1. Jane’s Story: Booking a smear test

    Blog -

    Five million women are invited for a smear test, but 1 in 4 women don't attend their smear test. Why is that? We assume it is because people are worried about the procedure. Could it be in part because people are struggling to get an appointment?

  2. Volunteers’ Week 2019: Why I volunteer

    Blog -

    Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and develop new skills, which is why ex-teacher Lyn and her husband John decided to get involved with all of us at Healthwatch Kent.

  3. My life as a carer – one of seven million stories

    Blog -

    Three in five of us will become an unpaid carer at some point in our lives. Kate* tells us about what it was like becoming a carer for her husband and the difficulties they faced.

  4. The Voice of Kent Residents Driving Improvements to Mental Health Services

    Blog -

    Watching the Panorama programme this week has reminded everyone about the importance of health services working together to support vulnerable patients like Callie Lewis who used community mental health services, services for Autism and Asperger's.

  5. Listen to Siobhain's story

    Blog -

    Prior to lockdown, Siobhain had a busy schedule working as an exam invigilator as well as volunteering at Healthwatch Kent where she recently visited care homes and The Heart of Kent Hospice where she would talk to patients.

  6. What did people from Folkestone tell us?

    Report -

    Last month we visited Folkestone & Hythe District Council to talk to their staff about their experiences of local health & social care services. We met 230 people in total during our visit.

  7. Have you heard about improvements to hospital discharge in West Kent?

    Report -

    In 2018 we spoke to 89 people about their experience of being discharged from both Maidstone Hospital and Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

  8. What support is available for people with Dementia when they attend a hospital appointment?

    Report -

    For many of us attending an appointment at hospital can be daunting. For someone with Dementia, it can be terrifying!

  9. Feedback about Frank Lloyd Unit in Sittingbourne

    Report -

    We recently met with Carers whose loved ones were being cared for at the Frank Lloyd Unit in Sittingbourne.

    This report details al that they told us.

    We have shared the feedback with the mental health trust.

  10. Spotlight on GP services

    Report -

    Since April 2017 we have heard from 365 people about their experience of GP services in Kent.

    Although we hear lots of positive stories, we've heard 394 negative comments.

  11. What did people in Gravesend tell us?

    Report -

    We recently visited Gravesham to hear from local people about their experiences of local health and social care services.

  12. Community mental health services : what have you told us?

    Report -

    We visited 6 community mental health units in 2018 talking to 86 people about their experience of using the service.

  13. Spotlight on Gypsy & Traveller communities

    Report -

    Kent has one of the highest populations of Travellers in the UK.

    At Healthwatch Kent we regularly visit Traveller sites to hear directly from the community about the issues they face about health and social care services.

  14. Spotlight on Learning Disabilities

    Report -

    In the second of a new series of reports, we have highlighted the feedback we’ve heard from people with learning disabilities.

    Everything we have heard from people is included in the report.

  15. What support is available for partially sighted patients?

    Report -

    Attending a hospital appointment can be daunting. If you struggle to read, hear, understand or communicate these worries can be extreme.

  16. Read our annual report

    Report -

    Each year we publish an annual report. Here is the 2018 one!

  17. Focus on hospital food

    Report -

    We asked patients in East Kent for their feedback about the food and drink they had received during their time in hospital in East Kent.

  18. Focus on Food Banks

    Report -

    Our parent company, Engaging Kent is working with Food Banks across Kent to support them to come together and create the Kent Food Bank Forum.

  19. Have you used IAPT services?

    Report -

    We've had some feedback about IAPT services but we want to hear more!

  20. Focus on Hidden Carers

    Report -

    What's it like being a carer and how much support are you getting? We wanted to make sure people knew what it was like to be a carer in Kent.

  21. What is everyone saying about mental health services?

    Report -

    There are 152 Healthwatches across the country and together we hear more about mental health services than anything else.

  22. If you had learning difficulties, what support is available to help you attend a hospital appointment

    Report -

    We wanted to understand what support is available for people who have learning difficulties when they need to attend a hospital appointment

  23. What changes have we secured to the CAMHS service?

    Report -

    Back in 2016, we spoke with 302 people about their experience of children and adolescent mental health services.

  24. What should happen when GP surgeries close or merge?

    Report -

    Healthwatches across the South East have heard from people who are concerned about their GP surgery either closing or merging.

  25. Focus on nursing care at home on the Isle of Sheppey

    Report -

    On the Isle of Sheppey, 700 people receive nursing care at home from Virgincare. We wanted to hear what their experience was like.

  26. The Healthwatch Guide to Public Consultations

    Report -

    This guide is intended to support commissioners and service providers to deliver genuine, meaningful public consultations.

  27. Dentists : The Tooth Be Told

    Report -

    In 2016 we spoke to 44 people about their experience of going to the dentist.

    In 2017 we wanted to find out what had changed as a result.

  28. What did people tell us about being discharged from hospital in East Kent?

    Report -

    Over 190 people shared their experience of being discharged from the three hospitals in East Kent in 2018.

  29. What have we changed in A&E?

    Report -

    Our volunteers spoke to 138 patients during visits to every Accident & Emergency department in Kent.

    We made a number of recommendations based on their feedback.

  30. Annual Report 2018/19

    Report -

    Another year is over which means a new annual report!

  31. Why it’s important to review the care of people with dementia

    Report -

    Read Healthwatch England's latest research to find out if people with dementia are getting the support they need.

  32. Patient feedback drives improvements for partially sighted patients in Maidstone

    Report -

    Partially sighted patients will now find it easier to attend an appointment at Maidstone Hospital thanks to feedback from patients.

  33. Healthwatch Kent visits 24 Care Homes in Kent

    Report -

    Across the country, Independent Age has been working with Healthwatch to explore what people are looking for when choosing a care home.

  34. We hear from children and young people

    Report -

    Children and young people from across Kent & Medway have talked to us about their experience of using health and social care services.

  35. The reality of autism for young people and their families in Kent

    Report -

    We hear about the difficulties families face when accessing support for their children who may be autistic. We wanted to explore the issues in more detail and gather more feedback about services for children and young people who have autism.

  36. You Said We Did in 2021 and 2022

    Report -

    What have we done with your voice

  37. You Said, We Did 2023

    Report -

    What have we done with your voice in April?

  38. You Said We Did April 2016 - December 2020

    Report -

    What have we done with your voice between April 2016 and March 2019?

  39. Improvements to hospital discharge in North Kent

    Report -

    Thanks to you, we have been able to improve people's experience of being discharged from hospital in North Kent.

  40. You Said, We Did April 2019 - March 2020

    Report -

    What have we done with your voice between April 2019 and March 2020?

  41. How easy is it to attend a hospital appointment if you use a communication aid?

    Report -

    That's the question we asked ourselves when we visited Tunbridge Wells Hospital recently.

  42. Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board Annual Report

    Report -

    Read Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board's 2022/23 annual report, acknowledging the large range of work done to safeguard vulnerable people who may be at risk across Kent and Medway.

  43. Focus on Patient Experience

    Report -

    NHS Trusts all over Kent come to Healthwatch regularly seeking guidance on how to involve patients, carers and families more constructively in their services.  In this report, we discuss patient experience.

  44. Driving improvements to wheelchair services

    Report -

    We’ve been working with the Kent Physical Disability Forum for over a year now to help improve the wheelchair service for thousands of people in Kent.

  45. We ensure your voice is heard for the future of Extra Care Housing

    Report -

    When you get older, you may need to have care in your home. Many people consider moving into Extra Care Housing which ensures you have your own home but care and support is available should you need it. We wanted to know what you may want.

  46. We throw a spotlight on commissioning

    Report -

    With the commissioning landscape across Kent & Medway changing, we have been working to ensure the voice of patients is heard clearly by decision makers.

  47. Driving improvements to community mental health

    Report -

    Recently we have revisited six Community Mental Health clinics to see what changes have been made since our first reports.

    We spoke to 128 patients and 25 carers.

  48. Update on Autism services in Kent

    Report -

    Last year, we published a report about Autism services in Kent for children and young people.

    We had heard from people about a whole range of issues including a lack of information and support for children and families.

  49. How did people cope during lockdown in April?

    Report -

    Since early April, we have been listening to people's stories about lockdown. We wanted to understand how they have been coping.