News and reports

Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay (HWDPT) were asked by the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to assist in running focus groups, to find out how elective care waiting lists have impacted patients and how people would like these waiting lists to be addressed.

Every patient on a waiting list for medical care (who had provided an email address and consented to being contacted) was invited by the CCG to register for an online focus group. Invites were also sent via the Devon Virtual Voices Panel, and through the Healthwatch Assist network. Eight virtual focus groups were held via Zoom between 9 March and 8 April 2022.

You can download the report below for full details.

Here is our Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay Annual Report for 2022, containing all of our statutory activities from April 2021 to March 2022 and more.

A review of patient feedback received around services in Plymouth has recently been conducted and it was noted that there had been consistent feedback around access to CAMHS services during the Covid pandemic, most of it negative.

To better understand the issues being raised, it was decided by the Healthwatch Plymouth Steering Group to conduct further research in the form of a survey aimed at parents who had accessed Children’s and Young People services since 1 April 2020.

Confused about Long Covid? Find out the common symptoms and how to get support.

Do you know about your rights to language support in NHS settings?

This Patient Experience Summary covers the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.

This summary will focus on the feedback raised in Plymouth. The data for Torbay and Devon for the last 12 months is not sufficient to draw conclusions or observations, but issues raised have been similar. When looking at the Plymouth data specifically and comparing the amount of feedback received since 1 April 2018, we have seen an increase year on year.

People with high blood pressure are increasingly being asked to monitor their condition at home. Find out what people think of using technology to keep tabs on their health and how they think the NHS can improve support.

Take a look at our advice article on the organisations and groups that can support you if you’re grieving.

Health issues unfortunately don't leave us alone at the weekend and people are often in need of medical assistance out of hours. Using NHS guidelines, we have provided some advice and information on where you can go for help when your GP is closed.

Building on previous pieces of work on the NHS 111 services provided by Devon Doctors in Devon and Somerset, Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay (HWDPT) and Healthwatch Somerset (HWS) worked together to find out whether people’s experiences with the 111 service had improved or changed since the previous research was carried out.

This report highlights our key findings and detailed responses.

The Accessible Information Standard is mandatory for all organisations that provide National Health Service (NHS) or adult social care.

Do you or a loved one need help with social care? Read the article below and find out answers to key questions about who can access adult social care and how to pay for it.