South East London Healthwatch Insights

This report summarises Healthwatch reports from January to March 2024 focusing on common issues in health services, such as challenges people face in maternity care, hospital discharge and ophthalmology services.

Communication and trust emerged as critical themes, emphasising respectful interactions between healthcare professionals and patients. Culturally sensitive practices especially for minority groups and those with communication challenges are crucial. The report highlights barriers to equitable healthcare access, including long wait times and language barriers. The report also highlights the need to improve access to mental health services to reduce stigma and improve outcomes.

Between October and December 2023, SELHW conducted extensive engagement with over 3000 individuals, including ethnic minorities, residents with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ individuals, to gather diverse perspectives on health services and on patients, their families and carers’ experiences.

The report shows varied feedback across services, highlighting positive experiences with dental care and community pharmacies, while identifying significant concerns related to access, communication issues, and administrative processes within GP and hospital services. Key challenges identified include prolonged waiting times, communication difficulties, and obstacles to access posed by digital platforms.

This Insight Report details significant community engagement efforts by SEL Healthwatch, with 13,047 people sharing their health and social care experiences and 24,207 people seeking advice. Over 2022-2023, Healthwatch published 76 reports, utilising 273 volunteers who contributed 974 days to collect experiences from community members.

The report focuses on seldom-heard communities, addressing issues in maternity care, mental health services, primary care access, and digital inclusivity. Feedback from July to September 2023, gathered from 3,585 people, highlighted the necessity of community input for service improvement. People highlighted positive experiences with the professionalism and attitudes of staff in healthcare settings but identified concerns with appointment availability, waiting times, and service hours.

The Southeast London Healthwatch Quarterly Insight Report (Oct-Dec 2022) highlights feedback from people and communities on health and social care services.

Key issues identified include difficulty accessing NHS dental services and GP appointments, with some residents resorting to private care due to long waiting times. Mixed reviews were received regarding hospital care, with praise for staff dedication but concerns over lengthy waiting times. Mental health services were also identified as a need with delays in accessing mental health care raised as an issue.

The Southeast London (SEL) Healthwatch Quarterly Insight report for April to June 2022 presents feedback from people and communities in Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark. Key issues include people’s experiences in accessing dental and GP services and highlights significant difficulties for minoritised communities and children. Pharmacy services faced criticism for staff attitudes and service inefficiencies. Hospital concerns centred on long waiting times, especially in A&E. Healthwatch saw increased calls about mental health services. The report also highlighted issues with vaccine status recording on the NHS app and challenges faced by housebound individuals to get COVID 19 booster vaccinations.

The Southeast London (SEL) Healthwatch Quarterly Insight Report for Q1 2022-2023 provides an overview of feedback received by Healthwatch about health and social care services from April to June 2022. The report highlights experiences of dentistry, pharmacy, GP, hospital, maternity, paediatric, and mental health services.

Key issues include difficulties accessing NHS dental care, unsatisfactory attitudes of some pharmacy and GP staff, long waiting times in hospitals, inadequate pain relief during childbirth, and insufficient mental health support. The report also highlights challenges in updating vaccine status and the need to improve services for people with autism and learning disabilities.

Healthwatch Greenwich, in partnership with the Woolwich Service Users Project, held a discussion group with nine homeless residents to understand their experiences with local health and care services. Barriers to accessing care were widespread, with many lacking documentations required for appointments, limited by low budgets, and hindered by fears related to immigration status. Without clear information on entitlements, some felt unable to access free care. Poor living conditions further impacted their physical and mental health, creating a cycle of deteriorating health. Many also reported stigma from services, which deterred them from seeking support. Community organisations played a crucial role in bridging these gaps, providing practical aid, advocacy, and guidance to improve immediate access to care and support long-term wellbeing for homeless residents and those in insecure housing.

To combat loneliness and social isolation locally, Healthwatch Greenwich (HWG) partnered with Live Well (CACT) to deliver a short-term befriending service for up to 15 residents from June to September 2024. Unlike other befriending initiatives,

this service was inclusive, accepting referrals from Live Well coaches for residents across all age groups, offering access for those in need of support. The service offered personalised companionship and assistance, designed to reduce feelings of isolation and promote mental well-being. Through a team of trained volunteers, HWG provided support in a variety of formats—including in-person visits, well-being calls, and online interactions—ensuring that residents could engage in ways that suited their preferences and circumstances.

In this report, Healthwatch Greenwich found that many potentially avoidable hospital admissions and discharge delays were influenced by social and environmental factors. A major issue was poor self-management of chronic conditions at home, which patients and families attributed to a lack of accessible support. Long waits for home modifications and suitable housing also delayed discharge, compounded by poor communication from hospital staff. The report highlights the need to increase awareness and accessibility of community resources, build trust by addressing cultural concerns, and simplify resource access for patients and families

This report highlights key challenges faced by patients navigating the transition between primary and secondary care within South East London. Major issues include communication breakdowns, delays in referrals, and fragmented care, leading to repeated tests, conflicting advice, and poor continuity in treatment. These issues often leave patients feeling unsupported, anxious, and burdened, especially those managing chronic conditions like diabetes, COPD, and post-myocardial infarction recovery. The report suggests that improved coordination and communication across care providers are essential to avoid delays, reduce patient stress, and enhance overall care quality.

This report feeds back on the unique challenges Trans and non-binary people face when accessing healthcare in comparison to the rest of the population. Through feedback gathered from 20 trans or non-binary individuals accessing care services in Lewisham, a range of positive and negative experiences were reported. These narratives highlighted shortcomings in attitudes, services, and systems, resulting in unmet needs for some participants.

In January 2023, Healthwatch Lambeth was commissioned by South East London Local Maternity and Neonatal Services (SEL LMNS) to talk to pregnant/ newly birthed women/birthing people about their experiences of using maternity services. The aim is to use the insight of seldom-asked communities to develop and improve maternity services. A total of 55 pregnant/newly birthed women/birthing people shared their experiences of maternity care through focus groups hosted and facilitated by local partner organisations, through individual interviews with Healthwatch Lambeth staff, and written feedback. Women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, refugees, migrants, and women with a learning disability shared their stories.

This report provides insights into the maternity care challenges for migrant and asylum-seeking women in south east London. Using a peer research model, the study found significant care variations and numerous barriers, including language issues, limited understanding of the healthcare system, inconsistent antenatal and postnatal care, and lack of culturally sensitive services.

This research project, based on experiences of over 65,000 people from October 2022 to September 2023, provides a comprehensive overview of 2023 health and social care services. It covers GP services, dental care, hospital discharge, elective care, social care, cancer, and mental health issues, along with the impact of societal changes like cost of living, accessibility, and technology. The report presents positive and negative feedback, focusing on issues affecting certain groups disproportionately.

The report evaluated surveys of 86 patients and 44 primary care professionals, and interviews with 16 social prescribing link workers (SPLWs). The report found positive impacts but also identified areas for improvement, such as increasing awareness in primary care networks (PCNs). The report offers 11 recommendations for the Southeast London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB), PCNs, and SPLWs, with a response from the SEL ICB.

This report examines the accessibility of health and social care services for Latin American communities in Southwark, using a written survey, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews. It details personal experiences that were gathered from 67 Latin American residents. The findings reveal that most respondents have encountered barriers to accessing healthcare, particularly primary care services such as GPs.

In response to these findings, a set of recommendations was developed to enhance access to health and social care services for Latin Americans in Southwark.

This report, conducted amid record NHS waiting times, the pandemic, and industrial action, investigates NHS care disruptions. Over two-thirds of those with cancelled or postponed care in 2023 faced significant negative effects, particularly disabled people, neurodivergent individuals, lower-income groups, and ethnic minorities. Unpaid carers and minority ethnic groups reported the worst impacts.

The report calls for improved information on cancellations, better support for affected individuals, and enhanced communication and administrative processes. Addressing the NHS pay dispute and systemic issues like staff burnout is essential for long-term care improvements.

Greenwich Healthwatch investigated contraception practices and awareness among adolescents under 18 years of age, focusing on their views and experiences with long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Although LARC is effective in preventing pregnancy, its use among young people in Greenwich is low. The research aims to help Greenwich Health improve service design and communication to boost LARC uptake.

Key findings include a preference for familiar methods like condoms and the pill over LARC, concerns about LARC's side effects and impact on personal agency, School education focusing mainly on condoms or the pill, and the influence of personal and social networks influenced LARC perceptions.

Healthwatch Bexley, Healthwatch Greenwich, and Healthwatch Lewisham, commissioned by Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, conducted an engagement initiative on outpatient department experiences, gathering insights from 998 people through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and case studies.

Key findings show a strong preference for appointment notifications via text, letter, or phone. While most received timely notice, late notifications were problematic for working patients. Communication varied, with some finding it easy to contact services, while others faced issues with poor phone access or unresponsive messages.

Most respondents found appointment information clear and venues easy to locate. Satisfaction was high regarding treatment explanations, results, and staff interactions. The report includes 12 recommendations to improve outpatient appointment experiences based on participant feedback.

Healthwatch Lewisham assessed the impact of digital exclusion when using health and care services, for older adults, non-native English speakers, and people with disabilities. Barriers included cost, limited accessibility, lack of support, and language issues. Forty-five residents were interviewed as part of the project.

Feedback on remote GP consultations varied: some found them convenient, while others were dissatisfied with care quality and comfort. People who participated in the research preferred face-to-face appointments, citing concerns about digital alternatives' effectiveness and inclusivity. Problems like difficulty reaching services by phone and long wait times added to their stress.

There was a preference for a hybrid model of in-person and remote consultations to address these accessibility challenges and meet diverse needs.

The pandemic highlighted the increased reliance on digital communication for staying connected and accessing health services and information. This report explores London Borough of Bexley residents' views on the rapid transition of charities, support services, and healthcare providers to digital formats during the pandemic, evaluating their ability to use these services and the support or exclusion experienced by those unable to access them.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, 14 women who gave birth at King's College Hospital between April 1st and November 5th, 2020, were interviewed. The research explored how the pandemic affected their experiences of maternity care. Interviews, conducted by phone or zoom, involved women aged 29 to 44 from four boroughs, with diverse birth experiences including vaginal deliveries and Caesarean sections.

Findings revealed varied experiences, including emotional strain from partners not being present and appreciation for healthcare staff's professionalism. Concerns included the pandemic's impact on mental health, especially for first-time mothers, and the need for more support for breastfeeding and postnatal care. Remote follow-ups often missed critical mental health cues, highlighting the need for improved support during and after hospital discharge.

This report outlines feedback, findings and recommendations on ophthalmology services available to residents of the London Borough of Bromley. Service users are generally satisfied with the range of services, although some negative experiences were reported. 

Concerns were raised regarding delays in the referral process, long waiting times, inefficiencies in the appointments system, and communication issues between services and patients, including by telephone. Additional issues highlighted include the information provided to patients, treatment choices, service provision for housebound residents, the role and availability of the Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS), and access for those with mobility issues or facing financial pressures due to travel costs. The report includes formal responses from key healthcare providers.