Recent Projects

Healthwatch North and west Northamptonshire and Healthwatch Rutland teamed up to listen to people’s experiences of using the service over two days – the 11th February and 17^th February 2023.

Three volunteers and a member of staff from Healthwatch North and West Northamptonshire and Healthwatch Rutland visited the CUCC. The visits were at the request of CUCC as part of their commitment to engage with, and get feedback from, members of the public as part of their programme of continuous improvement.

They engaged with 38 people in total, 24 people in person and 14 people through an online survey in Rutland and Northamptonshire.

The majority of people they spoke to during the visits and who responded to the online survey were ‘walk-in’ patients rather than having a pre-booked appointment.

Overall patients were very satisfied with the service received, with 79% of people from the survey rating their overall experience at the centre as ‘very good’.

Healthwatch North and West Northamptonshire were asked by Change Grow Live, a substance support and solution organisation, to engage with service users and gather a better understanding of their experiences. Change Grow Live or CGL is an organisation that aspires and is committed to delivering services that make a real difference to people’s lives and the communities they serve. Their work focuses on rehabilitation and support for those individuals who are struggling with substance dependency. Change Grow Live services include programmes such as Substance to Solution, Drug and Alcohol Service, and a Resettlement Service.

Healthwatch employees carried out 2 focus groups to engage with users of the service and gathered their feedback on the care they were provided, and to elaborate about their views of care regarding substance misuse.

They gathered experiences from 94 users of the service and formulated a report using their findings.

A spokesperson from Change Grow Live said “It was great to work with Healthwatch on this project and we are reviewing how we provide additional support, exploring extended opening hours, accessibility via our digital offer, and using technology to provide alternative ways for people to access our support”. And, Kate Holt, CEO of Healthwatch said “It was a great project to work on. Service users welcomed our interaction and spoke to us quite openly about their struggles with substance misuse and the support that CGL offers them to cope with their issues”.

Healthwatch North and West Northamptonshire’s 2022-2023 Annual Report is a showcase of the work we completed throughout the last financial year.

This report is a comprehensive summary which highlights the key actions and projects they completed throughout the last financial year. This report gives insight into their yearly priorities and is a showcase of their impacts on the community, with a critical focus on ensuring that the public’s voice is championed.

Healthwatch Rutland’s work over the past year has focused on ensuring that the public and patient voice is championed in the development of health and social care services to meet the needs of the Rutland community.

An important part of their work this year has been helping people who approached them for advice and guidance or to give feedback on services. They have listened to people’s concerns and shared them with decision makers.

Their Annual Report highlights the key actions and projects they completed throughout the last financial year and how they’ve made a difference. It is a showcase of their impacts on the community and how they have continued to collaborate with partners in health and social care to ensure they listen to your views as they shape services for the future.

To read the report

Volunteers from Healthwatch North and West Northamptonshire visited Northampton and Kettering General Hospital’s A&E departments unannounced, using their statutory power to conduct Enter and View visits on 31st January 2023.

The hospital’s were informed prior to the visits that it would be taking place and by whom but did not know the date or time of the visit before it happened.

The volunteers spoke to patients at about their experiences of the service, from the parking and waiting times, to the care they were provided.

These reports, written by our volunteers, are a snapshot of the hospital’s A&E departments on the day, along with the teams’ recommendations to improve the patient experience locally. It is not a comment on the situation nationally, Government policy or the need for additional resources in Emergency Departments across the country.

Read the reports:

Healthwatch North and West Northamptonshire created a short survey to ask the public their views on what was working and what could be improved to enhance the accessibility of GP services in the county.

Over recent months the pressure on the NHS, including General Practice, has been unprecedented as services continue to manage the constraints of the pandemic and the high demand from patients requiring health interventions.

There are frequently times where the demand for appointments has been more than the capacity available, and this can be frustrating for patients, carers and staff. Patients often struggle to contact their GP due to the demand for appointments.

In response to the issues raised, we created a short survey to grasp the views of the public.

This survey was completed by 266 people in Northamptonshire who told us about their experiences, from accessing appointments, to the care they were provided. Along with the issues raised there were also some very positive comments about the patient experience.

To read the report: