1. How are you coping? We're hear to listen

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    Every month, we share with you the stories that we're hearing from people in Kent about how they are coping.

  2. Pharmacies & Covid : The Reality

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    We have today published a joint report with Healthwatch Medway detailing feedback from 101 pharmacies across Kent and Medway. The report details what it has been like during COVID-19 and what lessons have been learnt.

  3. What did you tell us in September?

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    The latest in our series of monthly reports details feedback from people all over Kent about how they are coping right now.

  4. What did you tell us in October?

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    Every month we publish a report detailing the issues people have told us about. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to share their stories with us. Your feedback makes a huge difference for hundreds of other people.

  5. Spotlight on dental services

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    Since the start of the pandemic, we have had a constant stream of feedback about NHS dental services.

  6. What did you tell us in November?

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    Thanks everyone for sharing their thoughts and experiences with us this month.

    This report details everything you told us in November. We've shared your stories with decision makers to help them make decisions about services.

  7. What did people tell us in the first two weeks of January?

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    You spoke and we have listened. Read on to find out what you told us in the first two weeks of January.

  8. What did people tell us in the second two weeks of January?

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    You spoke and we have listened. Read on to find out what you told us in the second two weeks of January.

  9. What did you tell us in Feb?

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    Thanks to everyone who shared their story with us over the first two weeks of February despite the big freeze!

  10. Read what people told us in the last two weeks of Feb

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    Every day we listen to people who tell us their experience of using Kent's health and social care services right now. Our job is to make sure your voice is heard by the right people, at the right time, in the right way.

  11. Your feedback can help generate change

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    Every day people contact us to share their story about health and social care services. We're raising these voices to ensure the right people hear the feedback and can make changes as a result. Read our report detailing what people told us in March.

  12. The Healthwatch Kent Guide to Pre-consultation & Engagement

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    During our work to scrutinise consultations; poor pre-consultation engagement was the main area vulnerable to legal challenge via judicial review.

  13. Helping our volunteers to learn digital skills

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    During the pandemic, we wanted to ensure that our volunteers could continue to feel involved and empowered to complete their work in a digital world

  14. What did you tell us in March?

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    As we reached a year since Covid restrictions began, people continue to contact us to share how they are coping right now. Read our report to find out what people are talking about in March.

  15. What have we achieved this year?

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    It's been a year that none of us could have predicted. But what have we achieved?

    Read our annual report to find out what difference we made in 2020/21.





  16. Pharmacies learning lessons in Covid

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    Last year, over 100 community pharmacists told us what life had been like for them during the first wave of the Covid pandemic. Now, we've gone back to them to see what lessons have been learned since our first report.

  17. Did you find it easy to get your covid vaccine?

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    Last year, 77 people got in touch with us about the Covid vaccination programme. 48% of these people were people struggling to ‘grab their jab’.

  18. Giving the Trans & Non-binary community in Kent a voice

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    For six months we have been working with the Trans & Non-binary community here in Kent listening to their experiences and exploring what could be changed to support them better.

  19. What did we hear in September?

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    In September we reached 2,220 people. This is what they told us.

  20. What did we hear in October?

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    In October, 1,801 people came to us for information, support or to tell us their experience of using a health or social service.

  21. Spotlight on reducing digital exclusion

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    Many organisations in Kent are working hard to tackle the inequality caused by our increasing reliance on technology. We decided to review one of these projects to see what difference it is really making to people.

  22. What did we hear in November?

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    In November, 3,571 people came to us for information, support or to tell us their experience of using a health or social service.

  23. What did you tell us in December?

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    2,438 of you came to us in December to share your experience of using health and social care services or to seek information.

  24. Making it easier for people with learning difficulties to attend hospital appointments in East Kent

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    We've been working with East Kent Hospitals for several years now helping them to make it easier for people with learning difficulties to attend a hospital appointment. Check out what's changed as a result.

  25. Read our scrutiny of the public consultation on Ruby Ward

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    One of our statutory responsibilities is to act as a critical friend on public consultations. Our role is to ensure people have been involved and listened to as part of any public consultation.

  26. What did you tell us in January?

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    2,624 of you came to us in January to share your experience of using health and social care services or to seek information.

  27. How do we make our decisions?

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    It's important to us that you know how we make our decisions.

    In this section you will find the minutes from our steering group meetings plus an overall explanation about how we make our decisions on a daily basis.

  28. What happens when the person you care for is discharged from hospital?

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    Around 150,000 people in Kent are looking after someone right now. What happens when the person they care for is discharged from hospital? What support is available? How do they cope?

  29. Needing the NHS while out at sea

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    Being a fisherman is a tough job. It's dangerous with long hours and in difficult conditions. They also work unsociable hours making it hard for fishermen to use public services.

  30. Helping people to get dental care

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    Read how we have helped people to get the dental care that they need

  31. What did you tell us in February?

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    3,979 of you came to us in February to share your experience of using health and social care services or to seek information.

  32. What did you tell us in March?

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    2,395 of you came to us in March to share your experience of using health and social care services or to seek information.

  33. How do you feel about Care Homes after the pandemic?

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    Today we are talking to Care Homes across Kent. We wanted to make sure they were hearing from you about how you feel about Care Homes and care at home since the pandemic.

  34. What did you tell us in April?

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    1,465 of you came to us in April to share your experience of using health and social care services or to seek information.

  35. What did you tell us in May?

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    Every month we review all the feedback we've heard. We're looking for the themes and trends in the information to see what we should be focusing on.

  36. Empowering people and communities to look after themselves better

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    We all know we need to look after ourselves better, but that's not always easy. Read our review of a project that's been helping people in Folkestone & Gravesend to manage their own blood pressure.

  37. Listening to families of children with disabilities

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    It's estimated that 6% of people living in Kent are young people who have a disability. Most of them will have experience of using multiple health and social care services.

  38. Evidencing the impact of reducing health inequalities

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    We know that many many people aren't aware that they may have high blood pressure which could cause a heart attack or a stroke. Read our analysis about a new idea that has been helping people in Medway to mange their own blood pressure.

  39. We run a signposting and information service, but what difference does it make and how do we support people?

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    1167 people contacted our information and signposting service in the past year. 243 of these people across Kent and Medway told us how they had been impacted by our information and signposting service.

  40. What people have told us about dentistry

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    This report summarises the feedback received from people via Healthwatch Kent, Healthwatch Medway and Kent and Medway Voice about their experiences of primary care dentistry from November 2022 to April 2023. This includes 34 separate pieces of feedback.

  41. What people have told us about general practice

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    This report presents the feedback received from people via Healthwatch Kent, Healthwatch Medway and Kent and Medway Voice about their experiences of general practice from November 2022 to April 2023.

  42. What people have told us about pharmacy

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    This report summarises the feedback received from people via Healthwatch Kent, Healthwatch Medway and Kent and Medway Voice about their experiences of pharmacies from November 2022 to April 2023.

  43. Improving training for future healthcare workers

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    Across the end of 2022 and early 2023, Healthwatch Kent conducted ward visits to understand the traits that people valued from Allied Health Professionals.

  44. Listening to public experience in hospitals and around how they access care

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    Across the end of 2022 and early 2023, Healthwatch Kent conducted ward visits to understand the traits that people valued from Allied Health Professionals to improve training for future healthcare workers.

  45. What have we heard at "Big day out event"?

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    Healthwatch Kent were honoured to be a part of BeYou’s ‘Big Day Out’ event in Maidstone last year.

  46. Helping people to get health and care information the way they need it.

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    Over the last 5 years we’ve worked hard to work with Trusts to improve their support for people who have additional communication needs.

  47. Healthwatch Kent have been working alongside the NHS in Kent and Medway to improve referral services.

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    This report shows a summary of the main issues the public are facing with the current referral service, and what we hope the Electronic Optimisation Referral System (EROS) will address.

  48. Last summer we attended the Kent Parents and Carers Together (PACT) picnic event in Dartford.

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    Here we spoke to parents of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

  49. what have we heard about how people are being supported with their mental health?

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    As many of you are aware we work closely with Mental Health Voice (MHV) and the 4 Local Mental Health Networks (LMHNs) based around each Health and Care Partnership area.