Your monthly Healthwatch Newsletter for June is out now!

Welcome to our June E-Bulletin!

Hello Residents

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham is your local health and social care champion. We make sure NHS leaders and other decision makers hear your voice. Whether you’ve had a good or bad experience, we can use your feedback to improve services for everyone and we have the power to make NHS leaders and other care providers listen to what you have to say.

You said, we did

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham are dedicated to championing the voice of local residents and we produce a number of reports each year on the issues that matter to local people. We will be releasing out annual report next month, so ahead of that we are taking a look back at some of our work over the past year.

Exploring the social prescribing service in Barking and Dagenham, with a focus on mental health support

We engaged with 54 local residents to assess awareness levels of social prescribing services in the local community and to explore the experiences of those who have used these services, identifying what is working well, and areas for improvement. Read the full report here.

Perceptions of access to social care within the South Asian Communities in Barking and Dagenham

Accessing social care services can present unique challenges related to culture, language, and religious beliefs for the South-Asian community in Barking and Dagenham. In response to these challenges, we conducted a comprehensive study to identify key issues and propose recommendations to improve access to social care for the South-Asian community. Read the full report here.

EHCP Pathways: The perspective of parents and carers in Barking and Dagenham

We engaged with over 70 parents and carers of children and young people with special needs on the effectiveness of their Educational, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Our report reveals that although there are examples of good practice and parental satisfaction, many parents feel let down by the system. Read the full report here.

For details of all of our reports, please take a look at the Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham website.

Do you have an experience or issue that we should be looking into? Contact the team at info@healthwatchbarkinganddagenham.co.uk

 

Your voice counts

Understanding Women’s Reproductive Health: A Call to Share your Experiences

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham are looking into women's experiences in Barking and Dagenham with reproductive and sexual health services.

We are inviting local women to share their experiences through our comprehensive survey. This survey covers various aspects of reproductive and sexual health, including periods, contraception and menopause, and aims to find out:

• Experiences with accessing medical support
• Satisfaction levels with healthcare interactions
• Impact of health issues on daily life and work
• Perceptions of healthcare professionals’ responsiveness
• Barriers faced in accessing healthcare services

In prioritising women’s reproductive health, we underscore the importance of inclusive, accessible, and high-quality healthcare services. Your participation in this survey is invaluable in shaping the future of women’s reproductive health services.

You can read more and fill out the survey here.

 

Exploring the Barriers to Bowel Cancer Screening: Your Insights

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham are looking into the barriers to bowel cancer screening in Barking and Dagenham.

We are inviting all people, all ages to share their thoughts and experiences through our comprehensive survey. This survey covers thoughts and feelings about bowel cancer, experiences with the kit, access to health services and more.

In line with NEL Cancer Alliance and NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, your participation in this survey is invaluable in raising awareness and strengthening the prevention of bowel cancer. 

You can read more here and fill out the survey here.

Patient choice: where can I have treatment

Did you know that in many cases you have the legal right to choose where you have your NHS treatment?

You can choose a hospital in your area or further away. You can choose from many private hospitals if they provide services to the NHS and it does not cost the NHS any more than a referral to a standard NHS hospital.

You can also choose a clinical team led by a consultant or named healthcare professional, as long as that team provides the treatment you require.

The benefits of choice

Choosing where to go for your care helps you make health and care decisions based on things that are important to you. This means:

• You could be seen sooner
• You could be seen closer to home 
• You could choose somewhere based on recommendations
• You could be seen somewhere close to family or friends

Find out in more detail about your choices here.

Local events and opportunities

Invitation to Learning Disability Listening and Learning event -
20 June 2024

Join the NELFT Learning Disability Strategic Project Team as they update service users, carers, and supporting staff about developments in services over the last year and ask them directly for their thoughts on the service.

This provides a unique opportunity to learn about our Learning Disability services and identify priority areas to improve on in the next year.

The event will be held on Thursday 20th June at City Gates Conference Centre, IG1 1BH (3rd floor conference room).
Lunch will be provided at 12pm and the event runs from 1-4pm.

You can find more information here.

What do you do in a crisis? NELFT survey

North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) and East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) are asking people across North East London to complete a survey to find out what services you use when you need help.

The purpose of this survey is to gather information about which services or support people most use or need during times of crisis. By understanding people's needs, they can develop more effective support systems and resources.
This survey consists of questions regarding your experiences, preferences, and what you find most helpful during a crisis and post-crisis.

Please take a few moments to answer the following questions by clicking here. Your responses will remain confidential and anonymous.
This survey will close on Friday 2 August 2024.

If you are experiencing difficulties at the moment, you can contact NHS 111, option 2.

 

Out and about

With our projects in Women's Reproductive Health, and Bowel Cancer Screening, you will be able to find us throughout the borough!

Here you can find a list of upcoming events—come along and join the fun!

If you would like your event to appear here, please get in touch with us.

News

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham ‘Who Knows?’ survey results

We, at Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham, believe it is only by listening to and understanding the people who use the services that we can drive change and use the feedback to hold these services accountable. But how can we know the effectiveness?

Each year we hold a survey to ensure constant improvement and to provide a good service delivery, aiming to find out:

• If people know who Healthwatch is and about our signposting service.
• If they have used our services before and what the outcome was
• How we can improve
• Areas of concern in health and social care which we should investigate.

This year, our main findings include:

• 75% of respondents had not heard of Healthwatch prior to taking the survey
• Of those that had heard of Healthwatch, 43% of respondents heard about us through a public event or information stand
• Those who had been involved with us greatly benefitted from our service
• 40% of respondents do not use social media, 31% of respondents use Instagram, compared to 23% for Facebook and 6% for Twitter.
• Respondents felt that we should focus on the following three areas of health and social care in the next year:
  • Mental health support
  • Access to healthcare services, including GPs and specialist care like diabetes and cancer services
  • Community support and resources, such as childcare services, speech therapy, and healthy living activities

You can read the full report here.

Look out for our 2024 survey, launching soon!

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham and the Big Help Out 2024

Last week was Volunteer’s Week, an annual event that recognises, celebrates and thanks the UK’s volunteers for all they contribute to our local communities, the voluntary sector, and society as a whole. The Big Help Out coincides with the week, this year took place from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th June.

The objective of The Big Help Out is to raise awareness of volunteering throughout the UK and provide opportunities for people to experience volunteering and make a difference in their communities.

Healthwatch Barking and Dagenham took part in the Big  Help Out with Sw!tch Futures, part of Lifeline Community Projects, who provide mentoring and positive activities for young people. We held an intergenerational event at a local care home for an enriching and rewarding experience for both age groups.

Young people aged between 13 and 18 enjoyed playing board games and chatting to the residents of the care home, and the visit was enjoyed by young and old alike.

We are grateful to all of the staff at George Brooker House for welcoming us, and want to say a big thank you to all the young people that gave their time to the visit!

You can find out more about the Big Help Out here.
 

NHS England Carers Week 2024
10 - 16th June

Carers Week is an annual awareness campaign to recognise the vital contribution made by the UK's 5.7 million carers.

This year the theme is  ‘Putting Carers on the Map' and NHS England Experience and Partnerships Team are hosting a week of webinars.

They are designed to share best practice, and provide opportunities for services to network and link, upscale work and share lessons learned.

Each day will have a specific focus too:

• Monday: Launching our latest Carers Week research
• Tuesday: Health and social care
• Wednesday: Work and employment
• Thursday: Younger carers
• Friday: Older carers
• Saturday: Mental health and wellbeing

You can find out more about the week on their official website here.

In Barking and Dagenham, the Carers Centre provide advice, information and support for people who care. They have been chosen as the Barking & Dagenham Mayor's Charity, enabling them raise funds to support Carers living in Barking & Dagenham.

You can find out more on their official website here.

World No Tobacco Day - Support

The 31st of May was World No Tobacco Day. Figures from LBBD show that the smoking prevalence in Barking and Dagenham is 20.4% which equates to approximately 35,337 smokers. This is high compared to the prevalence of smoking in London and England.

NELFT (North East London NHS Foundation Trust) supported World No Tobacco Day by sharing information on the benefits of stopping smoking, and support services to quit.

They highlighted how stopping smoking improves mental and physical health, and reduces the risks of smoking-related diseases in addition to protecting others from second-hand smoke.  You can read more about their work here.

It's never too late – because quitting will improve your health whatever your age and no matter how long you have smoked.

NHS 111 Option 2 for Mental Health has launched

NELFT (North East London NHS Foundation Trust) in collab with ELFT (East London NHS Foundation Trust) and partners across North East London (NEL) has introduced a ground-breaking initiative to enhance mental health support: the NHS 111 option 2 for mental health crises, ensuring round-the-clock access to assistance. 

Residents can now connect with a team of fully trained and qualified mental health professionals via NHS 111.

We posted a blog that details the initiative further that you can read here.