26 Mar

Healthwatch North Tyneside News – 24 March 2021

Welcome to Healthwatch North Tyneside’s March eNews. This month we launch our Accessing GP Services survey, and update you on the vaccination programme, where to get local information about Covid-19, and Healthwatch England’s latest report on GP Access.

Our news

Tell us your views on accessing GP services

It has been 12 months since the way we access services significantly changed due to coronavirus. We want to know your experiences of accessing GP services (by phone, online, face-to-face, etc) and how you want services to run in the future.

Your views will help us gain a better understanding of what people think is important. This research will build upon work Healthwatch carried out last year on people’s experiences of changes in access during the pandemic. It will be used by the NHS and Primary Care providers to plan services for the future.

The information gathered will also feed into the evaluation of the Livi digital app service. North Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group has asked us to gather feedback from users of Livi, who will be invited to share their views and experiences of the service in a separate survey.

We are keen to hear the views of people who we are not able to reach online. If you know of any local groups running that would be willing to share our survey or host a focus group, we would love to hear from you by emailing info@hwnt.co.uk or telephone 0191 263 5321.

Tell us your experience of accessing GP services

 

Healthwatch England recommends GP access review must be part of NHS COVID-19 recovery

Healthwatch England’s national research shows that tens of thousands of people struggled to contact or see their doctor during the first year of the pandemic. Our local research will help us to understand what North Tyneside people think. Read the Healthwatch England report here

Improving website accessibility for people who use BSL

We are currently reviewing our website and looking at ways to make it accessible to as many people as possible.  Our first step has been to add some British Sign Language (BSL) videos to the About Us section. The videos were created by Healthwatch England and explain, with a BSL interpreter, what Healthwatch stands for and how it can help. If you have any suggestions about how to make the website more accessible then please let us know by emailing info@hwnt.co.uk. 

Watch the three videos on our website https://healthwatchnorthtyneside.co.uk/aboutus/about-us-british-sign-language/

What is Healthwatch?

 

Have your say

We’ve lots of surveys on the go at the moment so please give us your feedback and share with others. All our surveys can be found on our website https://healthwatchnorthtyneside.co.uk/haveyoursay/

Last chance to share your views in our menopause survey

We’ve already had over 50 people tell us their experiences of accessing information and advice about menopause in North Tyneside.  There is still time to share your views. This survey will close at the end of March.

Tell us your experience here

Everyone who completes this survey will be entered into a prize draw to be in with a chance of winning £25 Love2Shop vouchers.

 

Tell us your experience of getting the COVID-19 vaccine

We’ve had a huge response to this survey. We’ve had excellent feedback about the North Tyneside vaccine centres but initial findings have indicated problems with the booking system and confusion about the national and local vaccination programmes.

We have fed back this information to North Tyneside CCG, TyneHealth and local Primary Care Networks. Many of the issues related to the national booking service and we have fed these back to them too.

If you have had experience of the COVID-19 vaccine in March, tell us your views. Setting up the vaccination programme has been a huge task for the NHS and its partners. Your feedback will be shared with them to understand what is working well and what could be done better.

Tell us your experience here

Are you waiting for treatment?

If your treatment has been delayed due to the pandemic, then we’d like to hear from you to find out if it has been dealt with well. Have you been kept informed or offered self-care advice? Tell us how your delay was handled in our short, confidential survey.

Tell us your experience here

Everyone who completes this survey will be entered into a prize draw to be in with a chance of winning £25 Love2Shop vouchers.

 

Tell us your experience of getting prescriptions

We’d love to hear your experience of getting prescriptions in North Tyneside, including ordering prescriptions from your GP and getting the medication you need from a pharmacy.
Our website also has information about what local services are available. This survey closes at the end of April.

Tell us your experience here

Everyone who completes this survey will be entered into a prize draw to be in with a chance of winning £25 Love2Shop vouchers.

 

Local news

TyneHealth COVID-19 Information Hub

Tynehealth has created an information hub where you can find details including:

  • Frequently Asked Questions about the COVID-19 vaccine;
  • Volunteer with the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme;
  • More information about the COVID-19 Examination Hub in North Shields;
  • What to do if you have COVID-19 symptoms and how to get a test.

Find out more at https://tynehealth.org.uk/covid-19/

An update on vaccinations in North Tyneside

  • NHS England has invited everyone aged 50 and over to be vaccinated at the national vaccine centres.
  • If you have been invited to book your COVID-19 vaccine but cannot book an appointment due to lack of available slots, please keep checking back regularly. Vaccine sites are offering more slots as vaccine deliveries are confirmed.
  • Where possible, you should stick to your scheduled appointment for your second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, unless there are unavoidable circumstances. If you need to rebook, please see your confirmation email or text, which includes instructions/a link to rebook.

Voices from behind the door

One year on and we’ve all been affected by coronavirus in some way. Here is an emotional spoken word piece about the pandemic created for VODA by North East writer and director Alexandra Woolley – @woolleyjumper1

Spring into Action with Age Uk North Tyneside

Age UK North Tyneside has launched Spring into Action, their latest virtual activity programme. Running from 15th March to 30th April, Spring into Action features a range of physical and social activities to keep you entertained this spring.

Find out more at https://www.ageuk.org.uk/northtyneside/activities-and-events/spring-into-action/

Pop-up vaccination centre in local mosque

North West North Tyneside PCN, working with Whitley Bay Islamic Cultural Centre and Masjid, put on a brilliant pop-up vaccination clinic recently. The Community Health Champions at VODA visited the site and chatted to pharmacist and vaccinator Nadia about why she believes pop-up clinics in mosques are crucial to encourage members of the Muslim community to get vaccinated.

Useful information and opportunities

Latest news from Healthwatch England

Shielding advice for the clinically extremely vulnerable to stop from April

Everyone on the Shielded Patients List will receive a letter from Thursday 18 March informing them of the guidance changes and will include practical steps they can follow to reduce their risk of catching Covid-19. Those with an email address registered with their GP may also receive an email. Find our more in the full press release here

As we approach one year of living with Covid-19, Launchpad North Tyneside Service User and Survivor Forum wants to gain a deeper understanding of how this has affected people living with mental health difficulties in North Tyneside. Share your experiences in their short survey https://forms.gle/2PqqwNeiQZYtyoei9, before Sunday 4th April.

Northumbria Healthcare – Become the heartbeat of your local NHS

Join one of the best performing trusts in the country and help shape local healthcare services for you and your family. You’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas about the way they deliver care to people across Northumberland and North Tyneside.   

Membership is open to anyone aged 12 or over. You can be involved as much or as little as you like, from simply receiving voting papers to donating your time as a volunteer or standing for election to become a trust governor. It is absolutely free to become a member and you can opt out any time. Find out more by clicking here or visit www.northumbria.nhs.uk/join-our-foundation-trust

Call for evidence to improve health and wellbeing of women in England

The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a call for evidence to help inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. It will run for a period of 12 weeks and is open to everyone aged 16 or over. The survey is online at https://consultations.dhsc.gov.uk/talkwomenshealth

Students from Anna Leigh’s Vocal Studio based at Linskill Centre have recorded some covers of popular songs at home and transformed it into a show, which will be launched live on YouTube at this ZOOM event. There will be a live sing song at the end so people can pop themselves on mute and sing away to their hearts content!

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who may find it useful and they can sign up here to receive their own copy. If you’d like an article included in a future eNews, please email l.johnson@hwnt.co.uk

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23 Mar

Covid 19 and mental health survey

Hello,

It’s coming up to a year since the country first went into lockdown due to the Covid 19 pandemic.  The Service User and Survivor Forum wants to gain a deeper understanding of how this has affected people living with mental health difficulties in North Tyneside.  We would really appreciate it if you could complete the short survey below, sharing your experiences.  The survey will close on Sunday 4th April.

Click here for the survey

Many thanks,

Beth

Beth Allan (she/her)

User Development Worker

Launchpad, North Tyneside

bethlaunchpadnt@gmail.com

I work three days a week, email is the best way to contact me.

We’re on Facebook and Twitter

www.launchpadnt.wordpress.com

19 Mar

Healthwatch Newcastle Newsletter – 16 March 2021

Let us know what you think about the COVID-19 vaccine

The NHS is doing everything it can to deliver the COVID-19 vaccines but there might be things that can be improved. We would like to hear from you.

  • What do you think about the vaccine?
  • Have you had it?
  • Do you plan to have it when it is offered to you?

Please spare a few minutes to complete our survey at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/covid19vaccine21

Your feedback is confidential and can help services spot issues affecting care for you and your loved ones.

We will summarise the survey findings and share them anonymously with local services and Healthwatch England, which will use the insights to help the government and NHS England make improvements.

 

Goodbye from Project Manager Rachel Wilkins

“I will be leaving my role as Project Manager of Healthwatch Newcastle at the end of March after more than 11 years working at Healthwatch Newcastle and its predecessor, Newcastle LINk.

During that time, there have been many changes and opportunities to learn from the people I have worked with, and the public I have spoken to. It has been a privilege to hear about your experiences of health and social care services over the years.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with our volunteers as their volunteer coordinator in the early days and I have enjoyed leading some great projects such as:

  • Spotlight on home care
  • Attention on prevention
  • Spotlight on health at home
  • Eight ways to make a difference

You can read the reports about these projects at www.healthwatchnewcastle.org.uk/about-us/reports

I’ve been very lucky to always be supported by a great team of volunteers and staff, who I will miss greatly. Their skills and expertise within their roles have been invaluable to me and I have learnt something from all of them. I will take some of that learning to my new role at NHS England.

I have great memories of many people over these years, from those I worked with at Connected Voice right at the start, to all the other voluntary and community sector and NHS staff I have worked with.

Having an impact (big or small) within a local Healthwatch has always been the greatest pleasure and something we have been reflecting on recently at Healthwatch Newcastle and Healthwatch Gateshead. Under the leadership of our new Chief Executive, Siobhan O’Neil, I look forward to seeing what the team achieves over the coming months.

Thank you to you all”.

 

Update from Jacqui, our Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator

“It’s hard to believe we are a quarter of the way through the year already! With no prospect of face-to-face engagement any time soon I have been talking to several local organisations about how we can work together to gain as representative a view of Newcastle as possible.

We have a new video resource on our website which is slowly filling up with information. Many thanks to Jamie from the Men’s Pie Club who has allowed us to use their video to highlight their work (see www.healthwatchnewcastle.org.uk/useful-videos — go to the ‘Who can help’ section). I also spoke to Carolyn from Moving on Tyne and Wear about ways we can work together. They are making a video for us so keep an eye out for that.”

Read Jacqui’s update in full at www.healthwatchnewcastle.org.uk/news/working-with-organisations

 

Other news

Day-to-day life and the COVID-19 pandemic — survey
How are you coping in areas such as health and wellbeing, work, household finances, shopping, social and leisure activities?

Councils across the North East are asking residents for feedback. Your responses are vital to help inform local recovery plans over the coming months.

Take the survey at https://tinyurl.com/covid-north

Musculoskeletal pain — survey

Please consider completing this short survey. It aims to explore the beliefs of adults about persistent musculoskeletal pain. Persistent pain is also known as chronic or long term pain and lasts for three months or more.

The survey has been granted ethical approval from Teesside University and takes only five to ten minutes to complete.

Find out more and take part at https://tinyurl.com/teeside-uni-survey

Video relay service for emergencies — consultation
Video relay services are a way of enabling people who use British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate effectively with people who don’t use BSL.

The deaf user makes a video call by using a connected device to call an interpreter in a call centre. The interpreter translates what the deaf user is signing into spoken English for the emergency services to hear, and signs what the emergency services are saying to the deaf end-user.

Ofcom is consulting on introducing an emergency video relay so people can contact the police, ambulance and fire services in BSL. The consultation ends on Tuesday 30 March 2021

Find out more at https://tinyurl.com/4bf9aws2

Women’s health — let’s talk about it
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, writes:

“For generations, women have lived with a health and care system that is mostly designed by men, for me. This has meant that not enough is known about conditions that only affect women, or about how conditions that affect both men and women impact women in different ways. Pregnant women and women of childbearing age are also under-represented in clinical trials, which can create troubling gaps in data and understanding.”

The Department of Health and Social Care is seeking the views of individuals and organisations to help develop a Women’s Health Strategy. The consultation is open to everyone aged 16 and above and closes at 11.45pm on Sunday 30 May.

Find out more at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/womens-health-strategy-call-for-evidence

COVID-19 vaccine information for Newcastle communities
The Haref project strives for health equality for local Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities. It has put together a vaccine information pack covering some of the following questions:

  • How vaccines are being administered in Newcastle?
  • What is in the vaccines?
  • How do the vaccines work?
  • How will people be notified about getting a vaccine?
  • How do asylum seekers get notified about their vaccine date?
  • Do people have a choice of vaccine?
  • What side effects might you experience after each vaccine?
  • How long after receiving the first injection do you have immunity?

Download the information pack at https://tinyurl.com/uk4jfvas

NHS mental health self-help guides
Did you know there are award-winning mental health guides, written by NHS clinical psychologists with contributions from service users and healthcare staff?

A range of self-help guides, covering topics such as depression and low mood, controlling anger, stress and anxiety, offer users the opportunity to find out more about the causes of mental health issues and provide tools to work through feelings and emotions.

The guides are free to access and are available in a range of formats, including audio, easy read and BSL at www.cntw.nhs.uk/selfhelp

Free relaxation techniques are also available at www.cntw.nhs.uk/relaxation

Need someone to talk to about your mental health?
The Listening Service can provide a confidential, one-to-one space to talk about what’s affecting your mental health and wellbeing. The service will listen with a compassionate and non-judgmental ear and work with you to help find ways to cope with the challenges that you are facing.

You can use the service as a one-off or for longer-term support that focuses on an issue that matters to you. You can also use the service as regular support while on the waiting list for counselling. The service is open to anyone aged 18+ who lives in Tyneside or Northumberland. No referral form is needed.

For further information please email lorraine.kerr@tynesidemind.org.uk or phone 0191 477 4545.

Healthwatch England’s annual report to Parliament
The work of Healthwatch was making a real difference before COVID-19 struck but is now more crucial than ever. Read ‘On Equal Terms’ to find out what has been reported to Parliament about:

  • The views people have shared.
  • How the NHS and social care services have used them.
  • Healthwatch England’s plans to do more to amplify the voices of communities that go unheard.

Read more at www.healthwatch.co.uk/report/2021-02-25/our-annual-report-2019-20

This newsletter in other formats
We’re currently unable to provide paper copies of this newsletter. If you would like a version you can print out yourself, you can find copies of all our recent newsletters at www.healthwatchnewcastle.org.uk/about-us/resources

If you need this newsletter in another format please get in touch by emailing info@healthwatchnewcastle.org.uk or phoning Freephone 0808 178 9282.

19 Mar

Spring into Action – Age UK North Tyneside’s latest virtual activity programme

spring blossoms

Running from 15th March to 30th April, Spring into Action features a range of physical and social activities to keep you entertained this spring, all in the comfort of your own home using Zoom on a laptop, tablet or smart phone.

View the timetable of events here

19 Mar

Free Mental Health Training in North Tyneside

As part of the North East & North Cumbria Suicide Prevention Network, North Tyneside Council is offering a range of FREE mental health courses for people who work in the borough. The free courses cover different issues from emotional resilience to suicide prevention and are available to anyone working in North Tyneside. They aim to raise awareness and increase confidence and competence of participants to be able to support those who maybe struggling with their mental health. To book or for further information please contact: Email: training@tynesidemind.org.uk Tel: 0191 477 4545

18 Mar

NHS launches ‘Op Courage’ veterans’ mental health service

Armed forces veterans suffering a mental health crisis will receive specialist care as part of a new Op Courage service launched by NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens on 4 March 2021.

The new service, which is expected to treat around 500 people a year, will focus on those in crisis, at risk of self-harm or suicide, or suffering other problems such as homelessness and addiction.

It is being rolled out after trials involving almost 200 former servicemen and women.

Veterans will be able to access any of the three tiers of treatment from a single Op Courage service in each of the seven NHS regions.  North of England contact: 0303 123 1145 or email vwals@nhs.net

Read more here.

18 Mar

Time to talk about smoking and mental health in a pandemic

A new post, “Time to talk about smoking and mental health in a pandemic: No Smoking Day 2021” has just been published on the Public health matters blog.

Many smokers believe that smoking helps to relieve stress, anxiety and low mood, when in fact the opposite is true. This year, for the first time, the national No Smoking Day campaign has focused on the significant benefits of quitting for mental health and wellbeing

18 Mar

UK Says No More

UK Says No More is working with pharmacies across the UK to provide Safe Spaces in their consultation rooms for people experiencing domestic abuse.

Safe Spaces are open in Boots, Superdrug, Morrisons and Well pharmacies and many independent pharmacies. If you’re experiencing domestic abuse, you can use Safe Spaces to call a helpline, support service or loved one.

Find out more

16 Mar

Streetwise new project for BAME young women

Streetwise have been offering virtual one to one support and group sessions exploring subjects like identity, self esteem, safety, healthy relationships, communication, and mental health. They will be carrying out a survey questionnaire and are holding a young women’s focus group to discuss issues that young women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds may face.

They are also offering one to one support and counselling, so if you know any young people who may be interested/would benefit from this project, please could you refer them to Streetwise by using this referral form. Or young people can get in touch directly by emailing sari@streetwisenorth.org.uk or calling 07936937623.