Annual Report 2022-23
Over 30000 people came to us last year to seek information or to share their story with us. Read our annual report to find out more about what we did this year and how we have helped improve services.
We published 20 reports about the improvements people would like to see to health and social care services.
We attended 45 events and engaged directly with 2165 people during our summer tour. People told us about challenges of accessing GP Practices, NHS dentists and hospital services.
Our Chair went on local radio to highlight the concerns around ‘delays in emergency care at A&E’. We then visited the Adults Emergency Department at Leicester Royal Infirmary in September and heard from 139 people.
Carers Week gave us an opportunity to reach carers to hear their views on services. We partnered with the team at Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL) to attend carer events across the county and listened to 165 carers.
With the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacting Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities and vaccination uptake remaining consistently low, we reached out to these communities to hear their stories.
Over 200 young people have shared with us their views on mental health services. We have raised concerns with the service provider about young people’s services.
We spoke to 523 people about local Dementia Services and the impact that COVID-19 has had on local service provision.
Harsha Kotecha, Chair said: “May I take this opportunity to thank all who have engaged with us in the last twelve months, who shared their experiences and the providers who have made changes because of our feedback.”
Gemma Barrow, Healthwatch Manager said: “Over the last 10 years we have listened to the people of Leicester and Leicestershire to ensure their views on local health and care services are heard and acted upon. I would like to thank the people of Leicester and Leicestershire for continuing to share their stories with us and I would like to thank our volunteers, Board members and staff team who are dedicated to improving our local services.
“We are looking forward to building on our successes with the support of our provider Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL), working with the public, voluntary and community groups to be an effective and representative champion for local people.”