Roadshow to seek views on health service

Officials at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are inviting people to give their views on how to improve patient experiences as outpatients, at its urgent care centres and at the Northumbria Emergency Hospital in Cramlington.

The latest roadshow follows a consultation last November where the trust visited 22 locations and spoke to more than 500 people in Northumberland and North Tyneside.

The roadshows, which run until March 2, will visit a number of locations in the area, including Alnwick Market Place, from 10am to noon, on Tuesday, February 27. That afternoon, it will be in Rothbury’s Haugh car park, from 2pm to 4pm.

It will be at Berwick Market, Marygate, from 9am to 4pm, on Wednesday, February 28.

Next Thursday, March 1, it will be at Belford Market Place, from 10am to noon, then at the Cheviot Centre, Padgepool Place, Wooler, from 2pm to 4pm.

Claire Riley, director of communications and corporate affairs at the trust, said: “We had a fantastic response to our first join our journey roadshow and fed all the information back to senior management, the board and to our governors.

“As a result, we have a series of further questions. For instance, would you prefer to have an outpatient appointment via Skype/online, at a site near you or to travel for one in person?

“Another key area is how people use A&E, for instance, if a person comes in with a condition which could be dealt with at an urgent-care centre, would it be the right to send them to one so as to keep A&E waiting times down for those who need it?”