News and reports

A child or young person (0-25) is said to have SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which requires special educational provision to be made for them in order to support them to progress. Local service provision is governed by Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015, although other legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010, is also relevant. The introduction of the Children and Families Act and SEND Code of Practice placed greater emphasis on the inclusion of children, young people, parents and carers in planning and decision-making, as well as on supporting aspirations and improving outcomes. This should be facilitated by strengthening joint planning and commissioning of services and the publication of a Local Offer, listing information about local SEND support.

Healthwatch England says “Eye care is the busiest outpatient speciality in the NHS in England, and with an ageing population, demand is set to grow further. According to NHS statistics, of the nearly 59,000 people currently waiting for specialist eye care as of December 2024, only two thirds (66.8%) have been waiting less than the 18-week target set by Government, compared to a target of 92%.”

One of HWS priorities for 2023/24 is to focus on engaging with under representative groups in Sandwell. Through our engagement work, we found that a big topic for discussion were the issues with accessing GP services. The use of digital applications
(apps) was raised as an area concern for conversation.

We have carried out a project that looks at the experiences of people accessing and using digital applications (apps) for GP services, and the barriers to using them. This report will focus primarily on the NHS app, also referenced is the Air mid app.

This January we have visited a number of places to listen to local people share their feedback on services.

We followed up on some Enter and View visits from our Pharmacies programme. Visits were made to each pharmacy on 26th November 2024 and compliance with the recommendations were assessed.

To see what we found out during our re-visits, click the link below.

Come and join us at our Independent Advisory Board meeting on Thursday 4th December. All joining details are below.

Below you will see the minutes from our Independent Advisory Board meeting from September 2024.

Take a look at what Healthwatch Sandwell have been hearing from local people during August and September.

Take a look at what people in Sandwell are saying about their knowledge of Pharmacy First Service.

The Trust aims to discharge patients from hospital in a safe and effective manner to return home/community bed/care facility.
The Discharge Lounge frees up hospital beds as early as possible, thus reducing the length of time that patients in the Emergency Department and coming in for surgery must wait for a bed to become available.

Discharge planning is co-ordinated by members of the nursing and medical team. They plan for a patient’s discharge from the time they are admitted into hospital to help ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. The Discharge Lounge is a comfortable
environment for patients who have been discharged from the ward areas by a doctor and are awaiting medication, discharge documents and transport.
The lounge offers a relaxing environment which is quieter than a ward where patients’ needs can continue to be met.

Healthwatch Sandwell published a report Diabetes in Sandwell in March 2024. 10.1% of Sandwell adult patients are recorded as having diabetes, exceeding West Midlands National average figures, projection are that it diabetes in Sandwell will continue to rise. The report highlighted that raising awareness of diabetes in communities and prevention work with patients diagnosed as prediabetic is key to minimising risk of development of type 2 diabetes and reducing the percentage of patients with diabetes in Sandwell and consequent demand on diabetes health care services.