“I decided to Volunteer with Healthwatch as when my mum was ill I got to see a lot of great work and also areas of improvement across a number of services; I wanted to see if other people were dealing with the same challenges as me and my family and to make things better for my local community.

Whilst Volunteering with Healthwatch I have conducted a number of Virtual Engagements in Care Homes during lockdown which I found challenging and rewarding. This engagement allowed Healthwatch to build up recommendations for improvement that could be elevated to Care Homes and the Local Authority as well as sharing lessons learned with other providers to help in driving improvements that way too.

I have contacted users of Home Care services which was great as it allowed me to speak to members of the public and obtain feedback on the key gaps in current Home Care services and identify what improvements need to be made in future services.

I have also been involved in an Enter and View at A&E which enabled me to understand the impact of COVID and how patients have been treated through their GP, other Urgent Care services and subsequently A&E. From this engagement, there again was a lot of improvements that we found which could help patients to get the help and support needed. It was also apparent from what I was told by patients that the A&E teams were doing some excellent work in these challenging times which I enjoyed hearing about.

In addition to the above, I have reviewed and given feedback on a number of documents and reports to give feedback so that improvements can be made in the reporting of services.

There is significant training provided by Healthwatch, from the initial induction and safeguarding training to specialised training provided before any key piece of work. This support helped me feel comfortable and prepared before starting with any engagements.

I found from the training and support I received that I felt confident going into those situations, as I knew that I had the support of the Volunteer Coordinator and wider Healthwatch team for any queries, questions etc.

I have really enjoyed all of the activities that I have been involved with, as every engagement with a member of public or staff means that you are part of the process to try and make things better and drive improvements into the services and also highlighting when there’s risks and actions that need to be taken. It does also allow us to show when things are going well too and we can share that learning with other areas.”