Wandworth Local Health and Care Plan - October 2019

13 • People with long term conditions want more guidance and support in managing their condition. • People want their GP practices to offer more services - so they do not have to go to the hospital. • Better identification of and support for carers. • Mental Health access - there are long waiting times to be seen. Generally, people are happy to go to locations closer to home. • People want better support after discharge from a hospital setting. • Children’s mental health - more support to ensure young people are able to speak up about their mental health. • Accessibility - services are very good however, it takes a long time to access them. • Services can seem disjointed, all services need to work better together to support families. • Open to the idea of new technology in supporting enhanced health and social care. Some options, such as telephone advice lines, mobile phone apps, were more popular than others. • Supportive of social prescribing and other innovations. What local people have told us Patients experience care from many different heath and social care professionals, frustration with fragmentation and duplication –concern that some services seem disjointed. Mental Health access -long waiting times and location. Most people said they were most comfortable going to informal places to access mental health support rather than hospitals/clinics. People are keen to improve their own health, particularly in areas such as losing weight and taking more exercise. Many wanted more support from health professionals to help them make changes in their lifestyles. Children’s mental health-most common theme was how we can ensure that children are comfortable saying when they need mental health support. Support after discharge from a hospital setting -the need to bring health and social care closer together, services need to be more joined up so that the right care is given to the individuals. Services can sometimes seem disjointed, when your care is more complex and there are different agencies involved it is really important to people that health and care professionals are talking to each other and that care is focused around you.