Healthwatch Suffolk

28/05/2026

The Knowing Works CIC website is live now at: https://knowingworks.co.uk/ - We'll be using it to share our latest company news and insights. Please join our mailing list if you want to stay up to date. You can do that on our website, or directly at: https://mailchi.mp/375976114b50/knowing-works

A first update is coming very soon. We'll usually aim to share updates a couple of times each month.

You can still visit the Healthwatch Suffolk website to find, rate, and review NHS and social care services and to find the latest reports from our Healthwatch service.

27/05/2026

❓Did you know that almost 32,000 people were estimated to be living with sight loss in Suffolk in 2023?
❓Nationally, one person every six minutes begins to lose their sight.

All health and social care services are required to meet people’s needs for accessible information and care if they have a disability or sensory impairment.

👉Yet findings from our Your Care, Your Way campaign show these needs are still not being met consistently: https://healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/your-care-your-way/visurvey/

Read our full report to find out what we heard and what needs to change.

26/05/2026

26/05/2026

💚We had an excellent time at the Annual Health and Wellbeing event held by Ipswich Community Media last week!

🗣️We learnt lots about the excellent services supporting Suffolk and we also shared information about our Knowing Works and local Healthwatch Suffolk services.

📸Here are just some of the highlights from the event!

👉Future Female Society: Create safe, joyful spaces, projects, workshops, events and programmes, where women and girls can connect and grow.

👉Adult Learning in Suffolk: Provide a range of accredited and community learning opportunities for adults aged 19 years and over.

👉Sickle Cell Suffolk: Support those living with sickle cell and promote awareness in the community.

👉 Healthy Living Service: Support children and young people overcome the barriers to achieve a healthy weight.

👉Roots Community Cafe: A community cafe with space for everyone.

👉 Wellbeing Suffolk: Provide a range of support for people with common mental health and emotional issues.

Thanks for inviting us along!

Sickle Cell Suffolk Future Female Society Wellbeing Suffolk

21/05/2026

🗣️What have over 100 people told us about experiences of living with a visual impairment and accessing NHS and social care?

👉You can access the full report here: https://healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/your-care-your-way/visurvey/

As part Healthwatch Suffolk's Your Care, Your Way campaign, we aimed to influence standards of accessible information and support from NHS and social care services.

Findings included:

👉Services must operate on a digital first, not digital only basis.

👉Services should involve people with visual impairment in the design, refurbishment, or reconfiguration of service spaces.

👉Services should ensure that all staff receive visual awareness training, equipping them with skills and confidence.

19/05/2026

✋We will be at the Dementia Action Week Event held by Ipswich Hospital - come and say 'Hi'. This event is open to dementia carers and service users.

📍Where: Edith Cavell room, Education Centre, Ipswich Hospital.
⏰When: Friday 22nd May, 11am - 1pm.

We hope to see you there!

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

18/05/2026

💙Last week was Mental Health Awareness Week.

The theme was "Action", encouraging everyone to move beyond awareness and take steps to support good mental wellbeing.

We attended the Mental Health Awareness week event held by Mid Suffolk VASP. This was such a great opportunity to raise awareness and signpost to support.

If you feel like you need further support for your mental wellbeing, we offer a signposting page to help: https://healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/signposting/mental-health-support/ 💚

15/05/2026

Share your views with us on the current Annual Review Process - https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=7GqcEEZQlUqPPIT2O6GK9IzZpcOtIx9Osl0IMLNxoBxUMlI5WFRQOFhFNDhHODFPTlFCUkpEMUM0QS4u&origin=lprLink&route=shorturl

15/05/2026

Living with any degree of sight loss can be a lonely and isolating time. With the additional challenges this brings, for some, this can have a profound impact on their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

The Suffolk Sight Emotional Support Team and Sight Loss Advisors are committed to supporting people who are struggling, by offering them our free 1 to 1 telephone counselling service, over a period of 8 weeks.

The Emotional Support service enables our beneficiaries to speak to someone in confidence, enabling them to explore their feelings, develop crucial coping strategies and improve their mental wellbeing.

This service has been running for over five years now, with very positive outcomes. We are totally reliant on donations and funding grants to keep this vital service running, so if you can help in any way, we would love to hear from you.

For more information about this or any of our other services, please contact Suffolk Sight on 01473 611011 or email [email protected]

The photo shows some quotes from our service users:

"My Counsellor was just so easy to talk to and there was no judgement
Being given the coping strategies tool box, which I use everyday, was so helpful
We laughed and we cried, she was very understanding
There was a real sense of understanding - that all feelings are valid and there is nothing to be ashamed of"

14/05/2026

“There is life after sight loss. I found it.” - watch our short film with Simon as he talks about the impact of life with a visual impairment at: https://youtu.be/aYuw4Dy0FPw?si=TXn2spvcQUrq7U74

Simon also took time to talk to us about some of the challenges he has faced when using NHS services in Suffolk. Watch the full series of short clips at: https://healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/news/ycyw-simonsexperience/

A big thank you to every person who took time to share their experiences with us in our latest survey.

As part of our Your Care, Your Way project, we want to hear what it’s like to live with a visual impairment in Suffolk, and people's experiences of support f...

14/05/2026

People with visual impairments often face avoidable challenges when using NHS and social care services, such as (to name a few):

👉 reliance on digital check-in screens
👉 unclear directions from staff (e.g., to find seating or know how to navigate a service)
👉 medical information uploaded as images in apps
👉 reliance on paper records
👉 patient call systems relying on visual communication.

All of these issues, and more, make life harder for people and reduce independence - forcing reliance on sighted companions or support workers.

We think change doesn't have to be complex or expensive - and it can make a big difference to people using services. Read or listen to news about our latest campaign findings at: https://healthwatchsuffolk.co.uk/news/ycyw-vireport/