4 Mental Health - Healthwatch Warwickshire Survey PDF 6 MB
The Committee will receive a presentation from
Healthwatch Warwickshire on the findings from its survey of how
Covid-19 has affected the health and wellbeing of people in
Coventry and Warwickshire.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received a report and
presentation from Chris Bain, Chief Executive of Healthwatch
Warwickshire (HWW) on the findings from its survey of how Covid-19
had affected the health and wellbeing of people in Coventry and
Warwickshire.
The presentation included slides on:
- The survey questions:
- How had local people accessed
information during the pandemic and was that information given in a
way that they understood?
- What changes had been made to NHS,
adult social care services, or the support needed or received
during the pandemic?
- How the pandemic had impacted
peoples’ mental health and wellbeing, what services had been
affected and the impact on the person receiving support?
- 1117 people had responded to the
survey, with data on the location and ethnicity of
respondents.
- Findings:
- Information to stay safe and well
– people had found it easy to access information but
difficult to keep up to date. The types of information people
needed clarity on were reported
- Additional communication needs, with
‘easy to read’ information being a common area
- Changes to healthcare – 401
people had experienced changes to their healthcare
- Experiences of healthcare for
Covid-19 symptoms
- Themes in what we are hearing
– maternity and dentistry examples
- Changes to social care
- Mental health and wellbeing –
the key area with 839 respondents, many saying there had been an
impact on their mental wellbeing
- Next steps showing work undertaken
already and that planned
The Committee was invited to submit questions
and responses were provided as indicated:
- The Chair asked if the survey had
identified anything that WCC needed to address. Chris Bain spoke of
the feedback around loneliness and isolation, people feeling
forgotten and how to engage with them, perhaps through the third
sector. The restriction on care home visits impacted on residents
causing anxiety, especially those with dementia, but also for their
relatives too.
- The points about anxiety were echoed
by several members. One referred to a telephone support group she
assisted with and the change in feedback on the wellbeing of those
being contacted. There had been an impact for younger single people
who were working at home, especially those living in rural areas,
due to the lack of social contact.
- Chris Bain endorsed this as 60% of
the survey respondents were of working age and had made this point,
sharing concerns for their own wellbeing and also the impacts on
their families.
- There was a mental health impact for
relatives of not being able to visit people in care. Where they
were coming to the end of their life (EoL), it was questioned
whether family members could have a Covid test to be able to visit
them. An example from the survey feedback showed the mental health
impact for family members where Covid restrictions prevented them
from being present when a loved one passed away.
- A question on survey feedback for
people aged under 25 and especially access to the Rise service.
Endeavours had been made to get feedback from this cohort, but
nothing had been received. ...
view the full minutes text for item 4