Unlocking the power of people-driven care - Healthwatch Shropshire Annual Report 2024-25

We have just published our annual report detailing how we’ve listened to feedback from all areas of our community. People’s experiences of care help us know what’s working and what isn’t, so we can give feedback on services and help them improve. 

Listening to your experiences

• Championing what matters to people living with and beyond cancer in Shropshire - Last year we met over 350 people at cancer support groups and events across Shropshire to hear their views and experiences so we could share them with NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin to inform the implementation of the local Cancer Strategy.
• How people use their local pharmacy is changing as we think ‘Pharmacy First’ - We knew that some pharmacies in Shropshire were closing due to difficulties with recruitment and increasing business costs, so we wanted to understand people’s experiences of accessing pharmacy services and the challenges faced by pharmacies themselves to meet increased demand.

Hearing from all communities - We’re here for all residents of Shropshire. That’s why, over the past year, we’ve worked hard to reach out to those communities whose voices may go unheard

• We contacted all 6th Forms and Further Education Colleges in Shropshire and attended welcome events for new students. We spoke to 1,272 young people aged 16+ to ask them where they go for medical advice.
• We have been raising the voices of people using acute inpatient mental health services - we started to attend Community Meetings for patients at The Redwoods to hear their experiences on the wards and what issues they raised.
• We listened to people living and working in HMP Stoke Heath in Market Drayton - In December 2022 we visited the prison and heard about the challenges faced in getting the right support for people when they were released and the impact on their mental health. We continued our long-term engagement with health providers and people in HMP Stoke Heath to find out what progress the new mental health provider is making.

Information and signposting

Whether it’s finding an NHS dentist, making a complaint, or choosing a good care home for a loved one – you can count on us. This year 274 people have reached out to us for advice, support or help finding services.

Our fantastic volunteers

Our volunteers have given 575 hours to support our work. Thanks to their dedication to improving care, we can better understand what is working and what needs improving in our community.

Get involved

Our volunteers are out in the community everyday listening to people to find out if health and care is working for them. We have a duty to involve people in the work we do, from finding out how services are performing to sharing their experiences and views to inform service redesign and development. Whether you want to gain valuable work experience, help improve care in your community, use your skills or learn new ones, there are lots of ways you can join us to make a real difference. From July 2025 we will be developing our volunteer roles so more people can get involved.

Be part of the change - If you've felt inspired, contact us today and find out how you can be part of the change.