Tobey and Elizabeth's experiences at Healthwatch

We’ve joined Healthwatch Sheffield as Sociology second-year students from Sheffield Hallam University to help develop a new volunteer role. We have undertaken various tasks throughout this project, including developing a role description, planning the training, and designing adverts for the new role.

 

The new role (which we named ‘Healthwatch Feedback Volunteer’) will be looking at volunteers visiting various health and social care services to speak to patients, their families and professionals to learn about their experiences and thoughts about the care and support they receive. As a Healthwatch Feedback Volunteer, they will collect positive and negative feedback, which will support Healthwatch Sheffield to make recommendations for services.

 

Throughout our short journey with Healthwatch Sheffield, we have worked and spoken to several people within the Health and Social care sector. We have met Sarah Neill, the Patient Experience Lead at Sheffield Children’s Trust and Lisa Howlett, the Deputy Head of Patient and Healthcare Governance at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals to understand what this new role will look like in a hospital setting.

 

We have spoken to Anna who is Healthwatch Sheffield’s Information and Advice Officer, who gave us some insight into how enquiries are managed at Healthwatch. The enquiries they receive include complaints about services, feedback and questions regarding what service they need. This was very beneficial for our project as it gave us insight into what support people require from health and social care services.

 

We have met current Healthwatch Sheffield volunteers who have dedicated much of their time to this organisation over the years. They were very helpful with giving advice about the new role and were able to give us their expert ideas. And we have worked with the staff at the Healthwatch Sheffield office, who have been very supportive and helpful with this project, they have mentored us to succeed in this placement.

 

We have fully enjoyed our time working with Healthwatch Sheffield. It has been rewarding to work towards something that will have such a positive impact on not only health and social care services or individuals’ experiences, but also to give people from different backgrounds the opportunity to undertake this new role and gain experience as well as making a difference.

 

This work experience placement hasn’t just been a university module to pass. It has also given us valuable experience and allowed us to grow into confident people. It has especially been a fantastic opportunity with the people we have worked with. Everyone has been so welcoming and supportive. So, thank you, Healthwatch Sheffield!