Covid-19 Interim Report: Your health and well-being during COVID-19
We launched an online survey at the end of April in partnership with Healthwatch Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest which has so far received 187 responses from Newham residents.
Summary
The survey included questions about:
- Health conditions
- Access to information, healthcare and social care services
- Effects on mental health
I don't know what services I can access and how. I need help with interpreting and guidance.
Key Findings
- 70% of respondents do not have any COVID-19 symptoms and 25% think they may have experienced symptoms, but they were not tested.
- While over 60% found it easy to find information about keeping safe, around 30% of respondents found the process somewhat or not at all easy.
- 88% of participants have experienced some form of concern or anxiety about work and health for themselves and their family and friends.
- Over 50% of respondents felt that COVID-19 has affected their access to healthcare for other conditions. This includes not being able to attend cancer treatment, HIV clinic, dental appointments or having their surgery postponed.
I was really pleased to have my regular hospital appointment by phone and very happy that my GP surgery already used telephone triage as it saves time.
Recommendations
- Provided simple and easy to read information on who to contact and where to go to access support.
- Provide information for the wider public to ensure non-traditional service users have better access to services and social prescribing available to them.
- Contact vulnerable residents to check how they are coping with the lockdown, whether and how the current limitations to the support they would have received from friends, family and services is impacting on their lives, and therefore arrange support opportunities for residents in difficulty.
- Provide guidance and an indication for residents as to when health and social care services could resume (subject to government advice) and, in the meantime, provide information on where to go and how to follow up on health and social care concerns.
Read all updates
May 2020 report
June 2020 report
July 2020 report
