Healthwatch Doncaster is pleased to publish its Annual Report 2020-21 which focusses heavily on how we have continued to engage with local people throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

We have taken a 'Then and Now' approach to demonstrate how Covid-19 has impacted on key local services and how we have all responded to the biggest crisis of a generation.

2020-21 – A year to remember for so many different reasons

This year Healthwatch Doncaster experienced, along with the rest of the world, a year like no other. One minute we were chatting in the office about the news from China and Italy about a virus and the next minute we were putting our emergency planning processes in to place and working from home!

The staff team and the Board members all pulled together to ensure that we were able to continue to provide a local, independent voice for people and communities in Doncaster. Without their hard work and dedication then we would have struggled to bail out the boat that we were in with everyone else.

More than ever there is a need to be kind to one another, to work in partnership and to be creative and innovative in the work that we do. We can build on what we have all learned over the last 12 months and we will continue to listen to the voices and experiences of people and communities as we restart and re-engage in all the exciting activities that make us an active, thriving and committed partnership of people, places and positivity.

"In our time of adversity, the team came together with creativity and innovation to drive us forward to develop new ways of engagement and involvement to ensure that local voices were heard and listened to." - Andrew Goodall, Chief Operating Officer