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Advice and Information -
Four questions staff should ask you or a loved one about your oral health if you’re a care home resident, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quick guide. -
Advice and Information -
Do you or a loved one need help with social care? Read the article below and find out answers to key questions about who can access adult social care and how to pay for it. -
News -
The virtual visit was designed to gain insight into the effectiveness of Shared Lives Stoke’s service delivery, with the aim of identifying what works well, not so well and what could be improved to enhance the quality of service delivery. -
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We would like to invite Care Homes in Stoke-on-Trent to work with Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent on our Virtual Visit Programme. Due to the cautious restoration of the national Enter and View Programme we are continuing to conduct our visits virtually to ease pressure on services and to ensure that we help to keep everyone as safe as possible. -
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Read the results of our virtual visit to Davlyn House. -
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Read our virtual visit to Dresden House. -
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The report details our recommendations and acknowledgments, a background, the methodology utilised, an overview of findings and a selection of experiences from management, staff, service users, professionals and relatives. -
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In the city we have 53 GP Surgeries, 122 Care homes (nursing and residential) 70 Pharmacies, 37 Dental Practices, 30 Opticians. -
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As statutory watchdog, our role is to ensure that local health and social care services and the local decision-makers, put the experiences of people at the heart of their care. -
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This year it came to our attention that homeless individuals in our City were finding it difficult to access GP services and receive the treatment that they required. -
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You need services that work for you, your family and your friends. That is why we want you to share your experiences of using health and care with us – both good and bad. We use your voice to encourage those who run services to act on what matters to you.
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The most common themes we hear about are GP services, Mental Health Services, Social Care, and Hospitals and to ensure that we
address your concerns and compliments we share your stories with relevant people and incorporate your priorities into our work programme. -
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Purpose of the visit: the inspection by the CQC last year concluded that overall,
the Home required Improvement and we wanted to assess the current situation
and see how things had improved. -
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We organised an announced virtual visit to Dresden House between 18 October and 5 November 2021. Read all about our visit in this short summary report which details a background, the methodology utilised, an outline of the findings and a selection of experiences from participants. -
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It follows the inspection by the CQC in August 2018 concluded that overall the Home Requires Improvement.
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The service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 74 adults (please note that the website shows anomalies – it refers to the home being 76 bedded). People who use the service require nursing or personal care and/or may have Dementia. The home also provides care for those who need treatment for the disease, disorder, or injury.
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It follows the inspection by the CQC in November 2017 which concluded that overall the Home Requires Improvement. -
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This visit was arranged as a follow-up to a CQC inspection in July 2018. The findings at that inspection were “Requires Improvement” in four of the five areas (Safe, Caring, Responsive, and Well-led). It was deemed “Good” in the area of ‘Effective’. -
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Healthwatch Stoke on Trent received information from a family member regarding problems with the care of a family member who had been moved to Bradwell Hall. We also noted that the CQC inspection of August 2018 concluded that overall ‘the Home Requires Improvement. -
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Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent organised an announced virtual visit to Dresden House between 18 October and 5 November 2021. The rationale for the virtual visit was to capture the experiences and opinions of the manager, service users and staff and relatives within the care home to discover what works well, not so well and what could be improved to enhance the quality of service delivery. -
Report -
The report details our recommendations and acknowledgements, a background, the methodology utilised, an overview of findings and a selection of experiences from management, staff, service users, professionals and relatives. -
Report -
The report details our recommendations and acknowledgements, a background, the methodology utilised, an overview of findings and a selection of experiences from management, staff, service users, and relatives. -
News -
Each year, your local Healthwatch puts together a work programme that reflects the health and social care needs of the area. -
Advice and Information -
Living in a care home can increase your risk of oral health problems. That's why knowing what questions to ask care staff about your oral health or loved ones can prevent problems from developing. -
Advice and Information -
People have told us they can have problems registering with a GP. This article explains more about your rights and what do to if you are refused the right to register. -
Advice and Information -
Find out what support is available to help you when travelling to your GP, hospital or other NHS services. -
Advice and Information -
With more and more appointments happening online, we've put together some tips on how to get the most out of the virtual health and care appointments both for patients and health and care professionals. -
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Find out how primary care and community services are meeting people's needs in Stoke-on-Trent. -
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Find out people's experiences of the Royal Stoke University Hospital fracture clinic. -
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How has the increasing use of digital health services, affected people's access to care? -
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Read the results of our survey asking members of the public about their experiences of accessing primary care services in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. -
Advice and Information -
By seeking help from your GP and getting an early diagnosis can get the right support in place to live well with dementia. -
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Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent were informed verbally, of a younger patient who was not registered with the Practice being refused an appointment and being told to go to Haywood Hospital instead. This may not actually have been the case, but our visit was to ask about the incident and check procedures at the Practice and see how it operated generally.
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Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent had been informed by a patient of the Practice that they had inadvertently been prescribed incorrect medication during one of her appointments which luckily was spotted by her normal pharmacist. This particular medication could have caused harm to the patient.
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Healthwatch Stoke-on-Trent had been informed, via the CQC inspection published in December 2018, that Trentham Mews surgery had been told that two areas of their work ‘required improvement’. These were: ‘Are services safe’ and ‘Are services well-led’.
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Since the occurrence of the coronavirus pandemic, GP services have been required to adapt and alter the way that services are delivered. As such, appointment methods, bookings and direct communication between practice and patient have been at the heart of crucial service changes. -
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With growing pressure on the NHS such as an ageing population, more people living with longterm conditions and lifestyle choices affecting people’s health, changes are needed to make sure everybody gets the support they need. The NHS has produced a Long-Term Plan1, setting
out the measures it intends to take to address changing need. -
Advice and Information -
Managing your health online isn't always simple. So we have put together a guide to walk you through booking and cancelling your blood tests online through the UHNM Patient Connect online booking system. -
News -
In her speech to the Conservative Party Conference today, the health secretary repeated much of what she had announced on 22 September in ‘Our Plan for Patients’, with slightly less rigid language over patient access to GPs. -
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The number of people avoiding an NHS appointment because they can’t afford travel almost doubled between October and December as the cost of living crisis is forcing many to change how they use health and care services.
Over a third (39%) of people say the changes they have made to their lives due to the cost of living crisis have affected their mental health.
• Women are disproportionately affected by spiralling costs, with 35% saying their mental health has got worse over the last two months, compared to 26% of men. -
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One in five people we spoke to with a GP referral for specialist care had bounced back to general practice. This suggests potentially serious issues with referral processes. Healthwatch England are calling for more to be done to understand people’s experience of getting a referral. -
Advice and Information -
Throughout this coming May there will be multiple bank holidays, meaning that some services, including ourselves, will be closed or opening with reduced hours. -
News -
When asked if they had a good understanding of gynaecological issues before it happened to them or a friend or family member:
• Only 5% said they had a good understanding of gynaecological cancers
• Only 7% said they had a good understanding of gynaecological symptoms
• 5% said they had a good understanding of HPV (human papilloma virus)
• 15% said they had a good understanding of cervical screening -
Report -
We spoke to 197 people in Stoke-on-Trent who are living with a long-term condition(s) to find out more about their experiences. -
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This report provides an analysis of Parkinson’s Provision in and around Stoke-
on-Trent from a service user perspective. -
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· Impact of NHS pressures revealed in a new survey of 1084 people whose care has been cancelled this year.
· Over one in three, 39%, have experienced cancellations or postponements of care two or more times.
· Disruptions to care disproportionately affect unpaid carers, neurodivergent people, and those on lower incomes, widening existing health inequalities.
· Healthwatch England urges healthcare leaders to act on the number of cancellations, especially those that occur at the last minute, and ensure more significant support for those most affected. -
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Healthwatch England has warned that people need more confidence that the NHS can provide timely care as the winter period approaches. A third of adults in England lack confidence that they can access timely care, including GP services, mental health support and hospital care. -
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We spoke to 39 people in Stoke-on-Trent who are either living with Parkinson's disease or are a carer for someone who is. We found out about their experiences of receiving support, care and treatment. -
Advice and Information -
From 31 October 2023, GP surgeries must give patients online access to their new health record entries. Find out what information is in your record and how to access it.