Healthwatch Isle of Wight helps Islanders get the best out of their local health and care services. This in Nikki Stewart from Healthwatch IW, in her own words. Ed
There is still time to contribute to a major survey that will explore how well residents who are deaf or hard of hearing are able to communicate with those providing health and care services on the Isle of Wight.
Healthwatch Isle of Wight which is conducting the survey, the first of its kind undertaken on the Island, has extended the deadline for those wishing to take part until 11th July.
Collaborating with audiology department
Healthwatch has also enlisted the support of the audiology department at St Mary’s Hospital who will highlight the survey to all patients.
The survey follows feedback from residents who identified the issue of communications as one they would like to see reviewed by the local health and social care watchdog. The survey aims to help those with hearing difficulties to have their say in shaping and improving health and care services on the Island.
Help from Age UKIW
Age UK Isle of Wight is helping to administer the survey through its wide network of contacts and groups. Service Users of Action on Hearing Loss and Island Support Services are also taking part, and Healthwatch IW is using an interpreter to ensure those who use British Sign Language as their first language are able to share their views.
Sara Ellis, Healthwatch IW, Community Outreach and Engagement Officer said:
“This is an important survey as thousands on the Island have some form of hearing loss. This is a major group of people and we are very keen to understand what problems they may have in accessing local health and care services.
“We have extended the deadline to allow more time for people to let us know their experiences and we are delighted that the audiology department at St Mary’s is encouraging its patients to fill in the survey when they visit.”
Important issues
Susan Poole, Senior Audiologist, said:
“We agree that the way our patients are able to communicate with – and influence – the services on which they rely is a very important issue and we are delighted to be assisting Healthwatch in this survey.
“We welcome feedback on the services they receive so we look forward both to seeing the results of the survey and looking at how we can improve the way we communicate with our patients.”
Action on Hearing Loss statistics show that there are more than 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss, or one in six of the population.
Take the survey
