News and reports

Teenage pregnancy was chosen as one of our priority projects for 2023-2024. We met with Local Authority staff and from this meeting it was clear most of the work we would be undertaking would be around communication, which is something we had already covered in our Young Persons Communication Around Health and Social Care Services Report. We then met with Walsall Teenage Pregnancy Lead; from this we were invited to engage with young people who are currently attending 2 programmes that are running in Walsall, Teens & Toddlers and Thrive.

On this occasion we carried out a project looking at the Accessible Information Standard to ensure it meets the needs of people with sensory impairment.

Guidance from NHS England states:
‘From 1 August 2016 onwards, all organisations that provide NHS care and/or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard.’

‘The Standard sets out a specific, consistent approach to identifying, recording, flagging, sharing and meeting the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.’

This report is a local sample of service user experiences and views.

Available as a PDF and Word document which can be read aloud.

A brief outline of some of the issues and themes that patients have faced when accessing Walsall Services during January 2024.

Also, things that you can get involved with!

A brief outline of some of the issues and themes that patients have faced when accessing Walsall Services during February 2024.

Also, things that you can get involved with!

An estimated 1.9 million people living in private households in the UK (2.9% of the population) were experiencing self-reported Long Covid (symptoms continuing for more than four weeks after the first confirmed or suspected coronavirus (Covid-19) infection that were not explained by something else) as of 5 March 2023. Long Covid symptoms adversely affected the day-to-day activities of 1.5 million people (79% of those with self-reported Long Covid), with 381,000 (20%) reporting that their ability to undertake their day-to-day activities
had been “limited a lot”. Long Covid is an emerging phenomenon that is not yet fully understood.

Healthwatch Walsall wanted explore how Black and Asian women in Walsall truly feel during
their maternity journey. Do women feel as though they are listened to and valued as individuals? Do women feel they are treated with respect and compassion? These are major factors in the quality of treatment a patient feels they have received. Furthermore, we wanted to ask women if they felt their ethnic background influenced the treatment and care they received.

Gathering such patient experiences helps to give a small insight into the maternity journey for Black and Asian women in Walsall.

Read or download a copy.
One download is a PDF and the other in Microsft Word format.

To read and download a copy. Use the 'Downloads' button below.

Provider feedback
The below response was received and added.

We at The Willows were happy to welcome the Healthwatch team into the home.

Face to Face relatives meetings will recommence in February 2024, as recent Zoom meetings were not well attended. The Activities Co-ordinator will be inviting residents to a meeting very soon for discussions and recommendations.

We as a home acknowledge the report and look to make improvements for the well-being of our residents and staff.

Healthwatch Walsall was successful in a bid for a microgrant from the Black Country ICB to undertake engagement with the homeless and rough sleepers in the Borough of Walsall. The aim of the work was to ascertain the views around planned and urgent care.

A brief outline of some of the issues and themes that patients have faced when accessing Walsall Services during December 2023.

Also, things that you can get involved with!

A brief outline of some of the issues and themes that patients have faced when accessing Walsall Services during Novmeber 2023.

Also, things that you can get involved with!

A brief outline of some of the issues and themes that patients have faced when accessing Walsall Services during October 2023.

Also, things that you can get involved with!