23/08/2025
At our recent free Health Event, “What Can Crowthorne Do For You?”, Shamin Zafar and Simon Shaw delivered a presentation on the work that they do as part of HealthWatch.
This is what they had to say.
SO WHO ARE HEALTHWATCH AND WHAT DO THEY DO?
Healthwatch Wokingham Borough is your local health and social care champion for change.
Under the Health and Social Care Action 2012 HealthWatch must be commissioned in each area.
They have a statutory obligation under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.
They have political independence and are independent of decision making.
The Advocacy People is commissioned as host to provide HealthWatch Reading as part of a portfolio of several HealthWatch services it maintains.
Their Vision is to bring closer the day when everyone gets the care they need.
Their Mission is to make sure that people’s experiences help make health and care
better.
Their Values include Listening to people and making sure their voices are heard.
⭐️ Including everyone in the conversation, especially those who do not always have their voice heard.
⭐️Analysing different people’s experiences to learn how to improve care.
⭐️ Acting on feedback and driving change.
⭐️ Partnering with care provides, Government, and the voluntary sector – serves as the
public’s independent voice.
Some of their Objectives include:
⭐️ Supporting GP surgeries to improve their communication with the public.
⭐️ Raising public awareness about to pathways for support and increase
understanding of the new ways of working
Increasing appropriate access to services and reducing complaints.
In a recent survey, of which 238 Wokingham participants took part, they have found that:
⭐️ Many people reported long phone waiting times, difficulties booking appointments, signification delays in getting appointments, and not being able to see their preferred GP.
⭐️ While tools like the NHS App are designed to simplify access to GP services, many patients, particularly older adults and those without strong digital skills, found it difficult to use.
⭐️ Many people were unaware that care navigators have replaced traditional receptionists. This system, while intended to streamline access, left patients, feeling frustrated and unclear about the process.
⭐️ Lack of clear communication from surgeries about changed in how GP services operate was a common theme. Many patients felt left in the dark about new systems and how to effectively navigate them.
Some of the recommendations from their findings are as follows:
⭐️ Surgeries should provide clear, accessible information on how appointments are shared out and alternative options. There should be simple, clear routes to accessing appointments.
⭐️ Make opportunities to assess whether a patient can access digital services effectively. Show a flag on each patient’s record indicating whether digital services are appropriate.
⭐️ Use an Infographic to show the workings of each section of the surgery, e.g. triaging to provide patients with a visual representation of workings in an accessible format.
⭐️ Surgeries would benefit sharing timelier information on changes or updates to services both in surgery, website and online. Ensure Easy Read, and accessible language is available.
If you would like to know more about these finding, and the work of HealthWatch, get in touch with us via email at ppgjointventure@gmail.com
