Hospital Trust Responds to HWL Diabetes Report

Earlier this year, Healthwatch Lancashire and Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwin were asked to conduct a survey to hear young adults’ experiences of Diabetes transition. Commissioned by East Lancashire Hospital Trust, the survey was conducted with a group of 34 young adults from across Lancashire. 

The survey

The survey asked a range of questions and concluded by asking respondents to consider what a ‘perfect diabetes service’ would look like. ‘A perfect service would consist of quick, timely, local appointments where all the necessary staff were present and everyone is understanding, friendly and caring…’ 

Read the full report here.

The response

After receiving a report, the Trust responded to the survey’s findings.

‘Results of the report were given to Dr Chris Gardner, Consultant Paediatrician and Deputy Medical Director for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust.

“Healthwatch volunteers and staff are thanked for the work undertaken to support the Trust in highlighting positive findings from patients and their families, as well as highlighting some areas for improvement.  We take all feedback seriously and work hard to ensure all our patients and their relatives have a good experience when using the Trust’s services.”

After reviewing the comments from patients and the recommendations made by Healthwatch Lancashire and BwD, we want to advise that:

• One of the positive aspects of the COVID Pandemic is that advances in remote consultations have made many of the ideas within the report more achievable. It is good to see that this innovation will be welcomed by our patients.
• We are encouraged by the many positive comments about the support which the team is able to give, however the report provides powerful insights into reasons for non-attendance at clinic, and the fear factor. The team will look at their approach to patients to understand how this can be specifically addressed to enable our patients to take advantage of the support on offer.
• We will aim to create an action plan to address the issues raised in the report to advance the service further.’

Thank you

We’d like to thank the young people who shared their experiences with us. Each response has helped us to keep the Trust informed and to ensure that the services the public use reflect the public’s needs. 

Thank you also to East Lancashire Hospital Trust for asking us to carry out this work and for responding.