Helpline enquires to Healthwatch Brighton and Hove: April 1st 2023 – March 31st 2024

• Between April 1^st 2023 and March 31^st 2024, we received 365 enquiries to our helpline (an increase of 52% from last year). 

The majority of people contacting the helpline were:

• Raising a concern or negative experiences about a service (197).
• Raising formal complaints (31).
• Requesting information (92).
• Making compliments about a service (40).

The five leading areas of concerns and related complaints raised, in descending order were:

1. Poor quality of care from a GP (49 people).
2. Poor hospital care including ambulance waiting times, treatment waiting times and poor communication of cancelled appointments (46).
3. Poor access to a GP appointment – including waiting times for appointments (34).
4. Lack of an NHS dentist including emergency dental care (26)
5. Concerns about the Emergency Department at the Royal Sussex County Hospital (13).

• Comparing the first and last six months of the 2023/2024 year, comments about the poor quality of care from a GP and poor access to a GP have become more common. The same trend applies to poor hospital care including ambulance waiting times, treatment waiting times and poor communication of cancelled appointments. 
• Concerns over a lack of NHS dentist have been less common during the last six months of the year.
• As a positive outcome from using the helpline, a total of 198 people (54%) contacting the helpline were signposted for further advice and support. Approximately 50% or 100 of those who provided demographic information were described as seldom-heard. 
• The helpline invites people to voluntarily add their demographic data (the figures below are from the up to 193 people who answered these questions, not from the total number of enquiries):
• Most people contacting the helpline were women (131 or 68%), of a White: British / English / Northern Irish / Scottish / Welsh background (81 or 80%), and between the ages of 50 and 64 years (64 or 34%).
• Just over one-third (64 or 38%) had a disability, and 22 or 55% of those with a disability had a long-term condition.
• The majority said their sex was the same as that assigned at birth (134 or 80%) and 72 or 49% said they were heterosexual, with a notable 46 or 32% saying ‘not known’. 22 (15%) people were Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual.
• Data on marital and civil partnership status, pregnancy, and religion were also provided.