At Healthwatch Wokingham, part of our role is to provide signposting and guidance to members of the public about current issues in Health and Social Care.
If you are struggling to find the information you need you can call our helpdesk on 0118 418 1418. It’s open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday.
Alternatively, email: enquiries@healthwatchwokingham.co.uk.
We wanted to highlight two hot topics that people have contacted us about this month: the covid vaccine and dentistry.
The Covid-19 Vaccination has made headlines around the world and with three vaccines now licenced for use in the UK we know that many older or vulnerable Wokingham residents are eagerly awaiting their appointments.
The advice continues to be, wait to be contacted by your GP.
We were also contacted by residents wanting to help the effort. Wokingham Volunteer Centre (volunteer@wok.vol.org.uk) are co-ordinating volunteer marshals.
They said: “We are looking for volunteers across Wokingham Borough to be at the forefront of the local fight against the virus – you could be part of it.
“We are seeking Volunteer marshals to help at covid vaccination clinics.
“This is an exciting opportunity to join us and play your part in protecting the community and saving lives. The roles will include ensuring smooth arrival onsite of those coming for vaccination; ensure efficient patient flow to the clinical assessment, vaccination station, post-vaccination observation area and exit, ensuring speed, safety and security; addressing any issues that arise or escalate to a Healthcare Professional if needed and ensuring that visitors respect national guidelines such as social distancing and mask protection.
“Volunteers must be a minimum of 18 years old. There is no upper age limit. Those who have been told to shield, due to being on clinically extremely vulnerable list should not sign up to volunteer.
“Clinics are likely to be based in Wokingham town, Earley, Wargrave or Swallowfield.’
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, we have seen a significant increase in the number of people telling us about the problems they face when trying to get an NHS dentist appointment, suggesting the impact the pandemic has had on dentistry has been particularly acute.
As this is a national issue, we have been giving local information to Healthwatch England who are campaigning for improvements. Your stories have fed into their work to affect change at the highest level.
You can read their report here www.healthwatch.co.uk/report/2020-12-09/what-are-people-telling-us-july-september-2020
The British Dental Association said: “We back calls from patient champion Healthwatch for the Government to act on the ongoing crisis in dental services in England that has been cast into stark relief by the covid pandemic.”
If you have had a problem registering with a Wokingham dentist or getting an appointment with an existing dentist we would like to hear your experiences.
Sharing your experience with us will help us to continue to act on Wokingham Borough resident’s behalf and challenge service providers to make improvements.
You can call our helpline on: 0118 418 1418 to speak to someone or fill in our dentistry survey by logging on to: www.smartsurvey. co.uk/s/XFC4HJ/
