People in Somerset are being urged to give their views on using the county’s 111 non-emergency phone line. There’s just over two weeks left to take part in the survey we are running as the county’s independent health and care champion. [Survey now closed] Over 500 people have already taken part, sharing their experiences of using the 111 service with our staff and volunteers at events held across the county this summer. We will discuss the findings of the survey – to be published 1 October – with Somerset Clinical Commissioning group (who commission the 111 service in the county). The meeting will address how the issues raised by the public can be tackled during the development of the new Integrated Urgent Care Service that is due to launch in early 2019. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the NHS 111 non-emergency phone line in Somerset as ‘requires improvement for being safe and effective’. Our survey aims to capture the patient voice to ensure their views are taken into account. Emily Taylor, Manager at Healthwatch Somerset , said: “We are really pleased with the number of people who have shared their experiences of the 111 service with us so far, but we are keen to capture even more views before the survey closes at the end of August. “We feel that we are undertaking this piece of work at a critical point in time. We have seen no evidence that patient feedback is being collected about the service and therefore the views of the users are not being considered in decision making. “Going forward, we want to be in a position to let Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group know where the issues are and actively encourage changes to be made.” We have a seat on the Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group’s Governing Body and will monitor any actions taken following the survey.

People in Somerset are being asked to share how they access information, support and advice when they are ill, looking after someone or finding it difficult to manage living at home, to help shape local services going forward. We are the county’s independent health and social care champion, and want to find out if the county’s health and care services are doing enough to help people get timely, effective advice and support when their health and wellbeing is at risk. A short online questionnaire has been created for people to take part in and share their views and experiences. Our staff and volunteers will also host focus groups and visit a variety of settings across the county to listen to the general public and note their experiences. Pip Cannons, strategic commissioner for adult social care at Somerset County Council, said: “Somerset County Council and Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group are developing a new neighbourhood approach to health and care that aims to strengthen individual and community resilience and wellbeing and help people stay as independent as possible for as long as possible in their own home and community. “We hope the information Healthwatch Somerset collects will help make changes across the whole health and care system to ensure that access to information and support is in the right time, place and proportionate to people’s needs. “We would encourage as many people as possible to take part in this research and help make information and support better for all those who need it or may do in the future.” The survey will run until Sunday 15 September and the findings from the engagement will go into a report to help inform the teams at Somerset County Council and Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group on ways to develop community support services. Our final report will be presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board later this year.

Hundreds of people in Somerset have shared their views on how to improve NHS health services in the county. Quicker and easier access to GPs; active involvement in decisions about their own health; earlier referral to specialist care and access to more help closer to home, were the top four things people in Somerset would like to see improved. Their views were shared as part of Healthwatch Somerset’s  What Would You Do?  campaign and the findings are revealed in a report published today. More than 260 residents, patients and their families took part in  What Would You do?  activities, which launched in March to encourage people in the county to share their views about how extra money from the Government should be spent on local NHS services. The public were asked to give their views about how local services could improve, and to share ideas about the NHS can help people live healthier lives and take more control of their care. The report also reveals people would like: Better data sharing between NHS organisations both within the county and externally (as many people go out of county to access care and treatment). Better use of, and more support from the system for existing community resources such as, volunteers and village agents and more affordable home care so that people can stay in their own homes for longer. For hospitals to better consider the needs of those with disabilities. Better support for those with mental health issues and more non-statutory options to help maintain wellbeing such as, exercise and cookery classes. More specialist community-based support and advice for those with long-term conditions. More community transport options to help those people in the more rural areas, to get to GP and hospital appointments. More support and assistance for unpaid carers and in particular those supporting someone at the end of their life. More free places to exercise such as, swimming pools and gyms and better, high quality information around diet as well as easier access to healthy and affordable foods. Better infrastructure such as, cycle paths and better street lighting to help people exercise and stay healthy more safely. Emily Taylor, Manager at Healthwatch Somerset said: “The Government is investing an additional £20 billion a year in the NHS as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. We were asked to help find out what local people thought was the best way for the NHS in Somerset to invest in the right services as part of this plan. “It was wonderful to listen to so many people keen to make a difference in our local NHS. These views are all in the report and we will now monitor how the local NHS responds.” Local man Steve Sharples , who has been battling cancer for over 50 years, shared his views about local NHS services. He told us: “None of my treatment for cancer could be improved, neither surgery or care or hospital. This was excellent! “However, looking at how the NHS Long Term Plan can be implemented locally, I would like to see out of hospital care improved. I think that in many cases if the patient has had an operation or his condition is such that they can be treated and cared for at home, it can improve the healing rate to be back home as soon as possible. “Health services should ask patients what they want and if possible, give it to them. For example, my brother recently died from cancer and in his final days, he requested to die at home. “This was arranged, and a bed and the other things were delivered to his home and set up for him. A few days later he died as he wished at home with his children around him.” Patrick Flaherty, Senior Responsible Officer for the Somerset STP , commented: “The NHS in Somerset and Somerset County Council are committed to hearing the voice of Somerset residents as we plan our future services. I am very grateful to our friends at Healthwatch Somerset for sharing this piece of work with us. “Our goal has to be to support residents to live healthier, for longer, and wherever possible to care for people at home, in their community; and to avoiding people falling in to medical or health related crisis. The findings of the What would you do? campaign are fascinating and will be used to help design services and we commit to working with Healthwatch and our residents further as our plans evolve.”

This report details engagement work we carried out around the NHS Long Term Plan. Part one of the report summarises the work and its findings. The second part of the report provides detail on the work done and what people told us both through the national survey and during our visits to local groups, events and organisations. Read our report If you need this report in a different format, please email info@healthwatchsomerset.co.uk or call 0800 999 1286.

Parents of young children still prefer to ask their health visitor or GP surgery for health advice and support rather than go to Facebook or consult their Red Book – according to the findings of our survey published today. More than 440 people with children under the age of five shared their views and experiences about Somerset’s health visiting service with us, the county’s independent health and care champion. Around 60 per cent of those who took part in the survey said they accessed information about their child’s health and development through their health visiting service and GP surgery staff (58%). The next popular point of call was friends and family (54%), followed by looking in the NHS Red Book (48%) and Facebook (40%). One first-time mum from Bridgwater said: “I have sought reassurance several times from the health visiting team and every time I have received excellent responses from them.” However, some parents found it difficult to get appointments or reach drop-in clinics, so would like more information from the health visiting service. One parent of a toddler from Frome said: “It would be nice if there was enough easily accessible and accurate advice readily available. However, too often I’m left with Google which can be confusing, outdated or inaccurate.” Another from Langport said: “The only time we came into contact with the health visiting team was when I took my baby to the clinic to be weighed. We have to travel eight miles to clinic which is not really at a convenient time for us and only twice a month. Several times I made the effort to go and it had been cancelled, just with a note on the door.” The findings have now been published in our new report which will help to inform the Health Visiting Service team at Somerset County Council on ways to develop services in the county. Our findings have also been presented to the Health and Wellbeing Board and will be shared with the Children’s Trust Board later this year. The report also reveals: Two thirds of people were satisfied, or extremely satisfied with the level of support they received from the health visiting service. Breastfeeding support was mentioned most frequently as being a helpful source of support offered by the service. A meaningful number of people reported that key contact points were missed or delayed (10%) and that ongoing communication with families did not meet people’s expectations (7%). People would like to see more drop-in clinics and groups that are both accessible and flexible to meet the needs of families. 21% of people told us that they would like to access information about the health and development of their child at local groups. Moving house, premature births, postnatal depression and tongue tie were things that were mentioned several times as having an impact on the experience of the family with the health visiting service. Emily Taylor, Healthwatch Somerset Manager , said: “This report shows that families still really value the work of health visitors and rely on them for advice and support when raising their young children. “The main issues raised by parents included the communication from health visiting staff and access to drop-in clinics. All our findings will now be presented to the team at Somerset County Council who have taken over responsibility for the health visiting service.  We hope that the public view will help to shape and improve the service moving forward and we will be closely monitoring this.” Somerset’s health visiting service was transferred to Somerset County Council in April this year, six months after an announcement was made that the GetSet services, which provide further support to young children and their families, would be cut across the county. We approached the council to work together on this project to ensure the public voice was taken into account for future planning of the services. A spokesperson for Somerset County Council said: “We welcome the findings from Healthwatch’s report on Somerset’s Health Visiting Service. It’s great to hear many of the respondents were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the service. The Health Visitor Service transferred to Somerset County Council from Somerset Partnership earlier this year. We will review the report and continue to work with families, our health colleagues and staff to continue to provide a quality service for parents and families with children under five.” Case study A family who moved from Scotland to Somerset share their mixed experience of the county’s health visiting service First-time parents Amber and her husband David moved to Somerset from Edinburgh in the autumn of 2017. David was offered a permanent position with Somerset County Council and the family moved for job security. They initially lived in Taunton for 16 months, before moving to Minehead with their toddler son. Here, Amber (pictured right), 44, describes her mixed experience of the health visiting team in Somerset. “Our experience of the health visiting service in Taunton was not brilliant.  I had to chase up the GP practice to get their number, when initial registration with the practice wasn't followed up. Our son was just one years old and we felt it was important to meet the health visitor to support us in a brand new area of the country, and as still relatively new parents. “Eventually the GP surgery arranged for an initial home visit which was fine, and we received literature about clinics and toddler groups. We went along to a clinic, when our son was 15 months old, to have him weighed and just get to know the service. The building was difficult to access/navigate to the clinic from the upstairs building entrance. After waiting and having weighing done, there were no facilities to dispose of nappies. In a childcare clinic! We were told to take them home. “The staff were adequate, did the weighing, but strongly discouraged us from returning again. They told us they did not need or want to see the child until he was two years old, and we could weigh at home using domestic scales and subtract parent weight if holding child. Not exactly welcoming or what we were used to in Scotland.” Two-year check delayed “We expected to have a review appointment at the actual time when our child turned two, but only found out that this was not the case through initiating contact ourselves or through conversation with other parents. It's a bit unsettling when you haven't had any formal contact since the age of one, and a whole year of life and developments, potential missed milestones pass without any routine checks. “And then the age two review can be very late, even as much as six months after their 2nd birthday. And no automatic communication from the team in advance to indicate when it might be taking place. We actually know of families who never even had the review appointment at all! We had to phone them about it, and partly motivated by our house move. Other families may just be trusting and waiting for a letter. “This area might be not be a top priority for them, but in terms of monitoring child development, or ensuring early intervention with any problems, or just reassurance for parents, it could be improved an awful lot.” A move to Minehead with better support “Our health visitor experience in Minehead has been much more positive. After registering with the GP surgery in new area, the health visitor team called and arranged an initial meeting.  We went along and they were friendly and helpful. “The lady was very helpful.  She took an interest in myself and saw that I was quite isolated and a stay-at-home parent, with no nearby relatives or friends for a support network, and our discussion allowed her to identify certain pressures and stresses I was experiencing, both from two recent moves, life changes and other issues. “She referred me on to the Home Start support service. This was both refreshing as a parent, and the first time I had felt truly supported by the service in our unique circumstances. I was very pleased with this.” Amber’s advice to other parents “I would always recommend other families to try the health visitors for support with relevant issues. Certainly, those in the Minehead area.  But would caution them to chase things up and go to other sources if they didn't get responses or help. You can’t just sit and wait or trust that things are happening properly if you are kept waiting too long. “I think new families to the area should receive a consistent response from health visiting services wherever they are living in Somerset. Families need to be reassured that they are in the radar and that their children matter. They will be supported if they need to be. Services too patchy or different in different areas.” Amber’s suggestion for improvements It would be nice to see a dedicated and obvious Health Visitor notice board in each GP surgery, with a dedicated phone line. A weekly health visitor drop-in clinic at surgeries. A visible presence at events for families in the area.

More than 1,800 people have shared their views on the county’s GP surgeries, hospitals and social care over the last year with us – helping to shape and improve those services for all. 1,816 people – more than ever before – shared their views of local health and care. The most popular services to be commented on were GP surgeries, mental health, cancer, musculoskeletal health, children’s health and older people’s health. We now set out our priorities for year ahead based on these findings. Our latest Impact Report, published today, highlights how we have worked with communities across the county to make a difference to the way health and care services are run. Based on the feedback from the public and information from 26 strategic meetings over the last year, we will now focus our work around access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services; access to Primary Care appointments such as GPs and the availability of community support. The year in numbers We heard from 1,816 people who shared their views. The top services receiving comments were primary care, mental health, cancer, children’s health and older people’s health. Our team visited 9 services and 98 community events to understand people’s experiences of health and care. As a result,19 recommendations were made for improvement and 13 were adopted by services. Our dedicated team of 42 volunteers gave up 1280 hours of their time to help carry out engagement work. And more than 150 people accessed heath advice and support thanks to being pointed in the right direction by us. How your views have made a difference Last summer, we listened to the views of over 650 people on the area’s NHS non-emergency phone line. A report, which highlighted issues raised by members of the public and included recommendations for improvement, was presented to Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group to help in the procurement of the new Integrated Urgent Care service. New feedback gathered by us on the county’s Adult Safeguarding service will be used to improve it for the future. The Somerset Adults Safeguarding service, which protects an adult’s right to live free from abuse and neglect, dealt with 1,830 concerns in 2017/18 but only received feedback from six people. Somerset County Council, who run the service, approached Healthwatch Somerset to help develop a new way of improving the service using the voice of the people who use it. And in March this year, we went on our Campervan & Comments Tour, hiring a classic VW campervan to travel 260 miles across the county to gather the views of people from all corners of Somerset. Access to GP appointments was raised regularly and as a result has been made a priority for our work in 2019/20. Emily Taylor, Healthwatch Somerset Manager, added: “The Campervan and Comments tour was a real highlight for us this year. We were able to use our independence to creatively reach people that had never heard about us before and listen to their views. “Many of our conversations were about access to primary care, and it was clear that whilst there is disparity across Somerset, more could be done to help people access these services. “People also talked to us about the challenges many young people have accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health services. For those young people that do not meet the tier 3 criteria, support in Somerset is not meeting their needs. And through our engagement on the NHS Long Term Plan we have heard that people want to be supported to live in their home for as long as they can. Therefore, we have made these issues our three priorities for the coming year.” We will now meet with key stakeholders involved with these services to better understand the challenges and identify how the public voice can help to shape services in Somerset. Emily concluded: “I want to say a huge thank you to our volunteers and to everyone who has shared their views with us. Everyone’s health and care story is vital to the work we do.”

We will be celebrating the difference volunteers make to the local community during this year’s Volunteers’ Week, which runs from 1-7 June. Our volunteers and staff will be attending Engage’s Volunteers Award ceremony on Friday 7 June at Halsway Manor, Near Crowcombe, to mark the occasion. More than 42 volunteers currently offer their time to us, helping in various roles such from community engagement to attending meetings, participating in campaigns and surveys, collecting patient experiences and feedback, attending volunteer training events, taking part in our Enter & View programme and distributing promotional materials across the county. Over the past year these dedicated volunteers have contributed a fantastic 1,415.5 hours of their time. Julie Draper, Healthwatch Somerset Volunteer Officer , said: “Our volunteers are amazing, and this Volunteer’s Week gives us a chance to thank them publicly for all the work they do. “It’s thanks to volunteers that we are able to get out and about in the communities and listen to the views and experiences of so many on local health and social care services. “We are always looking for more volunteers and would love to hear from people, whatever their background, to fill one of our voluntary roles. People can make a real difference to their communities and help to shape their local health and social care services.” Hilary Bartrum from Burnham-on-Sea is a Healthwatch Somerset volunteer. She said: “I find volunteering with Healthwatch Somerset gives me a great opportunity to help support a fantastic team whose main aim is engaging with people from all walks of life, to listen to and feedback their experiences without bias, with the aim of improving the services for all. I would love to see an improvement in access and a move towards a more joined up approach to providing both health and social care services." Another volunteer, Rwth Hunt from Minehead , added: “Volunteering with Healthwatch is effortless, and congenial. I have met really interesting people in Healthwatch.  We should be celebrating local services and improving travel options to the centres of excellence.” Bridgwater man Alan Kitch says he volunteers for Healthwatch Somerset to help improve the NHS. He said: “We all depend on the NHS, and Healthwatch is there to help the NHS. We can help the NHS appreciate the public's point of view. We can give them some idea of what the public would like to see done, or, alternatively, not done. Those working in the NHS are so busy that they often have no chance to find out the public's point of view.  So by helping them appreciate that point of view Healthwatch is helping the NHS.” All our volunteers go through a full training and personal development programme.  They are given a comprehensive volunteer handbook and welcome pack, as well as having access to an online volunteer portal with up to date policies and procedures.  Out of pocket expenses are also reimbursed.

Local people share their views about how they want local health services to improve. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has shared their feedback with us about the local implementation of the NHS Long Term Plan. We’ve been speaking to people throughout Somerset about how they would like to see the changes set out in the NHS Long Term Plan implemented. The plan sets out a number of ways in which NHS care needs to improve, so local communities took the opportunity to have their say about what those changes should look like – both in person and via an online survey. We’ve been to places such as Bridgwater Hospital, Frome Cattle Market, West Mendip Hospital, Richard Huish College in Taunton and Shepton Mallet market. We will now share this feedback with local services to inform how the Long Term Plan is implemented in Somerset. What did people say? We asked people to share their views about how the NHS can better support their overall health, and how it can improve care for specific conditions too. People spoke to us about how the NHS can give them more control of their care, help them to stay healthy, and provide better support.  They also shared their views about how the NHS can better support people affected by cancer, dementia, mental health, heart and lung conditions, learning disabilities and autism. Healthwatch Somerset volunteer June Barnes said: “Most people seem to have real difficulty in accessing their GP practice for appointments.  This needs feeding into the NHS Long Term Plan as a matter of urgency.” We also ran focus groups in Highbridge, Dulverton and Langport that allowed people to discuss what is good about NHS services in Somerset and what could be improved. Mary, who lives in South Somerset and attended one of our focus groups told us that: “As an older person I feel scared and vulnerable that the safety net of access into primary care isn’t there anymore.” Mary would like to see more support offered by NHS England to GP surgeries, especially with the recruitment of medical staff. We will be collating feedback such as Mary’s into a report and sharing this with Healthwatch England and other partners in early Summer.

Health and social services should openly talk about end of life care and the wishes of patients – says Healthwatch Somerset volunteer Steve. Steve, from Long Load near Somerton, is encouraging others to give feedback about end of life care to Healthwatch Somerset as part of Dying Matters awareness week (13-19 May * ). His own brother Geoff had a positive experience with end of life care and Steve thinks this should be modelled across the county. He said: “In his final days, Geoff requested to die at home. This was arranged, and a bed and the other things were delivered to his home and set up for him. A few days later he died as he wished at home with his children around him.” Steve’s brother Geoff was the middle of three children and after leaving school he served in their father’s regiment – the Scots Guards – and then spent the majority of his army life in and around Surrey. While in the army he met Shirley, a hairdresser who was to become his wife and the mother of Jackie and Paul their two children. Long before his army contract was up he bought himself out and moved to Preston, his home town. After working in the building industry for a while he went to work for British Leyland as a security guard until he retired. Sadly, Shirley died from cancer in the 1990s. Steve said: “Geoff was the heart and soul of the party and was a member of many ex service groups and local Masonic Lodges. As he grew older his health deteriorated, he walked with a stick and travelled around on a mobility scooter. He also lived basically in two rooms of his house. He once explained to me that he couldn’t climb the stairs, so he had a bathroom built onto his living room. “He was a very secretive person and didn’t tell anyone what kind of illness he had but it is understood that he had more than one form of cancer. His family rallied round him and his granddaughter came to live with him and take care of him. “About a week before he died, I received a telephone call from his son, Paul, who told me that his dad had cancer and only about a week to live. Geoff hated hospitals and didn’t want to die in one, he wanted to die at home with his two children with him as he passed away. “Preston Royal Infirmary pulled out all the stops to comply with his wishes. On the following Monday a hospital bed and all the things that went with it was delivered to his home and at 6pm that night Geoff was in the bed in his own home with his children gathered around him. “Five days later as the doctors had predicted Geoff died holding the hands off his two children.” Emily Taylor, Healthwatch Somerset Manager , said: “We appreciate end of life care can be a hard subject to talk about, which is why any insight patients and relatives can give will help make services better for others in the future. “People like Steve’s brother Geoff often receive excellent end of life care.  Healthwatch Somerset is here to listen to the views of local people on health and social care services whether that’s good or not so good, so we can present these views to the decision-making organisations in the county which have the power to make change happen.”

New feedback gathered by us on the county’s Adult Safeguarding service will be used to improve it for the future. Better communication through the safeguarding process and clearer information on staying safe in the future were just some of the recommendations made by families, carers and those who have been using the Somerset Adult Safeguarding service. The Somerset Adults Safeguarding service, which protects an adult’s right to live free from abuse and neglect, dealt with 1,830 concerns in 2017/18 but only received feedback from six people. Somerset County Council, who run the service, approached us to help develop a new way of improving the service using the voice of the people who use it. Emily Taylor, Healthwatch Somerset Manager, said: “We worked closely with the Adult Safeguarding Team to design a questionnaire and considered an approach that would be effective but also deliverable by the team going forward. “Our volunteers contacted people who had been through the safeguarding process.  Several respondents said that they did not always know what was happening throughout the enquiry and that they were not being asked their opinion on what they wanted to happen. “We recommend key questions are asked and recorded throughout the enquiry. This would help to check people’s understanding of what’s happening and their feelings about their level of involvement in the enquiry.” Emily continued: “Half of respondents said that they either didn’t get any information or would have liked more information about staying safe in the future. We recommend that key agencies review the information made available to adults at risk and their advocates about how to stay safe.” A spokesperson for Somerset Adult Safeguarding Service added: “As a service we thank Healthwatch Somerset for their support and enthusiasm in their undertaking of this pilot, the findings have far exceeded our original expectations. “We will actively work towards enhancing service user engagement into the safeguarding process to ensure their voice is heard.”

One man shares his views about how NHS services where he lives should change. A man from Somerset who has been battling cancer for over 50 years believes people who rely on public transport to get to health services are at a serious disadvantage in the county. Steve Sharples, who lives near Somerton, was first diagnosed with bladder cancer 50 years ago. After treatment he was cured until two years ago when the bladder cancer came back. He has also had skin cancer and problems with his lymph nodes. 77-year-old Steve said: “I have had plenty of first-hand experience of health services both here in Somerset and also in the West Midlands where I previously lived. “I can still drive but people living in more rural areas of Somerset who have to rely on public transport to get them to hospital, are at a serious disadvantage. “For example, I live in a small village called Long Load and there is no public transport as such. The patient would have to do one of two things – firstly rely on friends to take them to hospital or order and pay for a ‘Nippy’ bus to take them to Martock at a cost of £1 each way and then wait for a connection from Martock to Yeovil Hospital. “For the return journey, the patient would have to ring the Nippy bus and ensure that it will be in Martock when the bus from Yeovil arrives, as the duration of waiting and treatment time is unpredictable.” The NHS Long Term plan includes a variety of ways in which support across the country can be improved, including how services can give people greater control over their care. Steve is sharing his views to inform how changes set out in the NHS Long Term Plan will be implemented where he lives. You now have the opportunity to share your views about what would make care better for your community. [Survey closed 30 April 2019] Healthwatch Somerset volunteer Steve, who is married to Barbara with two sons and two grandchildren, found the cancer had come back after a routine check-up at his new GP surgery in Somerset. He explained: “As part of the registration process, a urine sample was taken and this came back with blood traces which later led to the discovery of a growth in my bladder. I was shocked the cancer had returned, but on reflection I had been here before and won – this time I could and did win again. “On each occasion when I was given the news of cancer, I was reassured that the condition was treatable and very likely curable.” Steve is now on a three-month watch list for his skin cancer and a 12-month recall for the bladder cancer. He is now actively involved in volunteering for health-related organisations and is encouraging others in the community to share their views on the NHS Long Term Plan. He said: “None of my treatment for cancer could be improved, neither surgery or care or hospital. This was excellent!  However, looking at how the NHS Long Term Plan can be implemented locally, I would like to see out of hospital care improved. I think that in many cases if the patient has had an operation or his condition is such that they can be treated and cared for at home, it can improve the healing rate to be back home as soon as possible. “Health services should ask patients what they want and if possible, give it to them. For example, my brother recently died from cancer and in his final days, he requested to die at home. “This was arranged, and a bed and the other things were delivered to his home and set up for him. A few days later he died as he wished at home with his children around him.”

Our roadshow, which travelled almost 260 miles around Somerset to find out the views of local people on health and care services, has finished a seven-day tour with more than 400 views collected. Our staff and volunteers took to the roads in a classic 1969 VW campervan and parked up at various locations around the county to gather the views and experiences of people of all ages on health and social care services. The Campervan & Comments Tour, which was organised to reach people who may not have heard of Healthwatch Somerset before, visited 18 key locations all over Somerset. The most popular topic of conversation centred around accessing local GP surgeries with mixed views across the county. Arthur from Wellington is happy with his GP surgery. He said: “I have been a patient at my surgery for 60 years. I get regular appointments and I am well looked after. I am really happy with the service.” Healthwatch Somerset volunteer Dermot helped out on the tour. He said “I thoroughly enjoyed my first volunteering opportunity with Healthwatch Somerset as part of the Campervan van engagement tour. I found it rewarding to hear all the stories from Somerset residents with an overwhelming positive view of the NHS. “The views collected varied from good GP services and good hospital care, through to frustration with the administration and the time from diagnosis to treatment. I found that I broadened my view of peoples experience and that by just listening I was better able to ask about people’s experience of the NHS.” Reflecting on the tour, Healthwatch Somerset Manager Emily Taylor added: “A lot of people told us how much they valued and appreciated NHS services, although access to Primary Care was an issue that came up again and again. “Less people shared experiences of social care so it is harder to identify trends, but we will be reviewing all the feedback and ensuring that these are shared with the delivery and commissioning organisations. We will also be using it to inform our priorities for our 2019/2020 Workplan.” The findings of the roadshow will now be complied into a report which will be shared with the decision-making organisations in Somerset – those that pay for and plan for health and care services in the county.