ICB and CQC.

Our Contributions and Interventions

• We gathered insight received from several enquiries regarding the Right to Choose which highlighted issues around communication and consistency of information.We collated these experiences into a short report and shared it with colleagues at NHS Sussex, ESCC and Healthwatch England to make them aware of these themes. We also supported individuals with their queries about the Right to Choose, liaising with NHS Sussex to ensure they got accurate and timely information.
• We attended a stakeholder meeting hosted by the Sanctuary, a community drop-in for migrants in Eastbourne, and heard about the barrier’s migrants’ experience accessing antenatal care, due to the self-referral process requiring the patient to complete an online form in English. We are helping Sanctuary build links with the antenatal team to raise awareness of this issue and to enable better access.
• We commented on the draft Patient and Public Involvement Strategy developed by South East Ambulance Service (SECAmb) NHS Foundation Trust which will guide how they will gather and respond to people’s views. We made suggestions, including: more detail on how feedback informs change and examples publicised when this occurs; clarity on how the strategy will be monitored; and ensuring a range of methods are used to ensure a wide range of people are heard from.
• We shared feedback with NHS Sussex we had received about people’s experiences of All Age Continuing Care (AACC). We highlighted concerns we’d heard about a lack of timely communication between services, patients and carers, barriers in accessing medical supplies and a lack of clarity on how to share feedback or raise complaints about AACC, care providers and other services.

Tell us your experiences of local health and care services

We always want to hear the experiences of local people when they use health and care services.

You can share your experience by leaving a review on our Feedback Centre at any time and tell us how things were for you. What was good and what could be improved?

You can also share your experience or seek further support with health and care enquiries from our Information & Signposting service via:

Email: Enquiries@healthwatcheastsussex.co.uk

Telephone: 0333 101 4007 Monday – Friday (10am-2pm)