Understanding the impact of Covid-19 through public and patient surveys
It goes without saying Covid-19 has completely changed the way people currently live and the pandemic will have significant long-term impacts on people’s health and wellbeing. At Wessex Voices, we’ve been trying to keep track of the surveys capturing public and patient feedback on health and social care services. By bringing some of this intelligence together, everyone can see a richer and more holistic picture of people’s current experiences to inform both short term and longer-term health and care solutions.
Currently we have a list of over 30 surveys from a variety of sources and they have predominantly focussed on either mental health or general health and social care feedback. Local Healthwatch we work with in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have also developed their own surveys regarding people’s feedback to inform local services:
- Healthwatch Dorset’s survey
- Healthwatch Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton’s survey
Highlights from others who already sharing findings include:
- National Voices’ Our Covid Voices is a unique way of sharing feedback empowers people to share their stories for all to see on the Our Covid Voices website.
- Traverse’s rapid research report “Knock-on effects of coronavirus on access to healthcare” reinforces the need for having clear, person-centred communications throughout the pandemic at all levels, despite the challenges of having reduced capacity and resources.
- Groundswell’s reports on the impact of Covid-19 on people experiencing homelessness. These two weekly reports highlight a broad range of feedback from what people are telling them to recent policy changes.
- King’s College London’s “Life under lockdown: coronavirus in the UK” report provides findings about the public’s understanding and perception of Covid-19 and the lockdown during its early stages. This snapshot of the public’s views highlights that while generally people understood the threat of Covid-19, many in “sizeable minorities are still underestimating the threat to health.”
But we know there is more intelligence gathering out there that may help fill gaps around the sector’s collective understanding of people’s experiences of services at this time. Which surveys or reports have you read that are particularly insightful? Share your thoughts and recommendations with us with us by commenting below, emailing wessexvoices@helpandcare.org.uk or completing our contact form. By continuing to piece together this information, we can better understand where potential gaps are and work with local partners to consider how best to fill them.
Editor’s note: The tracker will no longer be updated after 14 October 2020. Please refer to the Patient Experience Library for PPI survey reports.