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Advice and Information -
The wait for planned medical care or surgery can be frustrating. That’s why you must get regular and accessible updates while you wait. -
Advice and Information -
The usual processes the NHS follows to discharge you from hospital have changed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Here’s what you can expect when it’s time to leave hospital. -
Report -
In October 2023, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust’s (UHP) Royal Eye Infirmary (REI) service moved from its location at Derriford Hospital to a new purpose-built building in the International Business Park near to the Derriford Hospital Site. Earlier this year Healthwatch Plymouth (HWP) conducted visits to the REI to engage with patients around their experiences of the new facility. This engagement report collates and summarises this patient feedback. -
News -
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is proud to announce details of its annual Our People Awards celebration event, thanks to the generosity of its corporate sponsors. -
News -
Nearly a fifth of people who have experienced trauma say they often avoid health services. Healthwatch England have called on the NHS to adopt pocket-sized trauma cards for patients to show during appointments, following a successful pilot. -
Report -
In the Spring and Summer of 2023, independent consumer champion Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay (HWDPT) were commissioned by NHS Devon to visit Emergency Departments (EDs) across Devon’s four Acute Hospital sites to speak to patients to better understand what informed and influenced their decision to attend ED. 511 people conversed with HWDPT during 34 visits at various times and days, which included daytime, evenings and weekends.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay -
Report -
This Healthwatch England briefing discusses people’s experiences of urgent and emergency care (UEC) services from December 2020 to August 2022.
It mentions how Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay reported on four Emergency Departments across Devon in September 2021. At all four hospitals they found that people had gone to the emergency department because they could not access another service, such as the GP or NHS 111. In one visit to one of the emergency departments they found that over half (51%) of patients attending were there because they couldn’t see their GP. -
Report -
In 2022, Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay held a series of meetings with the South West representative of the Royal Association for Deaf People to discuss various concerns that were being raised around access to British Sign Language (BSL) qualified interpreters. These concerns include:
• Interpreters to support appointments in hospital and GP surgeries
• Interpreters to support complaints process
• Access to information -
Report -
Building on previous pieces of work on the NHS 111 services provided by Devon Doctors in Devon and Somerset, Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay (HWDPT) and Healthwatch Somerset (HWS) worked together to find out whether people’s experiences with the 111 service had improved or changed since the previous research was carried out.
This report highlights our key findings and detailed responses. -
Report -
In October 2023, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust’s (UHP) Royal Eye Infirmary (REI) service moved from its location at Derriford Hospital to a new purpose-built building in the International Business Park near to the Derriford Hospital Site. Earlier this year Healthwatch Plymouth (HWP) conducted visits to the REI to engage with patients around their experiences of the new facility. This engagement report collates and summarises this patient feedback. -
Report -
In May 2022, Healthwatch Plymouth were approached by the new provider of Mayflower Medical Group (MMG) to undertake a patient survey.
The survey’s focus was to address long established patient concerns and frustrations in accessing GP services at the 5 surgeries that form MMG and to ask for suggestions on generally improving the service and in particular improving access. -
News -
A Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust team has been shortlisted for its work on digital literacy and inclusion in the prestigious Health Services Journal (HSJ) digital awards 2025. -
News -
Want to find out more about heart health? Join Naing KoKo, consultant cardiologist, at a free health talk on Tuesday 29 April 2025, from 5.30pm-6.30pm at TREC, Torbay Hospital (or online). -
Report -
Our national partner Healthwatch England’s 2023 – 24 annual report outlines how the public’s stories have changed care for the better, and the work they’re doing to make sure that the health and social care system puts patients at its very heart. -
Report -
This report describes the wide range of engagement, representation and impact undertaken by Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay in 12 months from April 2023 to March 2024. A brief summary is further down this page. -
Report -
This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay -
Report -
This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay -
Report -
This report details our key Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay -
Report -
This report describes the wide range of engagement, representation and impact undertaken by Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay over the past year.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay -
Report -
NHS and social care services only make the best decisions if they listen to the people they care for. Read our national partner Healthwatch England’s Annual Report to Parliament to see how your feedback has helped decision-makers prioritise what matters most. -
Report -
What people have told us about health and social care
Find out in our quarterly Impact and Outcomes report how your feedback is helping NHS and social care services improve care in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. -
Report -
There are almost 370,000 people in employment in Devon, with the proportion of self-employed workers (14.7%) being higher than the national average (9.3%). The Covid-19 pandemic changed the way that many of us work; in spring 2022, 38% of working adults in the UK reported having worked from home at least once in the past seven days.
Healthwatch wanted to find out about the physical and mental impact of working from home, and how working from home has affected people’s work/life balance. -
Report -
What people have told us about health and social care
Find out in our quarterly Impact and Outcomes report how your feedback is helping NHS and social care services improve care in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.
Each quarter you can find out:
which services people are telling us about
how people are feeling about health and care services
how Healthwatch are making a difference to care in your part of Devon
real life experiences people have shared through our website feedback centres
how we have helped people get the information they need, and the difference that has made
and how we are making a difference to our communities in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.
You can download the report below for a details. -
Report -
Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay (HWDPT) were asked by the NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to assist in running focus groups, to find out how elective care waiting lists have impacted patients and how people would like these waiting lists to be addressed.
Every patient on a waiting list for medical care (who had provided an email address and consented to being contacted) was invited by the CCG to register for an online focus group. Invites were also sent via the Devon Virtual Voices Panel, and through the Healthwatch Assist network. Eight virtual focus groups were held via Zoom between 9 March and 8 April 2022.
You can download the report below for full details. -
Report -
Here is our Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay Annual Report for 2022, containing all of our statutory activities from April 2021 to March 2022 and more. -
News -
Two projects have been awarded the 2024 Healthwatch Impact Award for their exceptional work in using local people’s experiences to improve care. -
News -
Dr Joanna Bircher is now a member of the Healthwatch England Committee.
