Healthwatch Cheshire publish A&E Watch Report
Healthwatch Cheshire have published our latest A&E Watch Report, looking at the experiences of people accessing A&E and why they attended.
In July 2021, Healthwatch were approached by members of the Cheshire A&E Delivery Board to undertake an A&E Watch across the three A&E departments located in Cheshire. This was in the context of unprecedented levels of attendance in the departments, and pressures across the whole health and care system.
Through the independent conversations Healthwatch could hold, partners sought to better understand the reasons why people were attending, specifically whether they had attempted to access any other services prior to going to A&E. A&E Watch allows Healthwatch Cheshire to gather the experiences of individuals, which provides additional rich and detailed information, enhancing the statistics regarding A&E attendance.
The report has been produced based on the responses from the 266 people who completed our survey across four engagement sessions at the three hospitals. It is recommended that the information is used to provide intelligence for the planning of A&E services in Cheshire, and is being shared with the A&E Delivery Board for Cheshire, each Hospital Trust, NHS Cheshire CCG, and Local Authorities, amongst others.