As local health and care services come under increasing pressure due to the coronavirus, and access to services becomes more challenging, we are reminding people that we're here to help.
As the county’s independent health and care champion, we are well known for our work gathering public feedback about health and social care services to help make care better in the county. In addition, we provide an information and advice service to help people find information about local health and social care services and support.
Healthwatch Somerset Manager, Hannah Gray, said:
“Coronavirus is having a huge impact on how health and social care services are being delivered locally. These are challenging and unsettling times for everyone. We recognise that keeping up to date with information and advice can be difficult in such a fast-changing situation, but we are here to help. We are in regular contact with health and social care providers in Somerset, so that we have the most up to date information to share with the public about how to access the services and support they need. Sometimes just talking to someone about what to do and where to go can be reassuring, so do please get in touch if you need our help.”
As part of our ongoing work promoting public feedback to influence positive change in local health and social care services, we want to hear from local people about how the virus has affected their access to care. Feedback will be analysed to help highlight what works well and to identify where things need to be improved.
For information and advice about local services and support, or to share your views and experiences: