Why Health Heard?
The Health Heard questionnaire covers a wide range of common and lesser-known health issues, and experiences. It's great if you are looking to understand your health better, whether you have a diagnosed illness or disability, or are just curious.
Being able to identify and record our health concerns gives a much more detailed picture for us, those who care for us, or those we rely on for medical care or advice.
Our Health Story reports can be used alongside other medical tests and assessments, or where these might miss out something important. We are not here to diagnose, and we're not a replacement for tests, but we can help everyone take a more postive step where those services have failed, or not yet found answers.
We are also supporting you to communicate and share your health concerns more accurately and easily. This means that you are much more likely to be able to get to see the right doctor or specialist who can give you the care and advice you really need!
Our reports and guidance also make filling out forms or going to appointments much less stressful too.
We know how horrible and harmful it can be when your health worries are not heard, or when you don't have a clear picture of what is going on and what to do next, and we want to give you every opportunity to turn this around.
Medical mistakes and misdiagnosis clog up our health service and cost £ billions every year. By using services like Health Heard, we can all find out more about what is really going on, and help our health services to do better for us too.
Our inclusive services help and support everyone to:
- identify, record and share health and other concerns more effectively.
- better manage and monitor a long-term health problem or the impact of a disability
- regularly check to see if any symptoms or issues have been missed or overlooked
- monitor for, or keep track of, post-COVID complications
- explore and review how you are thinking, feeling or relating to others.
- monitor for the effects and impacts of stress, injury or other workplace risks.
- consider how each issue uncovered could relate to other problems, or to specific conditions
- quickly get a sharable overview of your physical health, well-being and stress levels
- communicate your concerns effectively to the doctors or people who can best help you
- review what's happening over time, and spot any changes or patterns
- look at what else you might need to do, or have help with, to ensure you get the most from life.
- take part, even if you find communication difficult, have cognitive challenges or are short on time and attention
- we also help you to spot signs of stress or illness early, and to be more aware of how to stay well.
Health Heard are also leading research into what is needed for to make digital healthcare work for everyone, especially for those of us who find it difficult to access and use.
Our report Cognitive Accessibility for Digital Health 2020 2021 is being referenced by many innovators in the NHS and beyond.
We believe in inclusive design, empowering neurodiverse and disabled communities to have a bigger say in their health and healthcare.
Our aim is to ensure everyone can participate, benefit, and have a voice!
The Health Heard service has been developed in collaboration with people like you, medical professionals, and with the initial support of The Ehlers-Danlos Support UK (EDS UK) and Hypermobility Syndromes Association (HMSA).
This helps us make sure that we are meeting the needs of those of us with Ehlers Danlos Syndromes or Hypermobility syndromes, and heritable connective tissue disorders such as Marfan's Syndrome.
Many of us with these condtitions are neurodivergent too, and there is lack of accessible services for us. The challenges we experience are varied and cover many aspects of health, cognition, and wellbeing, as well as social or systmeic barriers.
Read what people who have used the service say, here.
You might also like to read our Frequently Asked Questions.