Our impact: Including Communities
Over a 20-month period, ending in October 2023, Healthwatch Kingston attended 28 health and wellbeing events and local community groups to engage with 334 people from seldom heard from communities and the most vulnerable in our society. Participants included refugees, asylum seekers and people from other migrant communities, people experiencing homelessness and areas of high deprivation.
Our aim was to ensure system leaders responded appropriately to local population health and care needs, provided accessible information, and supported pathways to care.
What we heard from local people has informed:
- Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK) Joint Strategic Needs Assessment 2023, cost of living workshops, and exploratory research opportunities with Kingston University.
- Our Health Inequalities themed Healthwatch Kingston Open Meeting (23 January 2024), and other ongoing engagement with health and social care influencers and decision makers (including the Care Quality Commission).
- A meeting with the Kingston Clinical Director to explore a future review of Safer Surgeries.
