Healthwatch response

Healthwatch Devon, Plymouth and Torbay – Response to the TSDFT Local Account Summary 2024/25

Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay welcomes the publication of the Local Account Summary 2024/25 and appreciate the commitment of Torbay Council and the Integrated Care Organisation (ICO) to transparency, co-production, and service improvement.

Healthwatch is pleased to see that feedback from people using services, carers, and community partners has informed service developments over the past year. The increased focus on prevention, independence, and person-centred care is welcome, especially in light of rising demand and financial pressures.

We particularly commend the report's emphasis on "Amplifying people's voices" and "Improving feedback and embedding learning." The increased integration of service user and carer experiences, including video content, is a positive step towards truly person-centred care. The success of initiatives like the co-designed dementia carers' training programme and the "Amplifying People’s Voices" engagement project with care home residents are excellent examples of co-production in action.

Our own Healthwatch report on unpaid carers further underscores the importance of collaboration, with carers' feedback actively shaping survey development and guiding conversations. This Carer feedback, collected through our joint engagement activities, has rightly shaped new initiatives such as co-designed dementia training and improved recognition of carers in service contacts. However, our engagement still shows that many carers face significant challenges, including inconsistent communication, limited access to respite, and lack of visibility of available support. We support the Council’s commitment to improving these areas and call for measurable outcomes to ensure carers’ experiences improve in practice.

We welcome the development of the Autism Partnership Board, and the way it is driven by voices of autistic people, their carers, professionals and local organisations. People with lived experience have been at the centre of strategy, events, and practical tools like the health passport. Similarly, the mental health service developments – particularly efforts to improve transitions, recovery-focused planning, and integration with community support – reflect what some people have shared with us about their needs and aspirations.

We also note the council’s efforts to improve learning from complaints, and to embed service user feedback into quality assurance. We believe it’s vital this learning is routinely shared with the public, to build trust and show how listening leads to change. This is echoed in a recent report into the NHS Complaint’s process from our national partner Healthwatch England, which among other areas recommended the development of a culture of listening to and learning from complaints.

The progress in data-driven performance reporting, the reablement pilot's success in increasing independence, and the streamlining of access to adult social care services are commendable. We look forward to seeing the continued positive impact of these initiatives.

Finally, we applaud the emphasis on working with the voluntary sector and community partners to provide earlier support, especially through initiatives like the community hub and helpline. These routes often make a difference in preventing crisis, and we encourage further investment in this area.

Healthwatch remains committed to working collaboratively with Torbay Council and its partners to ensure that adult social care services continue to evolve, respond to community needs, and provide high-quality, person-centred care for all residents in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay.

We look forward to continuing our work with the council, the ICO, and wider system partners to amplify people’s voices and ensure services across Torbay remain responsive, accessible, and accountable.