Agenda item

4.1

Judy Robinson gave a verbal update from Healthwatch, and sumarised two areas in which people’s lived experiences had informed work by Healthwatch:

• Sheffield ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) & Fibromyalgia group heard from people living with these long-term conditions. They found there were barriers to accessing support and services and in relation to diagnosis. A report had been produced and work was being done to link people to services and identify what small things could be done which would make a difference to people and enable them to access services.

• Engaging with older people about their experiences of living in a care home and the differences between different care homes. The findings included observations about people’s fears of the prospect of going into a care home, the importance of building relationships and of everyday choices, such as in relation to food. Work was being done with care homes and the Council. It was found that simple things mattered for people. There was a need to better understand the experiences of older people from black and minority ethnic groups.

Members of the Board thanked Healthwatch for its work and in obtaining people’s experiences of moving into a care home. Further work would be done with Healthwatch over the next year in relation to the care homes project. The importance of responding and demonstrating what had been done as a result was noted, together with co-design. These were long term projects and it was acknowledged that in relation to the ME & Fibromyalgia work, there was a real willingness of GPs to improve people’s experience, although there would need to be a focus on the quality of consultations with people and families and the system and the way the system was set up measured quantity, not quality.

The Board noted the update on the work of Healthwatch.