Overview
The Council is currently investigating the care available for people living with long term conditions in Sutton. As part of this investigation we are conducting this online survey.
Why We Are Consulting
The Council is currently investigating the services and care available for people living with long term conditions in Sutton. A long term condition is a chronic illness or disability that as many as 15.4 million people in England are living with. It includes such conditions as back pain, visual and hearing impairment and neurological conditions.
As part of this investigation we are conducting a range of activities, including focus groups, interviews and an online questionnaire.
It aims to look at:
What long term conditions Sutton residents have
Existing levels of knowledge, information and communication
What Sutton residents need to encourage self care of their long term condition
Feelings of satisfaction and control with life
Hospital stays, and what happens following hospital discharge
If you have a long term condition we would greatly appreciate you filling out this questionnaire. It will ensure you, as an expert in this area, have the opportunity to have your say and provide feedback to us to help shape this investigation. The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.
Alternatively, if you have a long term condition and would like to be involved in an interview, or if you would like to find out more about this investigation please contact Julie Young on 020 8770 5243 or email julie.young@sutton.gov.uk
What Happens Next
The committee is now working further to identify what action we can take to address these key issues. Further updates will be provided over the following months.
Results
The Research Paper has identified a number of important areas for people living with long term conditions in Sutton around the areas of access to information, support networks, and services to help self-manage long term conditions:
(i) The role of GPs in explaining conditions, signposting services and sources of support is crucial, especially during the early stage of diagnosis, however patient experiences are patchy;
(ii) Experiences of support networks are generally positive but there are mixed experiences of the promotion of these networks;
(iii) There is an unverified concern amongst participants in the research that less articulate and determined residents living with long term conditions may be having worse experiences than themselves, and advocacy can play an important role in preventing people “falling through the cracks”;
(iv) The availability of and access to services needs to be better promoted to people, for example adaptations in the home;
(v) It is often difficult to access allied healthcare professions (e.g. Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology/ Counselling) through the NHS to help manage long term conditions;
(vi) The role of district nurses/ community matrons is unverified.
Files:
Feedback
| We Asked: |
About your experience of living with Long Term Conditions.
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| You Said: |
There are a lot of factors influencing your quality of life.
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| We Did: |
A detailed report to the Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee.
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