Annual Report: 2020-2021

Key Findings:

We conducted two virtual Enter and View visits, to Baycroft Grays Farm Road Care Home and Clairleigh Nursing Home.

Baycroft Grays Farm Road Care Home

• We put forward eight recommendations based on our visit and feedback received. The home responded to all eight, using four directly to improve services and providing reassurance on the other four.

“The facilities are good, the staff are so caring, and my mum has been well settled there. The care the staff gave to Dad in his last weeks was excellent."

Clairleigh Nursing Home

• Twelve recommendations have been made on how to improve the service and good practice has been highlighted. The home provided a response to our report, and clarified what is being done in relation to the areas highlighted as requiring improvement.

Mental Health report

The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of how Bromley residents experienced accessing mental health support and services in the borough, both pre COVID-19 and during the pandemic.

Some of the key themes identified were:

• Positive experiences – almost 3 in 5 respondents were happy with the mental health support they received.
• Respondents reported long waiting times from referral/self-referral to treatment.
• Feedback suggests that residents would benefit from improved information on mental health services in Bromley.

Diabetes in Bromley: A literature review

We were made aware through key partners and feedback from local people that there were gaps in awareness and understanding of the diabetes care pathway in Bromley. The project produced two leaflets which are being published and rolled out in the community during 2021/22.

Bromley Patient Survey COVID-19

We worked with partners, South East London CCG and Bromley GP Alliance, on a joint project examining and reporting on experiences of people using local services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patient Experience during the COVID-19 pandemic

The tremendous efforts of staff and volunteers at Healthwatch Bromley enabled us to successfully shift our Patient Experience Programme from our standard in-person community outreach to a comprehensive virtual and phone-based model during 2020.

Our Patient Experience team orchestrated a number of innovative ways of hearing from patients and service users:

• Promoting our Patient Experience survey at our public webinars and holding 'virtual stalls' at other community organisations’ digital events.
• Working with local Community and Voluntary Sector organisations, including food banks and older adult support groups, to distribute paper copies of our survey to people with no access to digital platforms.

Case Studies: Patient Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Our Patient Experience staff and volunteers didn't just gather patients' experiences, but also acted as a befriending service and supported people through the provision of information, signposting and in some cases, going the extra mile to enable individuals to access the treatment and care they needed.

• We arranged an engagement session with an online support group run by Bromley Well. The group meets weekly on Zoom; it is for people with long term health conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, fibromyalgia and others which can be managed well by implementing lifestyle adaptations.

“It has been so difficult to get through to some services this year. Thank you to Healthwatch Bromley for being there and picking up the phone! With services changing so quickly, their support in helping me find the right place was invaluable.”

- Bromley resident

Responding to COVID-19

This year we helped 2,511 Bromley residents by:

• Adapting our ways of working to continue to represent the people's voice and notify health and social care partners about the issues people were facing.
• Providing and promoting up to date information on the local COVID-19 response and national guidelines by creating a dedicated COVID-19 page on the Healthwatch Bromley website and using our social media channels.
• Channelling information through daily phone calls to many residents, directly providing people with information and support needed to access services.

Volunteers

This year our volunteers have:

• Helped people to have their say, carrying out Patient Experience surveys over the telephone and on line.
• Provided up-to-date health and social care information on our website, e-newsletter and social media channels.
• Supported our research projects through distributing surveys, analysing data and writing up findings.