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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). -
Advice and Information -
Many people who provide unpaid care are unaware of their rights. Find out more about the help and support you are entitled to. -
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. -
Report -
Our Phase 2 survey report of Carers’ experiences provides valuable insight into the impact that caring for someone for more than 20 hours a week can have on Carers’ lives.
We heard from more than 200 Carers who live in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay who shared their experiences with us, following on from an earlier report published in November 2022. We also conducted a guided conversation with 17 individual Carers to help us understand in more detail how a Carer’s role was impacting on their everyday life and their emotional wellbeing. -
Report -
Social care support can be transformative for disabled people – but as many as 1.5 million working-age Disabled people in England may not be getting the care they’re eligible for.
Our national partner Healthwatch England’s new research into social care for disabled people shows how transformative social care can be for those receiving it. But it also demonstrates the scale of unmet need. In the full report, Healthwatch outline their findings and provide recommendations to decision-makers.
16/07/2024
By Healthwatch England -
Report -
Nearly 85,000 people in Devon provide unpaid care, with one third (33.4%) providing more than 20 hours of unpaid care per week. To learn more about the experiences of unpaid carers and the impact of providing care at home, Healthwatch developed a survey in conjunction with Devon Carers, Improving Lives Plymouth, and the Torbay Carers Service. These organisations provide a range of support services to unpaid carers. -
Report -
A review of patient feedback received around services in Plymouth has recently been conducted and it was noted that there had been consistent feedback around access to CAMHS services during the Covid pandemic, most of it negative.
To better understand the issues being raised, it was decided by the Healthwatch Plymouth Steering Group to conduct further research in the form of a survey aimed at parents who had accessed Children’s and Young People services since 1 April 2020.