Community Voices Panel

Summer 2025 

Our Summer 2025 survey, which ran between July and August, focused on three key themes: 

• Looking after your health and wellbeing 
• Development of new services (Hospital at Home / Virtual Wards and Audiology) 
• Quality of care and patient experience 

212 panel members took part. 

Looking after your health and wellbeing 

• 72% of panellists said they would be quite or very likely to book a free NHS health check if offered. 
• One in five would be unlikely, mainly because they already have regular checks or feel these are not necessary because they feel fit and healthy, possibly suggesting they didn’t see the check as something to help them stay well 
• 55% had no concerns about taking up NHS vaccinations or screening. 19% worry about side effects and 8% would like more information about effectiveness. 
• 34% said nothing made it difficult to look after their health in winter, but others cited problems getting a GP appointment (33%), cost of living (25%), and mental ill health or low motivation (17%). 
• The biggest motivators to act ahead of winter were a GP/NHS reminder (47%), wanting to protect their own health (46%), and preventing long illnesses (41%). 
• 84% were aware of NHS 111 and 57% knew about Pharmacy First for urgent care. 
• 74% said they usually “wait and see” or self-manage if unwell; 45% contact their GP, and 28% use NHS 111. 
• About half said they would only contact the NHS if symptoms became severe. 
• 11% of respondents currently smoke, 31% are ex-smokers, and 58% have never smoked. Around a third of those who were smokers want to quit but find it difficult due to stress. Awareness of free stop-smoking support is high (84%). 

Development of new services 

• After reading a description of the service, 86% said Hospital at Home best described it, compared with 38% for Virtual Ward. 
• 81% agreed the same name should be used across all five boroughs. 
• “Hospital at Home” was seen as clear and easy to understand, while some felt “Virtual Ward” was confusing or suggested an online-only service. 
• Based on the survey feedback, NCL Virtual Ward providers will be changing their name to Hospital at Home. 
• For the new audiology service, most expected hearing assessments (68%), specialist referrals (68%), and digital hearing aid fitting and maintenance (54%). Some also suggested including ear wax removal (3%). 

Quality of care and patient experience 

• The aspects of safe care that matter most are getting the right level of care when needed (89%), receiving care quickly (75%), and being able to raise a concern knowing change will happen (70%). 
• 16% of respondents had experienced something going wrong at their GP practice; only 19% were told what happened and 11% how it was being corrected. 
• Suggestions for improvement included better communication and listening, more empathy, quicker action, and improved staff training. 
• Two thirds (66%) didn’t know or were unsure how to report a safety concern. 
• 4% of respondents are members of a Patient Participation Group (PPG); three quarters of these discuss safety and quality in their practice. 
• The most positive experiences came from being listened to (70%) and receiving clear, relevant information (64%). 
• For the new Patient Safety and Quality Plan, top priorities were improving communication skills (95%), staff training (92%), and better hospital-to-GP handovers (88%). 

You can read the survey results in full here: NCL Community Voices Panel – Survey 4 Results – September 2025

Our Spring 2025 survey which was live in April and May focused on three key themes:

• Where people get their health information from and what their trusted sources are
• Care closer to home
• WorkWell – a new service which supports people with health conditions or disabilities to find work.

196 panel members took part.

Where people get health information

90% trust healthcare professionals the most, closely followed by NHS.uk and the NHS app. GP and hospital websites were also highly trusted but not as well utilised. Pharmacies were the most popular community location where people would seek health advice.

19% use social media, but mainly for leisure and only 10% would trust information found on social channels. Health information delivered by social media is acceptable, but it’s much preferred that information is posted with clear NHS branding and directed to an NHS source.

Most people in NCL mostly used a mobile phone (84%) to look up health information, the next most popular device was desktop computers (50%) and tablets (25%). Desktop computers were more used by older age groups. Two percent of people don’t look online for health information.

Care closer to home

60% of this sample felt very or quite confident to use hospital at home services. The main services that they would like to see provided closer to home are mental health (60%), general health advice and diagnostic tests (over 50%) and urgent care (49%).

There are very high levels of trust in pharmacy prescribing (95%) if it’s for repeat prescribing or a medicine used previously. But just 37% would be allow a pharmacist to prescribe a new medicine.

WorkWell

We asked the panel what matters most to them. Their physical health (75%), home (71%), partner and family (63%), and mental health and feeling safe (around 50%) scored much more highly than having an enjoyable job.

We asked how people would approach looking for work and two thirds would try the internet, about half would ask friends and family for help and a third of people would use their own personal networks. A quarter of the sample would use the job centre and one fifth social media. Only 5% would think to ask for support from a healthcare professional. One fifth of respondents said they had a physical or mental health condition that prevents them looking for or changing jobs.

You can read the survey summary results in full here: NCL Community Voice Panel – Survey 3 Results

The second survey (November 2024 – 265 responses) built on the themes of the first, exploring areas such as staying well, primary care, NHS 111, and vaccinations. Below are the key insights: 

Health and Wellbeing 

• 75% of respondents rated their health as “good,” a decline from 80% in the first survey. 

• Loneliness emerged as a significant concern, affecting 30% of respondents, with the highest rates reported in Haringey (44%). 

Primary Care Access 

• Awareness of GP contact options was high at 93%, with 72% of respondents knowing they could access support through their GP practice’s website. 

Your Local Health Team Campaign 

• Campaign awareness, measured in the second survey, was 18% of respondents.

• 100% of respondents who visited the campaign website found it useful. 

Vaccinations 

• 68% of eligible respondents plan to get vaccinated. However, barriers such as distrust remain, particularly among younger people and ethnic minority groups. 

Read the full results of the second survey here 

During the first survey conducted between May – October 2024 (1004 responses), we aimed to gain deeper insights into primary care and access issues, aligning the questions with our campaign, Your Local Health Team. 

The key findings were as follows: 

• 60% of respondents were not using the NHS app. 

• 25% of respondents expressed a need for more information about the role of their high-street pharmacists. 

• 21% of respondents reported a lack of trust in GP practice receptionists. 

These findings will shape our Your Local Health Team campaign engagement strategy. We aim to: 

• Promote the benefits and functionalities of the NHS app to ensure communities are making the most of it. 

• Increase awareness of the essential roles and services provided by high-street pharmacists. 

• Enhance understanding of the responsibilities of care navigators in GP practices, including the role of receptionists as triage specialists, to build trust and confidence. 

To read the full survey results, please visit this link 

Joining the panel is easy, and you’ll have the chance to: 

• Share your views on important health and care topics. 

• Participate in surveys that shape local services. 

• Help us improve healthcare for everyone in North Central London.  

Please visit this link. 

The panel is representative of the demographics of North Central London. There may be times when we have to pause recruitment or specifically target recruitment to maintain this balance. 

We’re committed to regularly publishing the panel’s findings to show how your feedback is making a difference. Visit our  Get Involved  page to explore the latest survey results and learn more about how you can participate. 

Together, we can ensure health and care services reflect the needs of everyone in our communities. 

• When you sign up to the panel through this form your data is transferred to Jungle Green, the organisation we commissioned to help with recruiting the members and running some of the surveys. Jungle Green fully adheres to the Data Protection Act 2018. You can view their privacy policy here: Privacy Policy – Jungle Green MRC  The information you provide will only be used for the purposes that we explained in relation to the Community Voices Panel.

• To become a member and participate in health and care surveys you will need to consent, sign up and provide some personal information as part of the registration process. Personal information includes e.g. your name, address, gender, ethnicity, disability/ long term illness, carer status, email address, etc.  Your personal information, contact details, and the opinions you provide are always kept completely confidential as assured in our privacy policy.

• On registration, personal information is stored and managed by Jungle Green via a secure system (Snap Surveys XMP). You will be asked at the end of each year whether you are happy to continue being a member of the panel.  Your data will be stored for five years after your last panel activity.

• You have rights of access to your personal data and to withdraw your consent at any time. Your data will never be shared with anyone else other than Jungle Green, the Data Processor and NHS NCL ICB, the Data Controller.