Agenda item

A director of Healthwatch Havering presented the organisation’s annual report for 2018/19. Healthwatch currently had approximately 15 volunteers with more volunteers going through training. More than 600 services users, carers and relatives had shared their views on health and social care services with Healthwatch throughout the year. Some 25 enter and view reports had been completed covering hospitals, GPs and nursing & residential homes. This was particularly important given the large number of care homes within Havering. All enter and view reports were published on the Healthwatch Havering website.

It was agreed that the Healthwatch Havering report on the enter & view visit to the reception and triage areas of A & E at Queen’s Hospital should be brought to the next meeting of the Sub-Committee.

The Healthwatch Havering report into Vision Services had been published in June 2018 and the Hospital’s Trust had acknowledged the shortcomings in these services that had been identified by the report. Healthwatch recommendations in these areas had also been implemented in other areas of London. This had included the computerisation of the eye care records system at the Hospitals’ Trust (BHRUT) in order to ensure details of new patients with vision difficulties were passed on to social care. BHRUT had also agreed to the reintroduction on an eye clinic liaison officer to be based at Queen’s.

Healthwatch felt that the optical unit at Queen’s was not big enough and this made it impractical to accept help from the Sight Action Group. It was hoped this could be revisited if the unit was to be expanded in the future.

Healthwatch Havering was funded principally by monies from the council’s adult social care budget and the level of this had been unchanged since 2013. Small amounts of additional income were derived from e.g. work commissioned by the Clinical Commissioning Group. The existing Healthwatch contract ran until 2024 and volunteers were involved in all levels of the management of the organisation.

Any safeguarding concerns arising from enter and view visits to care homes were raised with the Council’s social care teams. Healthwatch work would now be focussed on premises with a good or outstanding Care Quality Commission rating which was now several years old.

A Member would give the Healthwatch director details of recent problems he had witnessed at A & E at Queen’s including patients on occasion being seen in the waiting area, rather than in cubicles. It was acknowledged that A & E staff were now more aware of the red card system used to give treatment priority to chemotherapy patients.

Healthwatch recommendations were monitored via action plans in the case of Council or NHS premises or by follow up visits to care homes etc. Healthwatch had only a limited social media presence due to a lack of personnel to maintain this.

Officers reiterated that concerns on any social care issues should be raised with the appropriate social care officers in order that responses or reassurance could be given.

Healthwatch chose which premises to visit based in part on Care Quality Commission reports and sometimes on proposed services changes e.g. work on cancer services.

It was agreed that the Council’s communications department should be asked to give publicity to Healthwatch’s work via Living in Havering magazine. A Member raised the issue of access to emergency dental services and it was suggested that these were available from the Royal London Hospital. Social care may be able to assist with an Oyster card etc if the person was in financial difficulties.

The Sub-Committee noted the annual report and confirmed its recommendation that publicity be given to Healthwatch Havering via Living in Havering magazine.