Thread: This week @traversepeople interviewed people about their experiences of healthcare during #Covid19 to understand how non-covid specific care was being affected. Full report out next week, but some initial findings here:
The primary reason people are avoiding seeking care (and they are avoiding it, even for conditions as serious as stroke) is that they don't want to be a burden to the NHS. Fear of contracting coronavirus was a secondary concern for almost everyone we spoke to. #NHS
Communication is crucial to the experience of care. The people we spoke to understand why care is disrupted and are prepared to wait, but not knowing when to expect more information causes anxiety and a feeling of being "at their mercy" #mentalwellbeing #shareddecisionmaking
The most positive experiences of care were the most human. When staff acknowledged the situation, explained what would happen, & gave clear instructions on precautions this inspired confidence and reduced anxiety. So did avoiding waiting rooms! #personcentredcare #hellomynameis
People reported more problems with new services or new conditions, relative to existing ones, and had greater confidence when they could speak to staff they had a relationship with. Is now a time to relax specialism boundaries? #onecontact
Everyone we spoke to was incredibly grateful to the #NHS staff they had interacted with: "It must be really scary for them right now, I feel so grateful that they’re there". But there are physical and emotional consequences of delayed care as a knock on effect of coronavirus.
Final point: if anyone has a good source of prevalence data for disruption to care as a result of covid please get in touch - would be good to situate the #livedexperience data we've collected with population level figures. #socialresearch
Acknowledgements: big thanks to @Plus4MR for incredibly quick turnaround on participant recruitment, @jessiecunnett for instigating this and @AlexaWaud @OlivierBTraver2 for analysis.
