The UK government has confirmed it will introduce ‘Martha’s rule’ to ensure people can quickly access a second opinion in hospital during serious illness. Health Secretary Steve Barclay told the BBC he was ‘committed’ to introducing the measure, after he met Merope Mills to hear her calls for change. She has spoken publicly about how she believed the failure of doctors to listen to concerns about her daughter Martha, led to the 13-year-old’s death in hospital from sepsis. The health secretary has now asked the Patient Safety Commissioner to explore how ‘Martha’s rule' would work in practice. Similar schemes running abroad allow people to directly trigger a second opinion, rather than having to persuade doctors or hospitals to obtain an independent clinical view on someone’s care and treatment. Our chief executive Louise Ansari welcomed the government’s commitment to introducing the rule and called for a uniform scheme in all hospitals that was simple for people to understand. You can read more here, about Martha's Rule.

Want to make a difference to how health and social care services are delivered to local people? Interested in a varied role where your input matters with an employer who is committed to flexible working? We're currently looking for passionate and innovative people to join our team: Healthwatch Officers (Engagement) - Healthwatch Reading and Healthwatch Wokingham Borough Healthwatch Officer (Communication) - Healthwatch West Berkshire Senior Healthwatch Officer (Engagement) - Healthwatch across Berkshire West (Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham Borough) Area Director - Healthwatch across Berkshire West (Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham Borough) The three Healthwatch in Berkshire West are hosted by The Advocacy People who would be your employer. For more information and how to apply, head to their website here.

Following recent industrial action by junior doctors, for the second time hospital consultants – including those at hospitals across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) – are taking industrial action for 48 hours from 7am on Thursday 24 August to 7am on Saturday 26 August. The Trusts affected by this action in our area are: Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Oxford University Hospitals NHS FT Oxford Health NHS FT Royal Berkshire NHS FT Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust South Central Ambulance Service NHS FT Although our local hospitals will continue to provide urgent and emergency care they have had to reschedule appointments and elective inpatient and day case procedures to ensure they keep patients who are currently in hospital safe. To help the NHS safely manage the impact of industrial action, some routine and non-urgent appointments and procedures, day surgery and some elective surgery across all hospitals in BOB on Thursday 24, Friday 25, and Saturday 26 August have been rescheduled. Some appointments before and after the days of industrial action may also be affected. All patients who are affected are being contacted directly. This period of industrial action is taking place during the peak of the summer holidays and leading up to the bank holiday weekend so there is significant pressure on our services. Urgent and emergency care services will be affected by the upcoming industrial action in terms of waiting times. Emergency Department colleagues will be working exceptionally hard and will have to prioritise patients who genuinely need emergency care. Patients with appointments booked on strike days will be contacted by the NHS if their appointment needs to be rescheduled. If they have not been contacted, they should attend their appointment as planned. The NHS is doing everything possible to prioritise patients with the highest clinical needs, including patients who have already waited a long time for their treatment and cancer and dialysis patients. Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk. If a patient’s condition is less serious, they are likely to face a very long wait, or will be asked to find help elsewhere – whether that be a local Pharmacy or Minor Injuries Unit. If people need medical help or advice or are unsure about whether they should go to hospital, they are advised to contact NHS 111 online unless it is a life-threatening emergency when they should still call 999. Patients should take advice from 111 / 999 call-handlers on whether there are circumstances where it is suitable for them to make their own way to hospital. During strike days, it is likely 999 and 111 call handlers will be very busy, this may mean longer call response times. As a result, the NHS is urging anyone with non-urgent care need to first seek help from NHS 111 online. In the meantime, people can help by ensuring prescriptions are up to date and looking out for vulnerable family and friends. People are reminded to: Continue to access GPs as normal Call 111 to get the right service for their needs Make sure prescriptions are up to date Stay safe and look out for vulnerable family and friends Keep appointments unless contacted by the NHS with alternative arrangements Remember A&E is for emergencies and life-threatening situations NHS staff are working extremely hard during a very challenging time – please do treat them with respect. We appreciate people's understanding and co-operation during this time. Dr Nick Broughton Chief Executive

The purpose of an Enter and View visit is to collect evidence of what works well and what could be improved to make people’s experiences of health and social care better. Healthwatch can use this evidence to make recommendations and inform changes both for individual services as well as system-wide. Earlier this year, Healthwatch Wokingham Borough visited Wokingham Medical Centre to speak to their patients. At the same time, we issued an online survey asking patients of the Centre to respond. You can read what patients said, our observations and recommendations and the responses from Wokingham Medical Centre and Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & Berkshire West Integrated Care Board in our report here:

Healthwatch Wokingham Borough are pleased to share our plans for what we will be working on over the coming months. Our major project will be around GP practices, exploring how they now work and how much patients and the public know about what they now offer. We'll be running a series of focus groups in the autumn so if you'd like to be involved keep an eye on our website and social media. You can download the full plan here:

The pharmacies listed here should be open as shown but this may be subject to change. Please contact the pharmacy before going to check they are open and have the medication you require. Tesco Pharmacy, 78 Finchampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2NS Tel: 0118 990 4800 Open: 09:00-17:00 Morrisons Pharmacy, Woosehill Court, Wokingham, RG41 3SW Tel: 0118 979 4288 Open: 10:00-16:00

The NHS in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West is again preparing for the impact of further industrial action by junior doctors from 7am on Friday 11 August to 7am on Tuesday 15 August. The Trusts affected by this action in our area are: • Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust • Oxford University Hospitals NHS FT • Oxford Health NHS FT • Royal Berkshire NHS FT • Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust • South Central Ambulance Service NHS FT We are now entering the ninth month of industrial action across the NHS and staff continue to provide patients with the best possible care under the circumstances. This period of industrial action is taking place during the peak of the summer holidays so there is significant pressure on our services. Although our local hospitals will continue to provide urgent and emergency care, they have had to reschedule appointments and elective inpatient and day case procedures to ensure they keep patients who are currently in hospital safe. To help the NHS safely manage the impact of industrial action, some routine and non-urgent appointments and procedures, day surgery and some elective surgery across hospitals in BOB have been rescheduled. Some appointments before and after the days of industrial action may also be affected. All patients who are affected are being contacted directly. Patients with appointments booked on strike days will be contacted by the NHS if their appointment needs to be rescheduled. If they have not been contacted, they should attend their appointment as planned. The NHS is doing everything possible to prioritise patients with the highest clinical needs, including patients who have already waited a long time for their treatment and cancer and dialysis patients. Regardless of any strike action taking place, it is important that patients who need urgent medical care continue to come forward as normal, especially in emergency and life-threatening cases - when someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk. If people need medical help or advice or are unsure about whether they should go to hospital, they are advised to contact NHS 111 online unless it is a life-threatening emergency when they should still call 999. Patients should take advice from 111 / 999 call-handlers on whether there are circumstances where it is suitable for them to make their own way to hospital. During strike days, it is likely 999 and 111 call handlers will be very busy, this may mean longer call response times. As a result, the NHS is urging anyone with non-urgent care need to first seek help from NHS 111 online. In the meantime, people can help by ensuring prescriptions are up to date and looking out for vulnerable family and friends. People are reminded to: 1. Continue to access GPs as normal 2. Call 111 to get the right service for their needs 3. Make sure prescriptions are up to date 4. Stay safe and look out for vulnerable family and friends 5. Keep appointments unless contacted by the NHS with alternative arrangements 6. Remember A&E is for emergencies and life-threatening situations 7. NHS staff are working extremely hard during a very challenging time – please do treat them with respect. We appreciate people's understanding and co-operation during this time. Dr Nick Broughton Chief Executive

A new pilot has started for local people who are most in need of dental care and treatment. We ask that you continue to try your local practice first but if you are in one of the following groups you may be able to get treatment from Winnersh Dental Practice and Berkshire Dental Care Twyford: Those who have not attended a practice in the previous 2 years People relocating to the area who cannot access NHS services Looked After Children Families of armed forces personnel Asylum seekers and refugees Other groups which may be locally identified who are more vulnerable and would find it hard to access services ordinarily, such as pregnant women. We will provide more information as we get it. This is a pilot scheme so will continue to be reviewed and developed.

July will become the most disruptive period of NHS industrial action unless there is a breakthrough in staff pay disputes. We've put together an information and advice page to keep you updated with what is happening when, and how the strike action may effect your care. Scheduled strikes: Thursday 13 July - Tuesday 18 July (starting at 7 am) Junior doctors and hospital dental trainees will strike for five days. This means the cancellation of planned care as consultants step in to cover junior doctors' workload. Junior doctors make up around half of all doctors in the NHS. Junior doctors are qualified doctors who have anywhere up to eight years of experience working as hospital doctor, depending on their speciality, or up to three years in general practice. Thursday 20 July and Friday 21 July Consultant hospital doctors and dentists will strike take action, although to a ‘Christmas Day’ level of service in which they will still provide medical cover for emergency patients. Tuesday 25 July – Thursday 27 July (starting at 8am) In separate strike action announced by by the Society of Radiographers, Radiographers will bt taking strike action, potentially affecting patients’ X-rays and scans. Future strikes TBC A ballot of junior doctor members of the British Medical Association is also taking place to seek a fresh mandate for more industrial action, as the current one ends late August. What is Healthwatch doing? Healthwatch England is due to meet NHS England on 11 July to check contingency plans for the upcoming action, which will be added to this information page when published. Healthwatch Wokingham will give you the latest local information as it comes in on this news page and across our social media channels. How do the strikes affect me and/or my family? Will emergency care be affected on strike days? Emergency care will continue to be available across Berkshire. It is essential that in emergency and life-threatening cases – when someone is seriously ill or their life is at risk, patients continue to come forward as normal. What if I need urgent or emergency care? Anyone who needs urgent care should use NHS111 online or call NHS 111 to be assessed and directed to the right care for them. When someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, you should seek emergency care in the normal way, by calling 999 or attending A&E. The NHS.UK website has more information on when to call 999 and when to go to A&E. What if I have an appointment on a strike day? Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation has said on their website “Services may be affected. We'll contact patients if your appointment is rescheduled.” This means everyone who has an appointment should attend as planned unless your local NHS provider has contacted you to reschedule. If you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment even if your NHS Trust is affected by strikes. GP practices will continue to be open during the junior doctors strike. Please continue to attend your GP and dental appointments, unless you are contacted and told otherwise. When will I find out if my appointment is rescheduled? The NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action. This is likely to be a letter or phone call, and you should be offered an alternative date for your appointment. If we have not contacted you, please attend your appointment as planned. Is there anything I should do now? No, the NHS will contact you if your appointment needs to be rescheduled due to strike action. Should I cancel my appointment on the day of strikes? No, if you have not been contacted, please attend your appointment as planned. Where can I go for more information? For more information on July’s upcoming industrial action, please click below to access NHS England's Q&A.

Dentistry continues to be one of the main issues for residents across the borough, as the dentistry crisis continues locally, and nationally. The team here at Healthwatch Wokingham Borough continues to engage with NHS England - South East Dental, who has provided us with a dental Q&A produced by Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB). BOB ICB has responsibility for planning and funding NHS services for local people across Berkshire West, which includes Wokingham Borough residents. You can download the dental Q&A PDF document by clicking below. It features information including (but not the whole list) on where to go if you can't find a local NHS dentist and what to do if you need urgent dental treatment. If you have any questions, need more information and advice on local dental care or want to share your experiences and views on the dental crisis, you can contact us by: Calling us on: 0118 418 1418 Emailing us: enquiries@healthwatchwokingham.co.uk Filling out an online form, here.

Healthwatch England (HWE) conducted a review of feedback received about maternity services in 2021/2022. They found that maternity care, including support for maternal mental health was worsening. With evidence from the National Childbirth Trust that mental health is not routinely discussed at postnatal checks, led Healthwatch England to undertake a further look into people’s experience of maternity services in 2022. As part of their project, Healthwatch England conducted a national survey from October to December 2022. At the same time, the three Healthwatch in Berkshire West (Reading, West Berkshire and Wokingham Borough) felt it was important to understand the local picture and how it compares to the national situation. We therefore conducted the same survey, adding a question so people could tell us which of the three areas they lived in. The results are captured here as an addendum to the main report, noting that our survey responses have also been included in data for the main report. To read the full report please click below. Want to share your views and experiences (the good and bad) on local maternity services? Click here, to have your voice heard.

Our Annual Report for 2022-23 is published today and highlights the work of our Healthwatch over the last year. It’s been a busy year of laying the foundations across Wokingham Borough as a brand new Healthwatch team hosted by a new provider The Advocacy People, and with support of new Advisory Group made up of volunteer members. Thank you Wokingham for welcoming us. We are looking forward to working with the communities and the different organisations more closely in the coming years. Alice Kunjappy-Clifton, Lead Officer, Healthwatch Wokingham Borough Please contact us if you need this report in a different format or have any questions or comments about this report. To read our report, click below.