News and reports

This report will provide an overview of the Enter and View visits conducted between April 2023 and March 2024. This will include visits to support services related to diabetes however, the visit to Harvest View, 28 Harvest Rd, Rowley Regis will not be included as it will be a standalone report.
Enter and View programme focused on Patient’s experiences of support services related to diabetes e.g. diabetes clinics, phlebotomy, retinal screening services (at hospital eye clinics and opticians etc), foot clinics and urology. There were a range of these services (22 venues approx.) A sample of Clinics were visited to ensure that the 6 towns were covered – see appendix 1. Some sites offer a range of these services so some visits were combined.

Here are our January Insights from the Healthwatch Sandwell Team!

Click the link below to see what we have been doing.

Healthwatch Sandwell are aware the challenges people facing regarding getting GP appointments, especially during the pandemic. We would like to capture the other side of GP surgeries, what are surgeries doing to improve the patient experience?

Our priority project for 2023/24 is looking at peoples’ experiences of living with and managing
diabetes, and of health, care and support services. We have teamed up with Diabetes UK and are working in partnership local community organisations to reach and hear from Sandwell residents with diabetes, or pre-diabetes. Diabetes UK has highlighted that more research is needed on the impacts of becoming elderly and
managing diabetes. As people age some may become frail and have other health conditions including having an increased risk of vascular dementia with diabetes.

The Department of Foot Health cares for a wide range of foot and lower limb problems amongst the population of Sandwell and West Birmingham community, with the primary focus on preventative care to minimise the risk of complications which are associated with, but are not exclusive to, diabetes. A number of specialist clinics are provided, tailored to the needs of each patient. These include: nail surgery, neurological foot service, biomechanics, diabetic foot care and specialist wound care management, rheumatology, podopaediatric clinics and Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Asda is the first supermarket in the UK to offer NHS Diabetic Eye Screening in its stores as part of a partnership with In Health Intelligence. The clinic rooms are rented from Asda, but there is no other link with the Asda organisation.

Opticians are at the frontline of eye care. By carrying out detailed examinations, they are helping to improve eye health across the country. They also prescribe and fit glasses and contact lenses. Chapman Opticians have a wide variety of frames and lenses giving lots of choice and can advise on styles of eyewear that suit individual needs.

The Department of Foot Health cares for a wide range of foot and lower limb problems amongst the population of Sandwell and West Birmingham community, with the primary focus on preventative care to minimise the risk of complications which are associated with, but are not exclusive to, diabetes. A number of specialist clinics tailored to each Patient’s need are provided, including: nail surgery, neurological foot service, biomechanics, diabetic foot care and specialist wound care management, rheumatology, podopaediatric clinics and Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Phlebotomy is the process of taking blood samples from Patients, to aid doctors in their investigations and diagnosis. At Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, all blood tests are by appointment only and can be carried out at a number of locations including Victoria Health Centre.

The Department of Foot Health cares for a wide range of foot and lower limb problems amongst the population of Sandwell and West Birmingham community, with the primary focus on preventative care to minimise the risk of complications which are associated with, but are not exclusive to, diabetes.

Our Authorised Representatives facilitated the visit and spoke to 7 patients, both male and female of mixed ethnicities and observed the environment on 1st August 2023.

A pre-set of questions were asked that covered:

• Patient experience of the service including booking appointments, care by
staff, accessibility to the building and information and any suggestions to improve the service.
• How staff meet individual needs of patients including the communication needs
of patients who have impairments, handling anti-social behaviour from
patients / relatives, how to support patients who want to raise a complaint /
concern about the service and suggestions to improve the service.

Here are our October Insights. Find out what the team have been up to and listen to what local people in Sandwell are telling us!