How has coronavirus affected your healthcare experience in Northamptonshire?

Healthwatch Northamptonsire wants to hear how people have rated their healthcare services during the pandemic
Healthwatch want to hear about people's experiencesHealthwatch want to hear about people's experiences
Healthwatch want to hear about people's experiences

The county’s health watchdog has launched a survey to find out how patients are rating healthcare services during the pandemic.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of temporary changes have been made to health and care services across Northamptonshire in order to delay the spread of the virus.

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And now Healthwatch Northamptonshire wants to hear about people’s experiences from booking GP appointments, to treatment and operation delays and whether they have seen changes in home visiting services from social care workers or community nurses. The survey also asks how much of an impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on people’s mental wellbeing and whether they have been able to get help with this.

Dr Joanne Watt says the changes can help the health service be the best it can be.Dr Joanne Watt says the changes can help the health service be the best it can be.
Dr Joanne Watt says the changes can help the health service be the best it can be.

Both of the county’s acute hospitals have been dealing with significant numbers of Covid-19 patients and have had to reorganise their services to cope with the demands on intensive care.

Healthwatch Northamptonshire chairman David Jones said: “In this difficult time, it is all the more important that people’s experiences are still heard. With so much about how health and care is delivered changing, and having to adapt quickly, it is especially important that things that are not working well, and those that are, are highlighted to help services deliver the quality of care they want to.

“Please let us know about your experience of care at this time. It is essential that we hear from as many local people as possible to inform and shape our services for the future. Please do take some time to complete the survey and ask your friends and family to do the same. We will share this with the service providers to help them to continue to deliver good quality care at this time.”

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Dr Jo Watt, GP chair at Northamptonshire CCG, said: “We are here to listen so please do take part in the survey and share your experiences of local health and social care services. Patient feedback is essential to help us to understand which services have improved during this time and identify those that are more difficult to use. We know that the use of technology has changed the way we use services and would like to know how you feel about it. Your feedback enables our local health services to make sure we keep the changes that you value and use your experience to make improvements to services as needed. Together we can make future services the best they can possibly be.”

Healthwatch Northamptonshire is also making the survey available offline and is keen to work with community groups and organisations who can help those they work with share their views, especially if they are not online. People are asked to contact the organisation on [email protected] or 0300 002 0010.

People can also use this email address to send any confidential comments about healthcare services.