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If you have feedback about these topics, or any recent experiences about health or care services you think we should know about, give Healthwatch Tameside a call on 0161 667 2526. Or email info@healthwatchtameside.co.uk

Do you have additional communication or information support needs? We want to hear from you!

Healthwatch Tameside are conducting a research project into Accessible Information and Communication across GP practices in Tameside.

We want to hear from people with additional information and communication support needs and their carers about their experiences of accessing GP services in Tameside. This means anyone with information or communication needs relating to a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.

If you have been unable to access information and communication from your GP practice, how has this affected you?

We will talk to you in a way that works for you. This could be filling out a form online, posting a paper survey, talking over the phone, or another method. Please let us know what works best for you.

The stories we gather through this project will be used to show the people who run GP services in Tameside how accessibility is working, and what can be improved.

We will share a report and set of recommendations with the people who run GP services in Tameside. We will also publish our findings on our website and social media channels.

All patient stories will be anonymous – we will not use your name when sharing your story. If you have any questions about this, please get in touch with us using the details above. You can also view our Privacy policy by clicking this link: www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/privacy.

This project will help make GP services easier for everyone to use. By providing your story, you are helping to make a difference to care in Tameside.

Our recent reports

Take a look at our recent reports to see what we have been working on.

If you would like a paper version of our reports, please get in touch with us using the details at the top of this mailing, and we will arrange to send these to you.

Enter and View reports

Healthwatch Tameside has the legal power to visit health and social care services and see them in action. This power to Enter and View services offers a way for Healthwatch Tameside to meet some of our statutory functions and allows us to identify what is working well with services and where they could be improved.

As part of our statutory functions, our board have agreed to conduct a series of Enter and View visits to care providers within Tameside. Reports from our first two scheduled visits have now been published.

During the visits, we explored topics such as quality of care, safety, dignity, respecting and acknowledging the resident’s and families’ wishes and staff training.

Following our visits, we compiled our findings and included a set of recommendations for the service provider's review. The reports include responses from the service providers.

Enter and View reports:

Auden House Care Home - www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/report/2025-01-30/healthwatch-tameside-enter-view-report-auden-house-care-home

Daisy Nook House Care Home - www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/report/2025-05-29/healthwatch-tameside-enter-view-report-daisy-nook-house-care-home

GP Experience Report

Healthwatch Tameside were receiving feedback from people struggling to see their GP, specifically that people were finding it difficult to use online services to book appointments. To gain further insight on this issue, and to understand if this was a recurring issue across Tameside, Healthwatch Tameside launched a research project in October 2023.

Healthwatch Tameside received 220 responses to the survey and the research highlighted common themes such as challenges booking appointments, accessibility of online tools, and being able to see the same doctor to support continuity. The research also described areas of positive practice which included communications from practices and how grateful people are to the GPs and staff.

Healthwatch Tameside compiled the findings into a report and included a set of recommendations. The report includes a response from the commissioner, which notes the themes identified in our report align with their Primary Care Improvement Work Programme. Our research has provided specific feedback in the form of patient experiences which will be considered by Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (Tameside) in future workstreams.

Healthwatch Tameside will follow-up with Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (Tameside) in 12-months to see if the recommendations suggested as part of this report, have been implemented.

Read the report here: www.healthwatchtameside.co.uk/report/2025-04-07/healthwatch-tameside-gp-experience-report

Tameside GP joins Healthwatch England

Healthwatch Tameside congratulates Dr Joanna Bircher on her appointment to the national Healthwatch England Committee.

Joanna is a local GP from Tameside who has held a number of quality improvement roles in the NHS locally and regionally as well as being co-author of the Royal College of General Practice’s Guide to Quality Improvement.

At Healthwatch Tameside we have worked alongside Joanna for several years. She has always had a collaborative approach to working with us, whether this has been in terms of making the best use of patient feedback we share or helping us with some of our trickier information signposting enquiries. Joanna’s dual focus on quality improvement and patient experience will be invaluable for the Healthwatch England Committee.

Joanna shares her thoughts on her new appointment;

"I'm excited to join the Healthwatch England committee because I believe in the power of listening to people—especially those whose voices are too often overlooked and welcome the opportunity to influence this.

Local Healthwatch teams play a vital role in making sure that the experiences of people in communities like Tameside shape the way we design and deliver health and social care services. When we truly understand what people need, we can work together to make services more responsive, inclusive and effective."

Well done Joanna, you will make a fantastic edition!