Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of Healthwatch Leicestershire which presented their Annual Report 2019-20. A copy of the report, marked ‘Agenda Item 15’, is filed with these minutes.

The Committee welcomed to the meeting for this item Mukesh Barot, Deputy Manager, Healthwatch Leicestershire.

Arising from discussions the following points were noted:

(i)          Members welcomed the format of the report and the clear and simple way in which it was presented. However, members stated that given that Healthwatch was funded equally by Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council the report should give equal weighting to matters relating to both the City and the County. Over the previous few months Healthwatch had experienced staffing capacity issues in relation to the Leicestershire part of the organisation however the Deputy Manager would now be focusing on Leicestershire for the next two quarters to ensure Leicestershire received the appropriate level of coverage.

(ii)         Over the year Healthwatch had helped 351 people get the advice and information they needed, and members asked Healthwatch to consider how the number of people engaged with could be increased

(iii)       Members were of the view that the Annual Report did not reflect the full breadth of the valuable work carried out by Healthwatch and should contain a full list of the projects Healthwatch were involved in.

(iv)       Since the Covid-19 pandemic had begun Healthwatch had continued to carry out its work and had been taking part in meetings remotely. Unfortunately, Healthwatch was no longer able to carry out its Enter and View work, however, UHL had now provided patients with tablets/IPads and it was hoped these could be used to enable patients to give feedback to Healthwatch. Consideration was also being given to using hospital radio to enable patients and carers to call in and give their views on the health services being provided.

(v)        Healthwatch had become aware that many patients were being told by GP Practices that they were out of area and registered with the wrong GP Practice. Healthwatch had also received a large amount of feedback relating to patients struggling to access appointments at GP practices and long waiting times. A member raised concerns that whilst appointments could be booked online not all patients were able to use the internet. The lack of access to the internet meant that some patients missed out on more general messaging which was conducted online and therefore other methods of engaging with patients were required such as leaflets.

(vi)       Healthwatch were aware that some patients of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) origin could not read or write in their own language and so Healthwatch were carrying out work to establish the extent of this problem and establish what could be done to disseminate messages to these people. Members emphasised that BME patients resided in rural areas as well as inner city areas and therefore the work needed to be targeted at the whole of Leicester and Leicestershire.

(vii)      Healthwatch had been involved in a research project relating to mental health and urgent care. Healthwatch were hoping to raise awareness of the symptoms of not just major mental health conditions but of mild mental health issues which arose particularly in the context of the Covid-19 lockdown, and let people know where to go for help. A member welcomed this focus on mental health from Healthwatch but raised concerns that in tackling both minor and serious mental health conditions Healthwatch would be spreading their resources too thinly and needed to make sure that those with serious mental health conditions were the primary focus.

(viii)    Other priority areas for Healthwatch Leicestershire were patients with disabilities and those receiving domiciliary care. Healthwatch were interested in members’ views on how to engage with these types of patients. Members made Healthwatch aware of the County Council disability network.

RESOLVED:

That the Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire Annual Report 2019/20 be noted.