News and reports

By Max Popham, Healthwatch Somerset Youth Engagement Officer

By Max Popham, Healthwatch Somerset Youth Engagement Officer

We have announced the areas we will investigate this year, to make sure that local people’s views and experiences are used to drive and support improvements in local services.

We want to know what people think about the care they have received from Somerset’s District Nursing Service, to help the service develop and improve how it cares for local people.

A joint report released today by a group of local Healthwatch in the South West, shows that although the NHS 111 service in Somerset and Devon is rated highly by the public, there are inconsistencies in the quality of the service.

What’s it like being a young person using health, social care and wellbeing services in Somerset, and what changes do young people want to see?

Our new report out today reveals local people’s experiences of health and social care during the first six months of COVID-19.

A new public survey has been launched to find out more about local people’s experiences of using the NHS 111 service in the region.

Today we have published four reports about care homes in Somerset – three reporting on the quality of care in Somerset care homes prior to COVID-19 from a residents perspective, and a fourth looking at the challenges faced by care home staff during the pandemic.

By Tanya Camberwell, Healthwatch Somerset Engagement Officer

We have joined local and national health and care organisations calling on Somerset residents to give feedback about their care during coronavirus (COVID-19) to help services reflect, recover, and improve.

Over the last year, more than 1,400 people shared their views on the county’s health and social care services with us, helping to make care better for local people.