National Reports Library

Summary of report content

Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull have engaged 689 people in the NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) project. Focus groups and online surveys evaluated general and condition specific experiences of health care. 

It was found that people did not experience health professionals encouraging self-care or empowerment. People want to feel listened to and provided with more information, treatment and equipment for self-care. This can be achieved through up-to-date training and knowledge. The majority of participants had access to the internet and where able to access information about the most recent developments in healthcare. Better signposting was a theme featured throughout the survey responses and during the focus groups. Where services are available often people do not know about them. If they do know about them, they often cannot access them.

Recommendations include that the STP should:

• Clearly lay out how the health and social care system will improve communication pathways with patients.
• Address individual and community skill gaps for self-care. 
• Eliminate the gaps in meeting the Accessible Information Standard that exist locally.
• Reflect on the availability of services to support individuals.
• Implement actions, where waiting times are unavoidable, to support individuals to self-care.
• Detail how assets within communities will be supported and developed, identifying and addressing any gaps across Birmingham and Solihull.
• Address how the local STP will work across all partners to reduce the stigma

The STP responded to the findings detailed in this report. 

Would you like to look at:

Report 

20190722 Birmingham and Solihull LTP final report.pdf