What we’re hearing about Surrey Heath – October 2024

Our report, based on local people’s experiences focusses on 5 key areas:

• Experience of Mental Health Services; extended waits for care leading to the need for crisis support, lack of support for carers.
• Experience of General Practice; use of digital applications, equity of access, lack of communication to help people understand their medical conditions, registration confusion, effective referral and diagnosis pathways.
• Experience of secondary care; poor discharge planning, unsatisfactory complaints handling.
• Spotlight on Frimley Park Hospital’s Emergency Department
• Spotlight on Secondary Breast Cancer Services

Frimley ICB have responded positively to our report and are taking forward a number of actions in response to the recommendations we’ve made, including:

Use of digital applications and equity of access:

• Introduction of a new digital system which will be consistent across all GP practices in the area
• Workshops to introduce the new system, Rapid Health, to patients and to offer advice and support on the use of other healthcare apps
• Patients will be able to use Rapid health to book appointments, reducing reliance on telephone access so that those who can only make appointments via phone have more opportunity to do so

Lack of communication to help people understand their medical conditions:

• Ongoing work with individual practices to address this issue

Registration confusion:

• NHS England GP Finder – introduced to all GP practices to align their boundaries according to the ICB’s definitions.