You Said, We Did

Background

A member of the public brought to our attention that The Beacons were not part of the Red Bag Scheme due to them not being a permanent residency. The Red Bag Scheme allows a residents medical information and personal belongings to be transported to hospital in one bag. When a patient is then discharged, the information is updated and transported back with them. It's a simple change which is proving to have benefits for both patients and the NHS. It facilitates a smoother handover between care home, ambulance and hospital staff with fewer phone calls and follow-ups made by the hospital staff to care homes looking for health information about the resident.

What We Did

This was raised with the CCG and this has now been rectified and the Red Bag Scheme is operating within The Beacons.

Background

During our engagement within GP Practices, members of the public said to the Healthwatch Staff Team that they were unsure of the services that were on offer at their GP Practice. Patients were also unsure of the enhanced summary care records and the digital systems that allow you to book appointments and prescriptions.

What We Did

With this information we decided to put together GP Directories, for each GP Practice in the area, which would contain this information for patients. This information is available in hard copies in GP Practices and via our website.

You can view the directory for you GP by clicking here. 

Background

Throughout October and November, Healthwatch received feedback from patients who had suffered with sepsis. Neither patient had been identified early enough, which delayed treatment. Early identification is key with SEPSIS to ensure full recovery. 

What we did

Healthwatch have provided regular information about the signs and symptoms of SEPSIS via our social media, website and whilst out in the public.

Healthwatch hope that by raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of SEPSIS in adults and children, patients will know to ask the question “could it be sepsis?” and know what to do if they do identify the symptoms.

Healthwatch will continue to share information regularly on an ongoing basis.

Background 

Healthwatch received a significant amount of feedback regarding waiting times for patient transport. These issues were also witnessed by Healthwatch staff. The Care Quality Commission also inspected Thames Ambulance Service Ltd on the 23^rd October 2018 and gave an overall rating of ‘Inadequate when the report was published on the 13^th February 2019. 

What we did 

Healthwatch undertook a research project where we gathered feedback from patient who had used the service. We asked patients ten questions, including questions about the timeliness of the service, how they were communicated with, and how they found the process, among others. We also asked TASL staff a series of questions regarding training, equipment and safety procedures.
The report was completed abnd distributed to the relevant professionals, including those within the Clinical Commissioning Group and the Care Quality Commission. It is available to view ‘here’.