Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay (HWDPT) are the independent consumer champion for people using local health and social care services. Healthwatch listens to what people like about services and what could be improved and shares those views and experiences with those who have the power to make change happen.
We welcome the opportunity to respond to this year’s local account summary for Torbay and we are encouraged to see how the collaborative approach between the NHS, the local authority and the voluntary and community sector continues to strengthen and grow. This approach builds upon the joint response to meeting the needs of the most vulnerable within the local community through the pandemic, with the creation of the Community Helpline, which has gone on to become the heart of the new Community Hub for Torbay in Paignton Library, which is a fantastic example of partnership working and empowering communities to work together to support those in need within Torbay.
We commend the approach taken by Torbay Council and the Trust to work collaboratively with patients, carers and families, with support from Healthwatch Torbay, to develop the new adult social care strategy. The engagement process has provided considerable insight into what matters to people in terms of how they want to be supported. We are pleased to be working with Torbay Council and the Trust to ensure people’s voices are heard and that their experiences and ideas will be used to shape how services are planned and delivered going forward.
We look forward in the next year to working in partnership to gain more from feedback and engagement, providing evidence to further support the culture of learning from people’s experiences. We have developed effective channels for providing feedback to The Trust and the local authority and working together with stakeholders on the Adult Social Care Improvement Board, we will work closely with them in working towards the CQC assurance capabilities through CQC’s assessment framework for quality assurance. We will also continue to strengthen our relationship with the Quality, Assurance and Improvement Team (QAIT) to ensure people’s experiences of care are heard and where concerns are raised, these are acted on.
During this year we have heard from thousands of people who have shared their experiences in relation to health and social care. More specifically we have produced reports based on the experiences of unpaid carers and people’s experiences in relation to the cost of living and the impact it has had on people’s health and wellbeing. Our reports and evidence have been well received by the Trust and local authority and have provided key insights into how people are coping with and responding to the demands and pressures of everyday life, particularly when it has an impact on their health and wellbeing. Our evidence highlights the barriers that people face when they are seeking help or need support and together, we can help to identify and address these issues before people reach crisis.
Throughout this last year, the public has continued to appreciate the quality and commitment of our local NHS and social care workforce and has recognised the pressure that they all work under. Healthwatch Torbay continues to have a positive relationship with the Trust, where our role as critical friend remains strong and the Voice of local people is valued and acted on.
This Account clearly demonstrates the strength of integration across health and social care and the voluntary sector, with a primary intent to build resilience in populations and individuals and we are proud to be continue supporting this approach to ensure the public Voice is at the heart of service design, delivery and improvement throughout the coming year and beyond.
Pat Harris, Chief Executive Officer
Healthwatch Torbay
June 2023