Bath Institute for Rheumatic Diseases (BIRD) has been awarded £4,148 to make and promote a series of podcasts for patients by Healthwatch B&NES from their community pot.

Mel Brooke, Patient and Public Engagement programme director for BIRD said: “We work closely with patients to deepen their understanding of their rheumatic disease and the latest research and treatment available through a well-established programme of information events.  We have had to put these on hold due to COVID 19, but we still want to make that information available, and, in particular, to a wider audience than ever before. Some patients told us that they wished they could attend but due to health, work, personal circumstances (i.e. being a carer or having young family) and distance issues they could not.  All of these patients expressed an interest in online information.

“We are thrilled that we can now look forward to developing Podcasts as a new way forward for inviting questions from patients and their families, interviewing a range of experts, and promoting them to a wider range of people”.

Vanessa Scott from HealthWatch Bath and North East Somerset said: “We look forward to working in collaboration with BIRD in order to hear the voices of local people and identify the issues that affect them as a person living with rheumatic disease and how they experience health and social care services”.