Agenda item

[To consider the Healthwatch Wolverhampton Annual Report 2020-2021]. 

The Manager of Healthwatch Wolverhampton presented the Healthwatch Wolverhampton Annual Report 2020-2021 to the Panel. 

The Chair referred to the point in the annual report regarding GP communication with patients being an issue before and during the pandemic.  She would have liked to have seen precise details in the report regarding which surgeries they had received answers from.  She proposed a Special Health Scrutiny Panel to be held in December 2021 to consider Primary Care appointments.  She asked if Healthwatch could complete an audit on Tuesdays and Thursdays at GP surgeries to see how easy it was to contact the surgery and arrange an appointment. 

The Healthwatch Manager offered to share the report on GP communication which had been completed a few years ago. She agreed to contact GP surgeries ready for the Special meeting which would take place in December.  

A Member of the Panel referred to the reference in the Annual Report of an underspend of approximately £19,000.  He also referred to the pilot mental health scheme which some schools in the City were participating in.  He stressed the importance of support mechanisms for youngsters.  He asked why there was an underspend when there were situations which needed improvement such as young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing. 

The Healthwatch Manager confirmed there was an underspend, which would be transferred into next year’s finances.  Healthwatch Wolverhampton did work quite closely with the colleges on the matter of mental health.  She would come back to the Panel on why there was an underspend and why it had not been spent on an area of priority need.

A Panel Member referred to the reference in the report which stated that Healthwatch had directly helped 845 people.  Of the total funding Healthwatch received, that worked out as £2,300 per person.  He would have hoped that Healthwatch could have helped more people directly particularly during the Covid pandemic.

The Healthwatch Manager responded that it was difficult for Healthwatch to fully engage with the public during the Covid pandemic.  Not everyone was able to engage with digital platforms.  She offered for the Managing Director of Engaging Communities Solutions (ECS) to come back to the Panel on matters regarding finance.  It was however true that the bulk of the funding received was spent on staffing costs.  Whilst 845 people had been directly helped, this did not represent the amount of times Healthwatch may have contacted them, for example some people could have had 10-15 contacts.

A Panel Member commented that an underspend was not necessarily a bad thing for Healthwatch to have.  It could show prudent financial management during a difficult time from Covid.  They stated that Healthwatch had done a tremendous job in difficult circumstances, adding that a lot of people had been directly helped.  She asked the representatives from Healthwatch to comment on their links with Wolverhampton’s Voluntary Sector Council. 

The Healthwatch Manager responded that the Voluntary Sector Council had provided them with a list of names of people to call for welfare checks during the pandemic.  On the subject of mental health and improving digital inclusion, partnership working with the Voluntary Sector Council was important.

The Vice-Chair referred to a section in the annual report which referenced the difficulty some people had in contacting GP surgeries and that Healthwatch had contacted the relevant surgeries.  He asked if a list of the surgeries could be provided.  He also asked how many Patient Participation Groups there were across the GP surgeries. He also referred to the fact that following recommendations from an enter and view visit it had been another two years before Healthwatch had revisited the premises. 

The Healthwatch Manager responded that they hoped to revisit premises within 12 months of having made recommendations in the future.  There had been a number of staffing changes for people who managed the enter and view process which had also been a mitigating factor.  Enter and view reports were always available on the website for people to access.  She was happy to bring any enter and view report to scrutiny in the future.  She would have to refer to the original report with reference to the GP surgeries contacted and the number of Patient Participation Groups (PPG).  She didn’t know the exact number of PPGs.          

The Chair on behalf of all Panel members thanked Healthwatch for providing their Annual Report. 

Resolved: That Healthwatch provide information at the Special Health Scrutiny planned for December 2021 on Primary Care Access in Wolverhampton.