Find out what the people using our services think of them.
Measures from the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework 2023-24 – a national survey that compares adult social care service user satisfaction shows that:
We work with service users, carers, and providers to develop our commissioning strategies, which is a vital part of planning for the future. We also require care providers to engage with their service users and their carers to ensure they meet their clients' expectations and understand the needs of future and potential customers.
Over the coming years, the increased use of personal budgets and direct payments will lead to more people making their own arrangements for care and support. Commissioners and service providers must understand what people are looking for and offer choice and new ways of meeting clients' needs.
Effective service user engagement needs to take account of the views of carers. A carer is someone who helps another person, usually a relative or friend, in their day-to-day life. This is not the same as someone who provides care professionally or through a voluntary organisation. The 2021 census showed that just over 15,000 unpaid carers in Torbay, 3.9% of carers, provide 50 hours or more of care per week. As of March 2025, 5,764 unpaid carers are identified on the Torbay register. More than 32,000 people across Torbay and South Devon support a friend or relative. They may help with shopping or meals, attend appointments with them, or just ensure they are alright. They may be an older couple who do things for each other, a parent carer, or a young carer. They may not see themselves as ‘carer’ or know about the support available to them.
Commissioners and service providers recognise that carers are essential and that there is value in actively supporting and working in partnership with them to get the best outcomes for them and the person they care for. Find more information on support for carers.
Carers are understandably anxious about future changes, especially given the limitations of existing support services. Carers have identified several priorities, e.g. contracts for short stays (often known as ‘respite care’) and enhanced carer support. Some potential solutions they have suggested, such as direct payment promotion or IT solutions, have already been committed to. They also require innovative solutions to the needs of the carer and the person they care for, such as flexible day or night care or ‘on demand’ contracts.
We work with a number of groups and partnerships that hold regular meetings involving a range of people, such as service users, their carers, commissioners and providers. In many cases, these involve independent ‘umbrella groups’ and voluntary sector organisations, which can offer providers opportunities to engage with service users. Some of these groups include:
These forums provide opportunities for service users and carers to share their experiences of using services and to work with commissioners and providers to improve quality or develop new provision.
It is important that providers treat service users and carers as equal partners, who are experts in their own care and needs. Support from independent organisations can be critical, particularly when things aren’t going well with a provider. An independent voice can help with managing risk and conflict between providers, service users and carers – helping those involved in raising awareness of issues. They can also assist with improving communications and understanding the ‘whole picture’ of user and carer needs, where the family can be a part of the wider ‘carer team.’
Healthwatch Torbay is an independent consumer champion for health and social care in Torbay. They have statutory powers to ensure the voice of the consumer is strengthened and heard by those who commission, deliver and regulate health and care services. Local Healthwatch voices people’s concerns and provides feedback to service providers and commissioners. Through local engagement, they collect vital data on how and why people use services in their area. Its place on the Health and Wellbeing Board means Torbay Healthwatch can represent the voice of people in decision-making. Healthwatch Torbay directly supports people in their community by giving them information or signposting them to the local services they need. For information, see Healthwatch Torbay. You can also find out how you can leave a review about a service.