Covid-19 Insight Report: Experiences of health, care and community services

This report outlines what we heard from people from August 2020 onwards, in a survey that ran between December 2020 and March 2021. This period covered a second national lockdown and the initial rollout of the vaccination programme.

Key findings

• Covid-19 restrictions and changes to service delivery were generally understood and largely accepted by those who responded to the survey.
• Most of those (68%) who had used services said that it had been easy to get the support they needed. However, there remained a notable proportion (21%) who said that they found it difficult.
• Comments about the quality of care received were largely positive.
• People with a health condition or disability reported a higher level of difficulty  accessing help and support.
• Unpaid carers had significantly greater difficulty accessing the help and support they needed.
• Communication, whether good or bad, was an important aspect of many responses to the survey.
• Online systems and phone calls were seen by most as being an efficient system for making contact, however there were several responses that highlighted concerns around this.

Recommendations 

The report draws conclusions from the views and experiences that have been shared with us and makes recommendations based on these. We recognise that services have had to adapt. The recommendations make suggestions that aim to improve local people’s experiences of health and care services going forwards, based on what they have told us.