1. Meet Ibrahim

    Blog -

    Ibrahim is a student mental health nurse. He volunteers for Healthwatch as a Digital Champion.

  2. What is the future of adult social care?

    News -

    The social care system is under huge pressure. What does the future hold?

  3. GP services for Islington residents in residential care

    Report -

    We spoke to care home residents, next of kin, and staff about their experiences of GP services that are delivered in the care home setting.

  4. Care home visits

    Report -

    We visited Bridgeside Lodge Care Centre, Cheverton Lodge Care Home, The Highgate Nursing Home, and Muriel Street Resource Centre.

  5. Experiences of the Integrated Care Ageing Team Service

    Report -

    We carried out interviews with residents, relatives and staff in local care homes.

  6. Meaningful activities in care homes and nursing homes in Islington

    Report -

    Our Enter and View volunteers have visited six care homes and nursing homes across the borough. They spoke to residents, their carers and relatives, and to staff.

  7. We asked residents, relatives and staff what they thought about the activities offered in local care homes

    News -

    Our volunteers have visited six care homes and nursing homes across the borough. They spoke to residents, their carers and relatives, and to staff.

  8. Care homes: understanding your rights

    Advice and Information -

    Choosing a care home can be daunting and it's important to have the right information. Find out more about your rights and how to complain if you are not happy.

  9. What should you expect when it comes to care for your teeth?

    Advice and Information -

    Four questions staff should ask you or a loved one about your oral health if you’re a care home resident, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quick guide.

  10. Local care home residents are well supported with their oral health

    News -

    Our volunteers visited six local care homes, speaking to residents, relatives and staff. We also met with the Oral Health Promotion Team from Whittington Health.

  11. Oral health in Islington care homes

    Report -

    We visited six homes, speaking to 46 residents, 24 relatives and 31 staff. We wanted to see how residents were supported with their oral health and whether there was any room for improvement.

  12. Our annual report 2019/20

    Report -

    Last year, we engaged with over 2300 residents. 650 people shared their stories about health and social care, and we made 25 recommendations to services about the improvements that people would like to see.

  13. COVID-19: What you need to know when visiting a care home

    Advice and Information -

    Take a look at what the latest guidance around visiting your loved ones in care homes means in practice.

  14. Islington care homes: experiences of accessing health services for residents

    Report -

    We asked care home managers about access to health services for their residents.

  15. Accessible Information Standard

    Report -

    How do GP practices in Islington make their services accessible to patients with a communication support need?

  16. Support offered at GP practices for patients with autism

    Report -

    Mystery shoppers called GP practices posing as newly arrived Islington residents looking for a practice which could accommodate their child’s needs. They stated that their child had a diagnosis of autism.

  17. How do our GP practices make their services accessible?

    News -

    Our volunteers visited all the GP practices in the borough to get a sense of how easy it is for them to meet the Accessible Information Standard.

  18. How well do local health and care services support the needs of people with autism?

    Report -

    Throughout the Autumn of 2016 we spoke with Islington residents with Autism Spectrum Condition, and with their families.

  19. Helping to make Islington GP surgeries more autism friendly

    News -

    Mystery shopping by Healthwatch volunteers and feedback from local residents has led to improvements in service design.

  20. Local residents with learning disabilities talk about services provided by Whittington Health

    Report -

    We spoke to 28 learning disabled residents and support workers to capture their views on emergency care, the use of digital technology, and health services located in the community.

  21. The Supporting Families Service

    Report -

    We spoke to 24 family carers of people with learning disabilities, two staff members, and three teams from referring agencies. We wanted to understand what the service does well, and suggest ways in which it might be further improved.

  22. The Supporting Families Service at Centre 404

    News -

    We spoke to parents of children with learning disabilities to find out what they valued about this service, and to ask if there was anything that could be improved.

  23. Women at the Islington Bangladesh Association are using their smartphones to stay healthy

    News -

    Women who participated in the Log On project told us what they have learned.

  24. Urgent and same day GP services

    Report -

    Feedback from patients at the Angel Medical Centre walk in service, and from the wider community

  25. The walk in service at Ritchie Street gets good reviews from patients

    News -

    We interviewed 48 patients using the walk in service at the Ritchie Street Health Centre.

  26. Community research 2018

    Report -

    Self-care, social issues affecting health, and care delivered closer to home

  27. Local organisations publish joint report showing how their communities experience health services

    News -

    Diverse Communities Health Voice gathers the views of black and minority ethnic communities that don't speak English as a first language.

  28. Black and minority ethnic groups accessing services in Islington 2016/17

    Report -

    207 local residents gave us their views on pharmacy, lifestyle and well-being, A&E, interpreting services, and GP referrals.

  29. Emergency department, general practice, or pharmacy services?

    Report -

    A number of people use hospital emergency departments when they could be seen by a GP or in their local pharmacy. What factors influence how we decide where we need to be seen?

  30. Revisiting the IHUB GP extended hours service

    Report -

    The IHUB is a new service. It runs out of three centres across Islington. It offers weekend and evening appointments and is open to anyone registered with an Islington GP.

  31. Black and minority ethnic groups accessing services in Islington 2015/16

    Report -

    Local residents gave us their views on hospital appointments and patient choice, GP services, and keeping fit and healthy.

  32. Access to primary care and social care services for Latin American Over 50s

    Report -

    We worked with the Latin American Women's Rights Service (LAWRS) and the Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK (CLAUK) to gather views from Islington residents

  33. I-HUB GP extended hours service

    Report -

    The IHUB offers weekend and evening appointments and is open to anyone registered with an Islington GP.

  34. Mystery shopping: Healthcare Travel Costs

    Report -

    Healthwatch mystery shoppers phoned GP surgeries and visited local hospitals to see how easy it was to make a claim for reimbursement under the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.

  35. GP online services in Islington

    Report -

    To gather local people's views on the online GP appointment booking service, we created a survey.

  36. Experiences of Integrated Care

    Report -

    Gathering views on Multi-Disciplinary Team pilots

  37. Customer Service in GP reception areas

    Report -

    A mystery shopping project

  38. Interpreting services in GP practices

    Report -

    A mystery shopping project

  39. More feedback about urgent and same day GP services

    Report -

    We went back to Ritchie Street to talk to more patients, particularly young adults, using the walk in centre. We also held a focus group for Deaf patients, and visited GP surgeries to see how easy it was to register as a patient.

  40. Seven things Deaf patients told us about GP services

    News -

    We held a focus group with Deaf patients in December 2108. We discussed GP services broadly. We also gathered views on urgent and same day services in particular.

  41. Talking to even more patients at the walk in centre on Ritchie Street

    News -

    The Health and Care Scrutiny Committee asked for more information on how changes to the way urgent appointments are accessed would affect patients currently using the walk in centre.

  42. People with learning disabilities give their views on emergency care

    News -

    Whittington Health is planning how best to deliver services in the future. To help with this, they asked us to speak to local residents about a range of issues.

  43. NHS Long Term Plan

    Report -

    Local Healthwatch from Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington organised surveys, focus groups and interviews to find out what people thought of existing NHS services and to get ideas on how to make services better.

  44. Six ways health services can improve waiting rooms

    Advice and Information -

    Here are six steps that people have told us health and social care services can take to provide a better environment while they wait.

  45. Do you need help travelling to NHS services?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you when travelling to your GP, hospital or other NHS services.

  46. Islington Patient Group November 2019 supporting materials

    Report -

    Find materials for this meeting of the Islington Patient Group.

  47. Our new programme of smartphone and tablet training kicks off on 9 December

    News -

    How long does it take to book a GP appointment on a smartphone? It's easier than you think.

  48. Registering with your GP: understanding your rights

    Advice and Information -

    People have told us they can have problems registering with a GP. This article explains more about your rights and what do to if you are refused the right to register.