News and reports

People living in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire are being advised to stay on top of their health and wellbeing by continuing to use the NHS throughout the next period of national lockdown.

Read October's edition of Healthwatch news bites and find out the latest on musical tea, self-care, and the impact of COVID on cancer patients.

Our Volunteer Support Officer, Alex Parker, was delighted to be able to organise a Volunteer Thank You event last week at The Olive Tree Café.

It will come as no surprise that COVID-19 has changed the way that people are accessing NHS services. A recent survey of 2,178 people found that almost half (48%) of the public would delay or not seek medical help at all.

Playlist for Life, a Music and Dementia charity, has launched a Musical Tea Campaign to help people stay connected while social distancing continues. The charity is asking people to hold various virtual musical tea events throughout October.

A new quiet room has opened at the Great Western Hospital to provide a calming space for families to receive and understand potentially upsetting news about their pregnancy journeys and baby’s.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients have seen a move to digital healthcare. Healthwatch launched a project to find out what groups if any, are being excluded by the move towards digital, with five local Healthwatch receiving funding to do so.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the way cancer patients attend appointments with their cancer teams. The SWAG Cancer Alliance Patient Representatives want to understand what it is like from a patient's perspective.

Yesterday evening (Monday 10 October) the Prime Minister announced a new three-tiered system of COVID Alert Levels in England. Healthwatch Swindon asks, what is an alert level, and how it will affect you, and your family?

Sports England has awarded the Swindon Parkinsons group £10,000 from their Tackling Inequalities Funding through Wiltshire and Swindon Sports (WASP), to support the re-start of their Exercise programme.

The tenth edition of the Swindon Safeguarding Partnership news sheet is now available. Full of information and news updates on their work and partnership projects. Read on to download and find out more.

The requirement to self-isolate places increased financial strain on people who cannot work from home. To help the Swindon Borough Council is offering financial support to qualifying residents on low incomes.