A series of services offering medical support to people in Norfolk often preventing them from needing to go to hospital Accident and Emergency departments must be kept open.
This was the key message from hundreds of people who took part in two surveys around the future of these services earlier this year.
Healthwatch Norfolk was asked to analyse and report back on plans for the future of the Norwich Walk-In Centre, the Vulnerable Adults Health Inclusion Hub which offers GP support to people with no fixed abode, and the GP Out Of Hours Service.
It has published its report at https://healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/reports/norfolk-health-services-review/
Although health bosses decided not to progress with any changes midway through the consultation, Healthwatch Norfolk opted to continue with the analysis and production of a report to help demonstrate the strong feeling for all three.
The survey
In total, over 2100 people sent in responses through face-to-face consultation and online surveys, and formal responses were also received from a number of different organisations.
Healthwatch Norfolk also conducted face-to-face sessions with adults in vulnerable situations and the staff who care for them to get specific information about use of the Vulnerable Adults Service.
An overwhelming majority of people leaving feedback raised concerns about the impact of the service changes.
They said reducing the GP Out Of Hours Service would make it difficult for people to get help, particularly affecting those in rural areas, older adults, disabled people, and those with access to public transport.
This would divert more people to A&E or emergency services, increasing pressure there.
There was similar feedback around the Norwich Walk-In Centre. People told Healthwatch Norfolk it provided vital same-day care for people who could not get an appointment from their GP.
They also feared proposals to reduce the operating hours or close the centre would limit access to care, increase waiting times, put more pressure on hospital emergency departments, and were sceptical if any cash savings being diverted to GP practice would actually mean more available appointments.
Meanwhile the Vulnerable Adults Health Inclusion Hub was seen as a lifeline -literally in some cases – for people who are homeless, isolated and have complex health needs. Most felt it should stay based in Norwich rather than moving to a mobile service as people know where to go, it provides consistency, and patients would struggle to find it if it was moving around.
Many of those taking part in the surveys designed by NHS Norfolk and Waveney found them difficult to complete, with respondents leaving the questionnaires unfinished due to the repetitive nature of the questions and confusion caused by their wording. As a result, around half the people who started the surveys failed to leave full responses.
Following a full analysis of the feedback, we made the following recommendations:
- Maintain the current number of locations for the GP Out-of-Hours Service.
- Maintain the current Norwich Walk-in Centre.
- Maintain the current Vulnerable Adults Service Health Inclusion Hub in Norwich.
- Consider renaming the Vulnerable Adults Service as people felt it did not reflect what the organisation did and produce a new logo which does not include chains as these can put both former prisoners and asylum-seekers off seeking help.
- Improve the way surveys are designed, and responses are collected in the future.
Reaction
Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said: “It was unanimous that people across the county felt the Norwich Walk-In Centre and Out Of Hours GP Practice bases should stay. These provide a vital safety net for people and have a strong preventative role in reducing pressure on the A & E teams at hospitals.
“There was also some incredibly detailed information from chats we had with people using hostels, homeless support services, and the Vulnerable Adults Service itself. It is no exaggeration to say some said they would not be alive without the service, it was more than a GP practice, and offered a wide range of care and support under one roof in a location that was known with staff who were respected and trusted.
“We also have concerns about the way this survey was both put together and communicated. There were hundreds of unfinished surveys which is very unusual for any consultation of this sort and people also told us face to face they found it confusing.
“There was also an emphasis on people filling it in online, which is why we felt it was important to spend time and money on ensuring our team talked to people face-to-face county-wide to overcome both the confusion of the survey and ensure people who may not have smartphones or computers could still participate fully.”
In its formal response, NHS Norfolk and Waveney said the existing GP Out-Of-Hours Service bases will continue to operate for the foreseeable future. It added new three-year contracts will soon be awarded for both the walk-in centre and the Vulnerable Adults Service.
The organisation also said it would work with the new providers of the Vulnerable Adults Service to look at a new name for it as well as take on board the feedback in the report to enhance the way it carries out surveys and collects information in the future.
You can find out more in the extended video below
There is a subtitled version of the video below
