The club members were pleased to welcome Angela George from Healthwatch Norfolk to their May meeting, whose first question to the members was to ask how many people had heard of Healthwatch Norfolk. Unfortunately, only those who had experienced difficulties in accessing healthcare may be aware of them.
Healthwatch Norfolk is the local health and social care champion for the County. They ensure that NHS leaders and other decision makers hear the patient’s voice and use patient, carer and community feedback to improve care. They can also help people to find reliable and trustworthy information and advice.
Healthwatch Norfolk is an independent body. Feedback is used to ensure the patients point of view is heard. Feedback can be left via the website, links on associate sites, by letter, by email or by phone. Feedback can be anonymous.
Angela explained that they have a team of 13 plus a Trustee Board and that they hold charitable status. They are split into 2 teams; Engagement and Project work.
The engagement team gathers feedback from various health sources around the county. They visit Doctors Surgeries, dentists, opticians, pharmacies and hospitals. They also gather feedback from focus groups.
Soroptimist International is an organisation whose primary interest lies with women and girls and would be suited to give feedback from that viewpoint.
Angela was thanked for her very informative talk.