Do you like listening to people’s experiences and making their voices heard? Are you passionate about improving health and social care services?

Healthwatch South Tyneside is looking for an enthusiastic and community-minded Engagement and Insight Officer to help ensure residents have a say in the health and social care services they rely on.

This is a part-time role (24 hours per week) and the salary is £25,500 pa (pro rata).

What you’ll do

• Engage with local communities to understand their health and social care experiences
• Gather insights and feedback to help improve services
• Work collaboratively with groups, organisations, and residents to amplify their voices
• Help shape meaningful change in local health and social care provision

Why join us?

✔ Make a real impact in your community
✔ Work with a passionate team dedicated to improving people’s lives
✔ A rewarding role where every conversation can lead to positive change

Download the job pack via the links below:

Engagement and Insight Officer – job ad

Engagement and Insight Officer – job description

Engagement and Insight Officer – application form

Engagement and Insight Officer – equal opportunities monitoring form

Closing date: 7 April 2025

The public meeting, arranged by Healthwatch South Tyneside in response to queries raised by service users at its AGM last year, was held on Tuesday February 18 at the Learning Lounge at Hebburn Central.

The first guest speaker Anna Hargrave, Divisional Director of the Division of Community Services, provided an overview of the Urgent Care in the Community service.

Her presentation covered Urgent Community Response, Virtual Wards (Hospital @ Home), Fast Track Palliative Care, Fast Track Discharge to Assess and the new Care Co-ordination Hub launching in April.

David Newell, Directorate Manager, introduced a presentation on mental health services by Clinical Team Managers Karen Kinghorn and Paula Wake, and Clinical Lead Lisa Mundell. It included how to access support through the Healthy Minds Team, Getting Help Children and Young People’s Mental Health team and through Adult Talking Therapies.

Nicola Price, Practice and Assurance Manager at South Tyneside Council, then shared an update on the support available through adult social services, including short-term and long-term care, assistive technology, transport and personal assistants.

Each presentation was followed by a Q&A session, giving members of the public an opportunity to ask questions.

Chair of Healthwatch South Tyneside, John Lowther, (pictured) said: “It was fantastic to see such a strong turnout from both the people of South Tyneside and borough healthcare professionals.

“It was a valuable opportunity for residents and healthcare professionals to collaborate, network and work together to improve and learn from health and social care services across South Tyneside.

“I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to all three of our guest speakers for their insightful and informative presentations. We are grateful to everyone who attended and contributed to the discussion, an excellent way to engage service users to provide the valuable feedback which influences the design of future services.”

Members of the public who attended left feedback which Healthwatch will use to help plan similar future events.

“It was a good event, with lots of information. I thought the three presentations re mental health just repeated themselves and why can’t there be just one telephone number to contact the service instead of different number, like the care in the community. Lots of information to take in. It was hard to stay focused so would suggest not as many speaker’s next time. Nice, comfortable venue with plenty of free parking spaces.”

“I attended a South Tyneside Healthwatch public meeting as a member of the public, and it was incredibly insightful. It was particularly pertinent to my current personal situation, as I was able to learn about various services that I wasn’t previously aware of. The event provided a great opportunity to highlight services that could be of real benefit to me and my family. One of the clinicians even took the time to speak with me personally after the presentation, which was a valuable opportunity. Their advice and the additional signposts they provided will help me better support my daughter moving forward.”

“The Healthwatch public meeting provided some high quality information on services and projects local to the area. People’s issues were listened to with respect and taken on board by the speakers. The venue was fine for the event with good access. The only minor change I would suggest would be to have probably one less speaker to retain public concentration throughout. I look forward to more events in the future very well organised by the team much appreciated.”

“I loved all the presentations, they all gave out so much information and were very clear and informative. Your hospitality was amazing.”

“Your Voice Counts are excellent in putting information in an Easy Read format. They do this for many voluntary and statutory organisations. I would encourage you to connect with the group.”

The presentations can be downloaded via the following links:

Urgent Care in the Community

Mental Health Services

Adult Social Services

The Prime Minister has welcomed new figures published by NHS England which reveal that between July and November last year, the NHS delivered almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year.

The new data confirms the government reached its two million target seven months earlier than promised – with 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week, and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests delivered.

It follows figures published last week which showed the waiting list has been cut by almost 160,000 since the government took office, compared to a rise of almost 33,000 over the same period the previous year.

It means thousands of patients have received vital operations, scans, treatments, and consultations earlier than planned, helping them get back on with their lives and back to work sooner.

The extra two million appointments – delivered in part by extra evening and weekend working – are underpinned by the government’s ambitious wider reform agenda, including our plan to expand opening hours at Community Diagnostic Centres across the country, 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

The government’s mission to build an NHS fit for the future starts with tackling waiting lists, and hitting this milestone is a crucial step towards treating 92% of elective care patients within 18 weeks of referral by the end of this Parliament – delivering a core commitment in the Plan for Change.

While there is more to do, today’s milestone also clears the path to bring forward wider NHS reforms through the government’s Elective Reform Plan – announced by the Prime Minister last month – which will cut waiting times and improve patient experience by getting people seen more quickly, closer to home.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Two million extra NHS appointments and a waiting list on its way down – we’re delivering on our promise to fix the NHS and make sure people get the care they need, when they need it.

“This isn’t just about numbers. It’s about the cancer patients who for too long were left wondering when they’ll finally start getting their life-saving treatment. It’s about the millions of people who’ve put their lives and livelihoods on hold – waiting in pain and uncertainty as they wait for a diagnosis.

“We said we’d turn this around and that’s exactly what we’re doing – this milestone is a shot in the arm for our plan to get the NHS back on its feet and cut waiting times.

“But we’re not complacent and we know the job isn’t done. We’re determined to go further and faster to deliver more appointments, faster treatment, and a National Health Service that the British public deserve as part of our Plan for Change.”

Since entering office, the government has hit the ground running to fix the broken health service we inherited by tackling the waiting lists, and building an NHS fit for the future.

This includes ending NHS strikes so staff are on the front line instead of the picket line this winter, vaccinating more people against flu than this time last year and putting immediate investment into our health system through £1.8 billion to fund extra elective care appointments as part of record £26 billion extra NHS funding secured at the October Budget.

Building on this, the government has announced an extra £40 million funding pot for trusts who make the biggest improvements in cutting waiting lists. The funding will be available for hospitals from next year to spend on capital projects such as new equipment or repairs to their estate which can deliver faster access to treatment and improve conditions for patients.

Further details on the scope and allocation of the funding package will be set out in due course, but examples of the innovations that trusts will be able to benefit from include investment into new tech such as surgical robots and AI scanners to modernise the NHS and help patients get diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible.

The funding could also go towards completing hospital ward maintenance – expediting the transformation of ageing NHS estates and giving patients newer, safer environments in which to receive care.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: “We have wasted no time in getting to work to cut NHS waiting times and end the agony of millions of patients suffering uncertainty and pain.

“Because we ended the strikes, invested in the NHS, and rolled out reformed ways of working, we are finally putting the NHS on the road to recovery.

“We promised change, and we’ve delivered, providing the two million extra appointments we pledged in just our first five months – a promise made, and a promise kept. The result is around 160,000 fewer patients on waiting lists today than in July.

“That was just the first step. Through our Plan for Change, we are opening new surgical hubs, Community Diagnostics Centres at evenings and weekends, and using private sector capacity to cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”

Amanda Pritchard NHS chief executive said: “Thanks to the hard work of staff and embracing the latest innovations in care, we treated hundreds of thousands more patients last year and delivered a record number of tests and checks, with the waiting list falling for the fourth month in a row.

“There is much more to do to slash waiting times for patients, but the Elective Care Reform Plan will allow us to build on this incredible progress as we boost capacity and drive efficiency while also improving the experience of patients.”

The Elective Reform Plan will drive forward action to meet the 18-week target through the necessary reforms to overhaul the system, support staff, cut waste and put patients first – creating millions more appointments in the process. As part of this, the government is creating thousands more appointments through greater access to Community Diagnostic Centres and 17 new or expanded surgical hubs.

The Community Diagnostic Centres will be opened 12 hours a day, seven days a week wherever possible so that people can access a broader range of more appointments closer to home in their neighbourhoods. These will increase the availability of same-day tests and consultations so that patients don’t have to wait for weeks in between different stages of care.

The surgical hubs will be also created within existing hospitals by June and three others expanded, with more expected in coming years supported by the £1.5 billion investment confirmed at the Autumn budget.

These will bring together the necessary expertise, best practice, and tech under one roof to focus on delivering the most common, less complex procedures. The new hubs will be ring-fenced from winter pressures and will cut waiting times for standard surgeries, in turn freeing up beds in acute wards needed for more complex cases.

Other elements of the plan include freeing up around 1 million more appointments every year by removing non-essential follow-ups, publishing a new deal with the independent sector to increase capacity, revolutionising the NHS app to give patients greater choice and control over their treatment and preventing unnecessary referrals by incentivising GPs to work with hospital doctors to get specialist advice.

The government has also launched a nationwide consultation on the 10 Year Health Plan to build an NHS fit for the future and secured an extra £2 billion to upgrade NHS technology and £1 billion to deal with the massive NHS maintenance backlog.

As part of a drive towards prevention, NHS England have also launched its first-ever awareness campaign today to support more women to attend potentially lifesaving breast screening. The campaign, supported by leading charity Breast Cancer Now, launches today with a new advert across TV, on demand and radio to highlight the benefits of screening in detecting cancer at the earliest opportunity.

Last year alone, NHS breast screening services detected cancers in 18,942 women across England, which otherwise may not have been diagnosed or treated until a later stage, and the most comprehensive review to date found around 1,300 deaths are prevented each year by the breast screening programme.

This article is from an official Department of Health and Social Care press release. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-two-million-extra-nhs-appointments-delivered-early-as-trusts-handed-40-million-to-go-further-and-faster

Letters arriving after appointments, not being kept updated about waiting times for treatment and chasing test results. Just some of the major issues being raised about poor NHS administration and patient communications in a new Healthwatch report.

Such problems can not only be frustrating, but they can also risk some patients not receiving the care or diagnosis they need on time, the report Lost in the System: the need for better admin in the NHS found.

Working with The King’s Fund and National Voices, Healthwatch has today published new research about people’s experiences of NHS admin processes.

The report shows that issues with admin are widespread and are worse for some people, including those with long-term health conditions and people who are struggling financially.

It warns that issues such as letters arriving after appointments, not being kept updated about waiting times for treatment and chasing test results can not only be frustrating, but they can also risk some patients not receiving the care or diagnosis they need on time.

Poor admin also affects staff working in the NHS who can bear the brunt of people’s frustration when patients have been given incorrect information, they do not know who to contact while waiting for care, or their test results have gone astray.

Highlights in our poll 

New public polling conducted by Ipsos for the report reveals the scale of poor NHS admin.

While half, 52%, of the public felt the NHS is good at communicating with patients about things like appointments and test results, a quarter, 25%, said it was poor, and those who had actually interacted with health services in the last year reported widespread issues.

Of those who had used the NHS in the last 12 months, either for themselves or someone they care for, nearly two in every three, 64%, said they had experienced at least one issue with NHS admin or poor communication.

The common issues experienced include:

• 32% of patients have had to chase results following test, scans or X-rays
• 32% of patients have not been kept updated on how long they have to wait for treatment or care
• 23% of patients don’t know who to contact while waiting for care
• 20% received an invitation to an appointment after the date of the appointment.

Of those who have experienced at least one admin issue in the previous 12 months, 42% said they are less likely to seek care in the future due to their experience, and 47% reported it made them think the quality of care the NHS provides is poor.

Impacts of poor admin  

Deeper analysis of the findings reveals that carers, patients with long-term health conditions, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and those struggling financially were all significantly more likely to experience issues with NHS admin and communication. The study found that 75% of patients with one or more long-term health condition had experienced an issue with NHS admin in the last year, compared to 57% of those with no long-term health conditions.

Patients and carers told researchers from The King’s Fund, National Voices and Healthwatch how poor admin has led to stress, anxiety and deteriorating mental health.

Many patients described being unable to cancel or reschedule appointments. One person described how they were automatically discharged from a service when they did not attend an appointment they had been unable to cancel. Another patient received a text confirming their appointment for the 99^th January. Researchers also heard from a patient who is deaf and described how they are still called on the phone despite asking to be communicated with via text or email.

Perception of waste in the NHS

As well as making some patients less likely to seek care in the future, the research shows that poor admin drives a perception of NHS waste. Of those who have experienced at least one problem over the last year with NHS Admin, 61% said that it made them think money was being wasted, 56% said their time was being wasted and 55% felt that NHS staff time was being wasted.

Healthwatch Chief Executive Louise Ansari said: “Admin issues within the NHS and their impacts on people have been in the shadows for too long. We’ve heard countless stories of people whose NHS letters arrived after the appointment day or were sent to the wrong address while some had their referrals lost in the system.

“Admin errors are frustrating and can have serious implications for patient safety. If people miss their tests or scans, they will face a longer wait for their care, putting their health at risk.

“Poor admin puts the onus on the patient or their families, who often have to sort out the problems that NHS systems have created, while at the same time struggling with the health condition they need treatment for. This places a particularly heavy burden on disabled people and those who have a sensory impairment.

“Moving to a system that gets admin right and invests in admin staff development would have the potential to transform people’s experience of care, ensure equal access, and stop people getting lost in a system which is in desperate need of an overhaul.”

Julia Cream, a policy fellow at The King’s Fund and co-author of the report said: “The number of people affected by poor admin is stark. Today’s results lay bare the day-to-day dysfunction of an NHS that is too often not meeting people’s needs and highlights the deep inequalities people experience when they are trying to access and engage with health services. Behind these numbers are stories of people who are worried about their health and struggling to get through the NHS’s front door.

“The government is trying to bring down waiting lists and improve access but these efforts will fail if the NHS cannot communicate effectively with people about when their appointment is or who they need to contact.

“Poor admin drives up perceptions of an NHS that wastes money and staff time and puts people off seeking care. Admin matters and it’s time that admin, and the staff that deliver it, are recognised for the value they bring.”

Jacob Lant, Chief Executive of National Voices, said: “Admin plays a crucial role in how patients experience health care, yet our research shows many people find themselves in an admin doom loop, trapped by no-reply emails and unable to access the person or answers they need. This goes beyond inconvenience, often risking people’s quality of care.

“The results of ineffective and inefficient admin are not felt equally across our society, and affect those already experiencing health inequalities more acutely. For people with multiple long-term conditions, the burden of managing admin is multiplied for each interaction with the system.

“NHS administration appears to be everyone’s job, but no one’s responsibility. The Government’s incoming 10 Year Health Plan provides a much-needed opportunity for NHS admin to be prioritised and for a commitment to be made to getting the basics right for everyone.”

How to fix poor admin – our recommendations 

Together with The King’s Fund and National Voices, we are calling on the government and the NHS to:

• improve patient communication and admin, with the health service required to regularly report on patient experience of admin processes
• prioritise admin in the upcoming government ten-year health plan expected later this year.

NHS leaders and policymakers should ensure there is adequate training and development for NHS admin staff and that patients are part of the design, delivery and testing of new admin approaches.

You can read the full findings and recommendations in the joint long read. 

Source: https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/news/2025-02-17/patients-put-seeking-care-due-dysfunctional-nhs-admin-warn-patient-groups-and

A warning notice has been sent to GB Healthcare Group Ltd for failing to meet the regulations in relation to ‘good governance’ at Hebburn Court.

The CQC inspected the home at The Old Vicarage, Witty Avenue, Hebburn, on October 9, 10 and 24 after receiving reports about poor care. It will closely monitor the home and do a second inspection within six months. 

This is the full report:

Our view of the service

Hebburn Court provides accommodation with nursing and personal care for up to 55 people. 31 people were using the service when we visited, some people were living with dementia. This unannounced assessment was due to whistle blowing concerns about poor care and significant events at the home. We visited the home on 9, 10 and 24 October 2024 and found breaches of the regulations relating to safe care and treatment, person-centred care, safeguarding, safe premises, consent to care, duty of candour and good governance. Ineffective leadership had led to significant shortfalls, placing people at risk of harm, including poor record keeping, ineffective risk management, not reporting and investigating serious allegations of abuse and delays in renewing some DoLS. Actions were outstanding from the last fire risk assessment and the electrical installation safety inspection. As well as fire safety and evacuation concerns. Risks associated with the environment had not been managed. Medicines were not handled safely. Staff did not support people appropriately when they displayed distressed behaviours. The provider had not sought appropriate consent for restrictions on people lacking capacity, such as for bedrails and CCTV use. Care plans were not person-centred, accurate or up to date. Falls, incidents, accidents and allegations of abuse were not effectively analysed. The provider had appointed an interim management team who had developed an action plan and were overseeing improvement. The service has been placed into special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.

People’s experience of this service

Although people and relatives were generally happy with the care and people felt safe, our assessment found significant shortfalls in people’s care. People did not receive care that promoted their safety, wellbeing or dignity. Although some staff were kind and caring and treated people with respect, this was inconsistent. People living with dementia lacked meaningful stimulation and engagement. People did not have opportunities to participate in meaningful activities. People living with dementia did not receive person-centred and dignified care, including suitable footwear, support with oral healthcare or meaningful activities. Some people did not receive the support they needed to eat safely.

* We served a warning notice GB Healthcare Group Ltd on 24 December 2024 for failing to meet the regulations in relation to ‘Good governance’ at Hebburn Court.

Ratings

• Overall – Inadequate

• Safe – Inadequate

• Effective – Requires improvement

• Caring – Requires improvement

• Responsive – Requires improvement

• Well-led – Inadequate

Source: https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-13773098295/reports/AP6883/overall