1. Advice and Information -

    People have told us they can have problems registering with a GP. This article explains more about your rights and what do to if you are refused the right to register.
  2. Report -

    Healthwatch Isle of Wight visited 5 local GP practices during December 2013 and January 2014. The visits were part of Healthwatch Isle of Wights workplan for the year following a prioritisation exercise with the public.
  3. Report -

    The difficulties in communicating with health and social care professionals was identified as an issue on the Isle of Wight in 2013.
  4. Report -

    As part of the wider complaints workplan, Healthwatch Isle of Wights Enter and View Panel visited a sample of local GP surgeries to ascertain the accessibility of their complaints processes.
  5. Report -

    Following on from the Enter and View visits to a sample of GP surgeries to look at the accessibility of complaints processes, an analysis of each Isle of Wight GP practice website was undertaken, looking at complaints procedure information.
  6. Report -

    Healthwatch Isle of Wight carried out a survey about the experiences of people who had used cancer services over the previous two years. The survey took place in December 2015 and 220 people participated.
  7. Report -

    Over the past 18 months Healthwatch Isle of Wight has received increasing amounts of feedback relating to long waiting times and difficulties in accessing GP appointments.
  8. Report -

    In 2016/17 cancer services were again identified by Healthwatch Isle of Wight as a topic for special attention. In mid-2017 people were invited to take part in a survey if they had used cancer services since January 2016.
  9. Report -

    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.
  10. Report -

    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.
  11. News -

    Our new report on cancer services highlights issues with travel, support and coordination alongside praise
  12. Response -

    Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion for health and social care services. We welcome the fact that the Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group has put their draft Primary Care Strategy out for public consultation.
  13. News -

    Over the past 18 months Healthwatch Isle of Wight has received increasing amounts of feedback relating to long waiting times and difficulties in accessing GP appointments.
  14. News -

    Do you need to see a healthcare professional but struggle to attend during the day?
  15. Advice and Information -

    Primary care is changing. You may have heard the term Primary Care Network recently and be unsure what this means. Healthwatch Isle of Wight have created a patient guide to Primary Care Networks to explain what changes this may mean for you.
  16. Advice and Information -

    Are you looking to register with a GP?
    Below is a list of all the practices on the Isle of Wight
  17. Report -

    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.
  18. Report -

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

    Healthwatch Isle of Wight is reaching out to Island communities to hear from people directly about their experiences of accessing primary care and would particularly like to hear about people’s recent experiences after June this year.
  20. Report -

    Like many organisations, general practice needed to adapt quickly as our country went into lockdown and respond to new ways of working such as offering video and telephone consultations. Some people have told us that these new ways of accessing GP services have
    worked well for them, allowing them to save time and get the help they need, quickly. But for others it’s been more difficult, time consuming and frustrating trying to access support when they need it.
  21. Advice and Information -

    Do you look after a family member, friend or friend who needs extra help due to an illness, frailty, disability, or mental health issue?
    If the answer is yes, you may be considered an unpaid carer.

    If your GP knows you are a carer they can provide you with support, advice & information.
    You are also entitled to a free flu jab.

    Psease see the toolkit below for information you may find useful as an unpaid carer.
  22. Advice and Information -

    We know from our conversations with the public that some patients report feeling rushed during appointments and struggling to make themselves heard. Here are some tips that could help you get the most out of visiting your GP.
  23. Report -

    Last year over 900 experiences of health and social care services were shared with Healthwatch Isle of Wight by members of the public.
  24. Report -

    Last year Healthwatch Isle of Wight undertook visits to 46 local services.
  25. Report -

    Over 450 people have received information, advice or signposting from Healthwatch Isle of Wight in the past year.
  26. Report -

    This year Healthwatch Isle of Wight's 'Mate Crime' film was presented at the Royal College of Medicine Conference in November 2017 and has been viewed over 1000 times.
  27. Response -

    When is poor care not poor care?
  28. Response -

     New report highlights issues of the quality of care on the Isle of Wight.
  29. News -

     As previously reported by Healthwatch Isle of Wight many people considering complaining about a hospital, care home or GP practice, find the procedures both complicated and frustrating.
  30. News -

    As previously reported by Healthwatch Isle of Wight, many people considering complaining about a hospital, care home of GP practice, find the procedures both complicated and frustrating.
  31. News -

    Healthwatch Isle of Wight's Maternity Review discovers more positive experiences than negatives but there are improvements still to be made.
  32. News -

    Healthwatch Isle of Wight have been working with Carers IW to identify and improve the support that is offered to unpaid carers on the Isle of Wight. This was a priority area chosen by the public during a prioritisation consultation.
  33. News -

    When Community Mental Health was identified as a Healthwatch Isle of Wight workplan topic, targeted engagement work began. This took place, to find out more about people's experience of mental health services.
  34. News -

    Nominated against tough competition from across England in the 'Engagement in Service Improvement' category, we came out top for our work improving the quality of care in local nursing and residential care homes.
  35. News -

    Back in 2015 we found that complaints procedures at the IW NHS Trust needed large scale improvements. This mirrored the findings of the Care Quality Commission in 2014.
  36. News -

    We have been contacted by numerous people with concerns about the future of Childrens Autism diagnostic services.
  37. News -

    An Isle of Wight film produced by Utility Films and Healthwatch Isle of Wight in collaboration with people with a learning disability will be presented at the Royal Society of Medicine Conference on the 20th November.
  38. News -

    Our Empowering Engagement event that we hosted in March is the first of its kind on the Island.
  39. Report -

    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.
  40. Report -

    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.
  41. Report -

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

    Throughout this very difficult year we have continued listening to the
    experiences of islanders on the full range of health and social care services.
  43. News -

    Every year, Healthwatch Isle of Wight looks at five health and social care services/topics in depth, highlighting people’s experiences of this service, looking at what is working well and what needs to be improved.
  44. News -

    The health and social care landscape has changed a lot in ten years, but thanks to you taking the time to share your story with Healthwatch Isle of Wight, we've been able to champion your voice to help improve care.
  45. Report -

    Every year we ask people on the Isle of Wight to complete our prioritisation survey, the top three services/topics chosen by the public then become our priorities for the forthcoming year.
  46. Report -

    The last year has been difficult for everyone, including the providers of health and social care services, as the process of recovery after COVID developed.
  47. News -

    Public health and care champion Healthwatch Isle of Wight has a new name at the helm after eight years of dedicated service draws to a close for its former chairman.

    Bob Pitts, currently a Non-Executive Director at Healthwatch Isle of Wight has taken over the role of chairman from Chris Orchin who has held the post since 2015.