Investigations
Your experiences prompt and lead our activities and reports, which focus on improving services for everyone. If we hear of something that needs further investigation, we explore the issue with the help of patients and the public. We also talk to key professionals at the service we are investigating, encouraging them to make positive changes.
We follow up our investigations with impact reports to see if services have improved, and hold services to account for changes they stated they would make. If Healthwatch Birmingham & Solihull finds no improvement, we may escalate the issue to Healthwatch England and local regulators. We also monitor the changes to ensure people experience sustained improvements.
Investigations
This report explores women’s experiences of menopause advice and treatment from GP practices in Solihull. It highlights inconsistent information, limited access to specialist support, and a lack of awareness among some healthcare professionals. Healthwatch Solihull will continue to work with NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB and other partners to raise awareness, improve service accessibility, and support the development of better menopause care across the area.
This investigation explores patient and carer involvement in hospital discharge decisions across Birmingham, highlighting gaps in communication, planning, and support.
This report examines the positive and negative experiences of patients going through the NHS referral pathway in Birmingham.
Impact reports
Impact Report: This report describes the changes that Birmingham NHS BSOL has made following Healthwatch Birmingham’s 2024 report ‘Local people’s views on the referral process from general practice to secondary care’.
This report describes the changes that Birmingham NHS BSOL has made following Healthwatch Birmingham and Healthwatch Solihull’s 2024 report ‘Access and barriers to NHS Community Pharmacies’ .
This report details changes Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) has made to improve access to community mental health services and give patients greater control over their care.