News and reports

NHS dental services have been in the spotlight for a number of years throughout England and have recently received a lot of negative feedback. The main area of concern for people is a lack of access.

In 2019, a number of people who had been affected by suicide,
contacted Healthwatch Isle of Wight. We spoke to people who had
attempted to take their own life and their families and also to the families of people who had taken their own life.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this has been a difficult year for everyone including Healthwatch and our staff and volunteers.

2019-2020 was a challenging year in many ways. It was a year of consolidation and developing new priorities based upon what you were telling us, details of which are contained in this report.

Medical appointments as we knew them have dramatically changed as a result of Covid-19.

Healthwatch England commissioned the four Local Healthwatch organisations (Healthwatch Hampshire, Healthwatch Southampton, Healthwatch Portsmouth and Healthwatch Isle of Wight) to carry out a survey to understand people’s views of the Long Term Plan.

With a fast-moving response to COVID-19, real-time intelligence for services about the issues the public are facing is valuable.

What is extended access?
Extended access is the offer of pre-bookable appointments outside of the surgery’s core contractual hours. This could be either in the early morning, evening or at weekends.

2018-2019 has been no less challenging than previous ones and for the same fundamental reasons of increasing demand and inadequate resources; physical and financial.

This visit was arranged as part of an ongoing mental health work plan. The visit was designed to
look at experiences of people who spend time as inpatients on local mental health wards
either voluntarily or under sections of the Mental Health Act.

In October 2017 Healthwatch Isle of Wight staff and volunteers visited ten dementia-focussed community groups across the Island, including all the Alzheimer cafes. People were informed of discussion sessions to be held and were invited to take part.

In 2017 the IW Clinical Commissioning Group asked Healthwatch Isle of Wight to carry out a survey and engage with the public to find out what local people want and need regarding primary care.