1. Report -

    In October 2023, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust’s (UHP) Royal Eye Infirmary (REI) service moved from its location at Derriford Hospital to a new purpose-built building in the International Business Park near to the Derriford Hospital Site. Earlier this year Healthwatch Plymouth (HWP) conducted visits to the REI to engage with patients around their experiences of the new facility. This engagement report collates and summarises this patient feedback.
  2. Report -

    On this page is our national partner Healthwatch England’s pharmacy closures briefing report, after they sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to all 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England to investigate the issue of pharmacy closures. Read a brief summary of the key findings and recommendations for healthcare leaders below.
  3. Report -

    Our national partner Healthwatch England’s report unpacks women’s experiences of cervical screening and sets our recommendations for healthcare leaders.

    A summary of the report is below. You can download the full report and a large print version further down this page.
  4. Report -

    Healthwatch England’s research unpacks people’s experiences of using Community Diagnostic Centres and lessons for expanding community-based care.
  5. Report -

    This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
  6. Report -

    This report describes the wide range of engagement, representation and impact undertaken by Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay in 12 months from April 2023 to March 2024. A brief summary is further down this page.
  7. Report -

    This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  8. Report -

    This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  9. Report -

    Our report on Patient Experiences of Pharmacy Services, detailing a total of 141 experiences about Pharmacy Services across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay during the 18-month period. Issues raised by those surveyed include medication delays and supply problems that affect the prescription/repeat prescription service, patients not knowing when their medications are ready for collection, and phone calls going unanswered. We have shared the report and its findings with NHS stakeholders in Devon and made key recommendations for them.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  10. Report -

    This report details our key Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  11. Report -

    In the Spring and Summer of 2023, independent consumer champion Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay (HWDPT) were commissioned by NHS Devon to visit Emergency Departments (EDs) across Devon’s four Acute Hospital sites to speak to patients to better understand what informed and influenced their decision to attend ED. 511 people conversed with HWDPT during 34 visits at various times and days, which included daytime, evenings and weekends.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  12. Report -

    Healthwatch England report examining ten key areas of care, including GPs, dentists, hospitals, and social care. It is based on more than 65 thousand experiences recorded from all local Healthwatch organisations across the country – including from us here at Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. It also includes recommendations and potential solutions for the NHSE, commissioners and service providers.
  13. Report -

    This report describes the wide range of engagement, representation and impact undertaken by Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay over the past year.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  14. Report -

    Healthwatch England recently published their findings and a set of immediate actions for the Government and the NHS, in relation to the cost of living and the detrimental impact it is having on people’s decisions about their own health and wellbeing.

    In light of these findings, we wanted to find out if the cost of living was having an impact on people in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay and if so, in what way.

    60 people responded to the survey and the survey ran throughout March to May 2023.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  15. Report -

    This report presents findings from our December 2022 to January 2023 survey on men’s health and the feedback shared by 132 local men.

    By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay
  16. Report -

    NHS and social care services only make the best decisions if they listen to the people they care for. Read our national partner Healthwatch England’s Annual Report to Parliament to see how your feedback has helped decision-makers prioritise what matters most.
  17. Report -

    This Healthwatch England briefing discusses people’s experiences of urgent and emergency care (UEC) services from December 2020 to August 2022.

    It mentions how Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay reported on four Emergency Departments across Devon in September 2021. At all four hospitals they found that people had gone to the emergency department because they could not access another service, such as the GP or NHS 111. In one visit to one of the emergency departments they found that over half (51%) of patients attending were there because they couldn’t see their GP.
  18. Report -

    In 2022, Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay held a series of meetings with the South West representative of the Royal Association for Deaf People to discuss various concerns that were being raised around access to British Sign Language (BSL) qualified interpreters. These concerns include:

    • Interpreters to support appointments in hospital and GP surgeries
    • Interpreters to support complaints process
    • Access to information
  19. Report -

    What people have told us about health and social care
    Find out in our quarterly Impact and Outcomes report how your feedback is helping NHS and social care services improve care in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.

    Each quarter you can find out:

    which services people are telling us about
    how people are feeling about health and care services
    how Healthwatch are making a difference to care in your part of Devon
    real life experiences people have shared through our website feedback centres
    how we have helped people get the information they need, and the difference that has made
    and how we are making a difference to our communities in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.

    You can download the report below for a details.
  20. Report -

    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.
  21. Report -

    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.
  22. Report -

    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.
  23. Report -

    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.
  24. Report -

    Healthwatch Plymouth were invited to a drop-in workshop with a group of women working with ‘Gifted Women’ – a charity for women who are rebuilding their lives after substance misuse, homelessness and contact with the criminal justice system – to learn more about their experiences with local health and social care services.
  25. Report -

    In October 2023, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust’s (UHP) Royal Eye Infirmary (REI) service moved from its location at Derriford Hospital to a new purpose-built building in the International Business Park near to the Derriford Hospital Site. Earlier this year Healthwatch Plymouth (HWP) conducted visits to the REI to engage with patients around their experiences of the new facility. This engagement report collates and summarises this patient feedback.
  26. Report -

    In May 2022, Healthwatch Plymouth were approached by the new provider of Mayflower Medical Group (MMG) to undertake a patient survey.

    The survey’s focus was to address long established patient concerns and frustrations in accessing GP services at the 5 surgeries that form MMG and to ask for suggestions on generally improving the service and in particular improving access.
  27. Report -

    Research from our national partners Healthwatch England has found that costs for additional services when visiting opticians are a barrier to care for people on low incomes.
  28. Report -

    Our latest quarterly impact report is now available to read, which details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, case studies, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
  29. Report -

    The impact ADHD has on people’s lives can be profound and can be spread across multiple areas of their life. Healthwatch England's new report highlights these impacts and the changes they are calling for to ensure everyone gets the support they need.