Insight into your health and social care
Healthwatch North Yorkshire collects feedback from people who have spoken to us, met us events, or shared their stories through Care Opinion (a popular website for healthcare feedback in the UK). These logs offer a quick overview of both positive and negative experiences with health and care services in the county. The feedback covers a variety of services each month, including GPs, hospitals, social care, dental care, and mental health support, among others.
Key findings
Here is a summary of feedback from the Healthwatch North Yorkshire report for April to June 2024:
GP services
Access to GP services is a major issue, with long phone queues and waiting times for appointments. However, the quality of care is generally good once patients are seen.
Fisher Medical Centre: Patients report issues with prescriptions and long waiting times for appointments. Positive feedback focuses on the quality of care once seen.
Nidderdale Group Practice: Mostly positive feedback about thorough, kind, and caring doctors. One negative comment about long waiting times for appointments.
Beech Tree Surgery: Positive feedback about the reception team and support with prescriptions. One negative comment about not being able to see a GP.
Brook Square Surgery: Mixed feedback with issues around long waiting times for urgent appointments and feeling dismissed by GPs. Positive feedback on efficient prescription dispensing.
Hospital care
Mixed feedback with praise for professional and caring staff, but long waiting times in A&E and for outpatient appointments are common complaints.
Harrogate Hospital: Positive feedback highlights efficient and caring staff, especially in A&E and orthopaedics. Negative feedback is mainly about long waiting times.
Scarborough Hospital: Staff are praised for their friendliness and professionalism, but long waiting times in A&E and for outpatient appointments are a concern.
Friarage Hospital: Positive feedback about the quality of care and the urgent treatment centre. Negative feedback includes issues with parking.
York Hospital: Mixed feedback with long waiting times for outpatient appointments. Positive comments about respectful and kind staff.
James Cook Hospital: Concerns about long waiting times for operations and administrative issues. Positive feedback about orthopaedic consultants.
Dentistry
All feedback about dentistry is negative, mainly due to the difficulty in registering with an NHS dentist. Many people are forced to go private, which is costly.
Social care
Feedback on social care is varied. Some praise the quality of end-of-life care and reablement services, while others criticise the care in certain care homes.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service
Long waiting times for ambulances are a significant issue. However, the ambulance staff are appreciated for their kindness and care.
What happens next?
We ask that service providers and planners mentioned in this report act on the feedback and let us know what they’ve done or plan to do to address the concerns raised.
We recognise the challenges healthcare workers face and will keep calling for more support for services, patients, and their families.
