2024 - 2025 projects

Below you will find a range of past projects that took place across the North East and North Cumbria.

Connect Health deliver a musculoskeletal (MSK) service in South Tyneside. They wanted to move venues. The ICB asked them to engage with patients before deciding if the move could go ahead.  This was to make sure we understood any impacts or concerns.  

A survey was given to patients in clinic August - October 2024. It was also promoted by text. Two face-to-face sessions were also held.

303 people responded to the survey.

  • A third of respondents said they had concerns about a potential move. Over half said they did not have concerns.
  • The most common themes relating to concerns were:
  • parking
  • distance
  • difficulty of public transport
  • length of journey
  • quality of the facility
  • walking impacts.

The ICB asked Connect Health to do the following:

  • Find out parking at different times of the week and day at the new venue then tell patients
  • Model public transport journeys and tell patients how to get to the new venue
  • Be more flexible with patients and appointments for a three month bedding-in period. 

The move was then allowed to go ahead and patients were informed. 

Read the full report. 

Thank you to the 3800 people who shared their views about NHS dentistry in the North East and North Cumbria. Healthwatch have reported what you told us.

We have used people's feedback to shape how we plan to protect and stabilise NHS dentistry in our region. You can read our plan for oral health.

Thanks to the 98 people who shared their views in the patient survey about safer prescribing of valproate and topiramate. You told us your experiences of staff explaining the risks of these medicines, how involved you felt in decision making and what would support you more. We will share our findings here when the report is finished. We will use the findings to improve conversations between patients and staff about these medicines.

Thanks to the 98 people who shared their views in the patient survey about safer prescribing of valproate and topiramate. You told us your experiences of staff explaining the risks of these medicines, how involved you felt in decision making and what would support you more. Read the report. We will use the findings to improve conversations between patients and staff about these medicines.

Thanks to the 410 people who gave us their views on support for children and young people with SEND and their families in Northumberland. These findings are being written into a report. The findings are now being used to influence the next SEND strategy in Northumberland. To make sure our work is based on what families tell us is important.

Thanks to everyone who gave us their views on pre and post diagnosis autism support services in Tees Valley. These findings have been summarised into a final report. These findings are now being used to influence the development of a new pre and post autism diagnosis support service in Tees Valley. Where there have been specific comments about assessment, rather than pre/post autism diagnosis support services, these comments will be forwarded on to the appropriate assessment team.

We published our first plan about the way we involve people in 2022. In 2024, we wanted to hear more views on the plan before refreshing it. Healthwatch spoke to lots of different groups and then reported the feedback to us in a report. You can open the report here. We heard that people:

  • agreed with the content but wanted clearer language,
  • wanted to see a clear plan on how we will deliver, and
  • suggested different principles.

In response, we have:

  • Shortened and simplified the document.
  • Created new principles. These are:
    • meaningful involvement
    • removing barriers
    • listening to feedback
  • Made it clear what processes and systems support us to deliver. Also how these systems keep us to account.
  • Developed an action plan. This will show what we will do and how we will measure progress.

Thank you to everyone who has filled in a survey or got in touch.

If you would like to talk about the plan or have any queries please email necsu.icb.involvement@nhs.net.

During August, September and October, we asked parents/carers and professional referrers about their experience of Speech and Language Therapy in Tees Valley. Thank you to everyone who told us their views. We had over 600 responses to our surveys. That information has been written up into a final report which summarises the key findings from this involvement exercise. You can read the findings here.

These findings are now being considered and used to inform the development of a new Speech and Language Therapy contract in Tees Valley.  We will give updates on what will happen next soon.

This survey and engagement has now concluded.  A report of the results and findings will be published in due course.

This survey and engagement has now concluded.  A report of the results and findings will be published in due course.

Getting help is about early mental health support for children and young people. We listened to children, young people, parents, carers and stakeholders. They told us what is working well and what can be improved.

You can find out more about what people told us in our report and presentation:

Tees Valley getting help - engagement findings report

Tees Valley getting help - engagement findings presentation

This survey and engagement has now concluded.  A report of the results and findings will be published in due course.

Thanks to everyone who gave us their views on pre and post diagnosis autism support services in Tees Valley. These findings have been summarised into a final report. These findings are now being used to influence the development of a new pre and post autism diagnosis support service in Tees Valley. Where there have been specific comments about assessment, rather than pre/post autism diagnosis support services, these comments will be forwarded on to the appropriate assessment team.

We looked at Children's speech and language therapy services to see how they could be better. Staff, parents and carers shared their thoughts through a survey and through chats. 

Here are the main things people said:

  • Communication - families and staff want clearer information from the time a child is referred, while waiting, during therapy, and after it ends.
  • Extra support outside of therapy would help. This could include whist waiting, between sessions or after therapy ends.
  • Parents and school want to be more involved. They need better tools and training to support children.  
  • Waiting times affect views of the service. Wanting more help and more tailored support also affects views. 
  • Where and when appointments happen can be hard for some families to manage.

Read more in our involvement report.

What's happening now:

  • New tools to help schools and nurseries were created with Speech and Language UK. We worked with the local NHS Trust and local authorities to pay for new packages. These will help staff spot early speech problems and give help. This means more schools and nurseries have fair access to support. In time, this will be part of the route into the NHS services.
  • More people who work with children will get training. This is being developed with the local NHS Trust.
  • New online help for parents and carers support before, during and after therapy.
  • Letters are being improved to make them easier to understand.
  • A new triage system will help children who need most help to be seen faster
  • Ideas to reduce waiting lists are being tested
  • Clinics are moving hospital to communities
  • In the future, therapists will work more closely with schools