Parents and Carers of children 0 – 5 years old - views of accessing children’s healthcare in Sussex

Healthwatch were commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to support their Public Engagement Strategy which outlines how they will engage with people, their families, carers, and organisations that represent them or act on their behalf.

They asked us to carry out with parents and carers with children under 5 years old, around the issues that impact their ability to look after their children’s health and wellbeing. 

Objectives:
• To provide CQC with insight from parents and carers with children under 5 years old, building on what they already know about services available to them, their ability to use them.
• To provide CQC with some insight on how they can best involve these groups in co-designing how CQC does its job.

What we did 

In early 2024, Healthwatch engaged with parents and carers through a survey. We worked with a range of partners, including Bridging Change, Sussex interpreting Services, Amaze and PaCC, Mothers Uncovered, East Brighton Food Cooperation and Maternity Voices Partnership Sussex. We also carried out 19 interviews, recruiting from a diverse group of people, including a range of ages, sexual identity, and ethnic diversity.

We captured a wide range of insights on GP access, dental, specialist / Referral Services, parenting support services, support for emotional needs, maternity services, emergency services and the impacts of the cost of living crisis. We explored barriers to access and/or use of services and also asked people about their awareness and attitudes to the CQC.

Our report has been shared with the CQC, along with similar reports produced by other local Healthwatch.