Evidence based reports

As care homes across the country closed their doors to visitors to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading to residents and staff, residents and their friends and families were suddenly disconnected and unable to see each other. Three Healthwatch Sunderland volunteers have looked at how our care homes in Sunderland have utilised social media platforms as one way to interact and stay connected with friends, families and the wider community during this time.

This short document outlines what our volunteers found and shares some of the good practice they noted.

Download our care home use of social media report

Published 19/11/2020

General health and wellbeing

This report covers the views of those individuals who responded to our survey which looked at people’s general experiences of using health and social care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download our General health & wellbeing report - July 2020

We have also developed a summary of this report

Download our summary report

Published 11/08/2020

Responses from service providers

We have received the following responses to our report:

Download the response from All Together Better - 27 October 2020

Download the response from Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group - 28 September 2020

Download the response from Public Health, Sunderland City Council - 6th October 2020

In addition to our main General health and wellbeing report we produced mini reports which focused on certain areas or individuals experiences during the pandemic. These are titled;

• Keeping yourself well
• Use of North East Ambulance Service
• Shielded versus general population
• Mental health and wellbeing

Download our Keeping yourself well report - July 2020

Download our Use of North East Ambulance Service report - July 2020

Download our Shielded verses general population report - July 2020

Download our Mental health and wellbeing report - July 2020

Published 24/08/2020

We are pleased to share with you our newly published Sunderland GP Extended Access Service Evaluation report.

This report looks at access to GP services across Sunderland with a focus on evaluating the GP Extended Access Service. This is a service that involves GP practices across Sunderland working together to provide routine appointments for patients in the evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

Download our Sunderland GP Extended Access Service Evaluation Report

The Sunderland GP Alliance have responded the following to the report:

The GP Extended Access Service continuously looks to improve the service we provide to the patients of Sunderland and patient feedback helps us to do this.  Working with Healthwatch Sunderland has given us a valuable insight into the experience of our patients and from the report Healthwatch has produced we plan to work on the following areas:

• Work with our partners in General Practice & Sunderland CCG to improve patient’s awareness of The Extended Access Service
• During appointments, make sure our patients are given information about The Extended Access Service to help them to use it again in the future
• Work with our partners in General Practice & NHS 111 to make booking an appointment with us easier for patients
• Help receptionists direct patients to the services they may need
• Give patients at each of our five ‘Hubs’ information on local pharmacies that are open

Published 09/06/2020

Healthwatch Sunderland have undertaken visits to each Care Home in Sunderland during 2019 and published reports on every Care Home to help ease the decision making of 'which home do I choose?'  You can see those full reports under the section
Care Home Life – What It's really Like!

In early 2020, our Engagement Team undertook a review of all the Care Home Life Reports and identified good practice in each one. Read the report below which highlights that good practice. This document has been shared with commissioners and service providers, helping provide ideas to enable residents living in care homes to live their best life.

Download our Care Home Life Good Practice report

Published 01/06/2020

Here at Healthwatch Sunderland, we continually strive to improve and update our working practices.  So after our 'Care Home Life - What it's really like' visits during 2018 and 2019 were completed in the city's 47 care homes, we felt it was the appropriate time to reflect on the process.

To aid this process we invited the management of each individual care home to give their feedback via a survey on the overall experience and how it could possibly be improved for the next cycle of visits. You can see what they told us in the full report below.

We have updated our working practices where appropriate and will resume our third year of visits just as soon as practical.

Download our Evaluation of Care Home Life Work report

Published: 29/05/2020

The All Together Better team at Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) asked us to support their Wheelchair Services Review.

We asked wheelchair users what was important to them, and provided the CCG with their feedback to help shape the new service.

Download our wheelchair services report

Published: 19/05/2020

We are pleased to share with you our newly published Sunderland Recovery College Evaluation Report.

After a request from representatives at the NHS (who part fund the College), the Healthwatch Team carried out an evaluation of the College during the months of September - October 2019. This involved us working in partnership with staff at the College and speaking with students about their experiences. 

Overall students are very happy with the College and the courses they have attended and we received many positive comments;

The full report is now available to view - please follow the link below.

Download our Sunderland Recovery College Evaluation report

Published: 10/12/2019

The merger of Victoria Medical Practice, Dr Thomas and Dr Bhatt & Dr Benn resulted in the newly formed New Washington Medical Group.  In November 2018 our engagement team and volunteers visited the practice to ask patients "how are things going since the merger?"

Download our New Washington Medical Group report - November 2018

In November 2017, Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group, wrote to all patients of 
Dr Nathan's GP surgery and Dr Bhate & Dr Hussein's GP surgery, to advise that following 
Dr Nathan's retirement in March 2018, the two surgeries would be merging.

From Monday 2nd April 2018 the surgeries, based at Riverview Health Centre, became known as Dr Bhate and Partners.

Six months after the merger, we wanted to find out how things were going from a patients perspective, and this report details feedback we received from patients during 4 separate visits to the practice.

Download our Dr Bhate & Partners patient feedback report - October 2018

Following some mixed feedback received about the Sunderland GP Alliance Medical Practice telephone system over a period of several months, the Healthwatch Sunderland Board agreed that further engagement work would be carried out with patients.

This involved using a specifically designed survey to be used with patients from 3 practices (Barmston Medical Centre, Pennywell Medical centre, The Galleries) to find out specific information on what was working well and what wasn't working so well.

This was carried out across all 3 GP practices during the month of July 2018.

Download our GP Alliance Medical Practice Telephone System report

Download the response from the GP Alliance

Download the GP Alliance Practices Monthly Performance & Information Report - June 2018

Download the GP Alliance Practices Monthly Performance & Information Report - July 2018

Initial conversations with some service users of Sunderland Care and Support, Community Equipment Services (CES) included negative feedback about the service and highlighted some issues they had experienced. This feedback was gathered over the first few months of 2017 and involved engagement work with the following organisations: Sunderland Carers Groups in Washington, Southwick and Pallion, Stroke Association groups, Alzheimer's Society groups, Kepier Medical Practice Patient Participation Group and South Hylton Medical Centre Patient Participation Group.

The feedback gathered prompted a larger piece of work, looking at Sunderland Community Equipment Services and accessing more focused feedback from their service users and equipment prescribers.

Download the updated response from Philip Foster, Chief Operating Officer from Sunderland Care and Suport - November 2018

Download the response from Philip Foster, Chief Operating Officer from Sunderland Care and Support - August 2018 

Download our Sunderland Community Equipment Services report - June 2018

A Patient Participation Group (PPG) is a local group of patients, carers and GP practice staff who meet to discuss practice issues and patient experience to improve the service at your GP practice.

Download our Patient Participation Group report

Download our involving young people leaflet

Download our Patient Participation Group Best Practice Guide

If you are interested in joining your PPG please get in touch with your GP practice - they would love to hear from you!

During 2016 Healthwatch Sunderland carried out a series of engagement activities across Sunderland with the aim of gathering current patients, carers and staff views on NHS funded mental health provison.

The findings from this piece of work can be found in the report along with the associated recommendations.

If you want a copy of this report please contact the Healthwatch Sunderland office on 0191 514 7145

Healthwatch Sunderland held an event for Practice staff and Patient group members to discuss and agree the key things to have an effective PPG.

If you want a copy of this report please contact the Healthwatch Sunderland office on 0191 514 7145

Healthwatch Sunderland was keen to ensure that the local refugee community was given a voice regarding the health and social care services that they access (or don’t access) in Sunderland.

If you want a copy of this report please contact the Healthwatch Sunderland office on 0191 514 7145

The primary outcome of the work of Healthwatch and Sunderland People First was to feedback a range of Stakeholder opinions into the national consultation and this was achieved. Our secondary aim was to provide a report, with an emphasis upon people's views on the Sunderland experience that could be shared with local commissioners and providers.

If you want a copy of this report please contact the Healthwatch Sunderland office on 0191 514 7145

Engagement carried out by Healthwatch staff during autumn of 2013 indicated that there were some concerns over hospital discharge, elderly hospital care and dementia identification.

If you want a copy of this report please contact the Healthwatch Sunderland office on 0191 514 7145