Our 2016/2017 annual report

Summary

Each year we produce an annual report which tells you what we have been doing this year, themes we have found from listening to your views, the difference we have made and our priorities for next year. 

Key findings

• In April and May 2016, we focused our outreach sessions on children’s outpatient departments at St Luke’s Hospital in Bradford. We worked with the hospital staff to make sure that we were gathering feedback that could lead to positive changes being put into practice. Children and their parents talked to us about their experiences of coming to hospital – we spoke to 168 people in total. The feedback from our conversations was shared with the department staff and with managers at the Trust. Our report made recommendations for practical changes to make the environment better for children while they wait, and for giving more information to families about what to expect at an appointment
• In May 2016, we visited both Airedale General Hospital and Bradford Royal Infirmary. We spent a total of 30 hours in each department, and spoke to over 300 patients and carers. Many local people told us that they ended up in A&E after receiving advice from other parts of the health system, such as 111, or because they were unable to access alternatives, such as GP appointments. Local commissioners and providers told us that this insight, including a breakdown of sources of advice, was important and would help them prioritise work to improve access both in Primary Care and Urgent and Emergency Care.
• In January 2017 we published a report on ‘Autistic Spectrum Conditions: What we have heard so far’. We published the report after hearing about difficulties people were facing around referrals for diagnosis and subsequent support for those on the autistic spectrum. Significant numbers of people told us that they could not get a referral for diagnosis, or if they did get a referral they had to wait up to 3 years for a diagnosis.