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Katherine Rake looks back at the factors that are helping Healthwatch amplify the voice of health and social care consumers.News -
The answer is, in short no, but this was one of the 10 common problems we found when our network spoke to over 11,000 people about their experiences of primary care. Here are examples of what local Healthwatch have been doing to tackle this problem.News -
Local Healthwatch made 600 visits last year to find out how people feel about the quality of health and care services. We spoke to Healthwatch Lancashire to find out how patients felt about changes that were made to a nearby hospital.
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Being able to access primary care services is a key concern that the public have raised with local Healthwatch. In our latest blog we share the views of one group of British Pakistani women from Waltham Forest.News -
The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme exists to help people on lower incomes recover the cost of travelling to and from NHS treatment, but how easy is it to use? Healthwatch Islington conducted a ‘mystery shopping’ exercise to find out.
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Autism diagnosis waiting times was the top complaint received at Cheshire East Clinical Commissioning Group. The local Healthwatch listened to over 200 carers to find out more about their experiences.News -
A child or young person’s early life experiences have a crucial impact on their adult health and life chances. Find out what one local Healthwatch is doing to get more young people to share their experiences of health and care.
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People have told us that being able to access primary care services is a major concern. As part of our investigation into people’s experiences of using services, we are sharing a series of blogs setting out what different consumer groups told us.News -
People have told us mental health is a top priority in 2016. The Government recently announced extra support for mental health in England, along with faster treatment for teenagers with eating disorders.News -
From April, the Independent Patient Safety Investigation Service will start work. We look at what it will do and how it could help improve the way the NHS improves complaints.
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People who identify as transgender can face problems and prejudice accessing health and social care services. We speak to Healthwatch Brighton and Hove to find out what they are doing to help ensure people get the support they need.
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People have told local Healthwatch that mental health is a key priority. With the Mental Health Taskforce due to report its findings soon, we look in more detail at the challenges people have been sharing.News -
Access to and the quality of mental health services has been raised as a priority by more than half of local Healthwatch, making it the number one issue for 2016.
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In the latest in our series of blogs looking at the issues different groups of consumers face when using primary care services, we share what we found when we spoke to a group of over 65s, in partnership with Healthwatch Surrey.
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Recent reports have raised significant concerns about the quality and reliability of some home care services. Hear how one local Healthwatch has worked to gain an understanding of people's experiences of home care.
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One in five local Healthwatch have identified better maternity services as a priority for their communities in the past two years. We look at the work one local Healthwatch did to find out what women think a great maternity service looks like.
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In part two of our series on young volunteers, we find out why Healthwatch Leeds set up a volunteer programme for young people and how it has benefited local services.
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As part of our “Perspectives on primary care” series, which highlights the issues different people face, we hear what a group of young people have to say about their experiences of primary care.
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With 23% of people in Leeds aged under 19, YouthWatch was created to help find out what young people want from local health and care services. We speak to three volunteers about why they got involved.News -
People often need extra help from their council because of a disability, ill health or old age but they must have a care assessment first. Read what Healthwatch Cambridgeshire did when people told them they had to wait too long for an assessment.News -
When hospital discharge goes wrong, it comes at a cost to both individuals and the health and social care system.News -
Over the last year, local Healthwatch across the country have been finding out about people's experiences of pharmacies. Find out what people have told us.News -
With more than 11 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss, it is important that health services understand their needs. Find out about the action one Healthwatch took when concerns were raised about accessing local GP services.
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To build on our understanding on people's experiences of primary care, we spoke to a group of people from the Deaf community in East London who told us about the challenges they experience.
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Young carers are often left feeling isolated when their caring responsibilities prevent them from accessing the same opportunities as their friends. Find out what one local Healthwatch has been doing to understand more about their experiences.
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With local Healthwatch up and down England busy writing their annual reports, we recap on just some of the things the local Healthwatch network got up to in 2014/15.News -
Young people with special educational needs find learning more difficult than most people their age.News -
One local Healthwatch calls for meaningful activity to become an integral part of the culture of care homes after speaking to people in 15 services.News -
Local Healthwatch aim to speak to every section of their community about their experiences of care. This is not always straightforward, as Healthwatch Peterborough found out when they worked to engage with prisoners.News -
For some young people, life can be stressful. We look at the work one local Healthwatch is doing to help young people raise awareness of the challenges that affect their mental wellbeing.News -
Have you had to make a complaint? Take our poll to see how your experience measured up against other people's.News -
Published today, the Care Quality Commission’s five year strategy, includes a greater focus on using the voices of patients, service users and their families, along with other information, to target inspections.News -
With a diverse population, it is important that local health and care services understand the needs of every section of their community. Read one example of how local Healthwatch is helping this to happen.News -
Almost two thirds (64%) of people in Britain say they are happy for their personal health data to be used to support research as long as it is anonymised, bu less than 1 in 5 say they feel properly informed about current data sharing plans.
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People’s patient records have a vital role to play in informing medical research and changes to health and social care services. Together with YouGov, we polled 2,044 people earlier this year, to find out more about their views on sharing their data.News -
The shortlist has been unveiled for the 2016 Healthwatch Network Awards. The annual awards celebrate the difference local Healthwatch across the country have made to health and social care at a local and national level.News -
In some instances, people with learning disabilities cannot access the support they need to live independently. We look at how one local Healthwatch has been working to challenge unequal access to services for people in their area.News -
It’s Volunteers' Week, and we’ve been speaking to our volunteers about their work with local Healthwatch and with the public, and about what inspired them to support our cause.News -
Did you know? 45% of people we polled said they would be interested in volunteering to help improve local health and social care services.News -
Over three years local Healthwatch has managed to recruit over 6,000 volunteers who work tirelessly to find out what people think about health and social care services. But what makes someone give up their time for an organisation in their community?News -
Last year our volunteers helped over 283,000 people find information about local health and care services. Find out more about how our volunteers raise awareness of important health issues.News -
Last year, our volunteers visited over 3,500 health and care services to see if they work for people. Find out more about the work our volunteers do in their local communities.News -
Over 400 people came together to celebrate the difference local Healthwatch across the country have made to health and social care at a local and national level at the Healthwatch Network Awards.News -
Over 220,000 people helped to navigate local health and care services.News -
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a benefit that provides extra money to help with the costs caused by long-term ill-health or a disability.News -
8 in 10 people report a good overall experience of their GP service, but when we ask people to tell us more, they say there is still room for improvement. Find out how one local Healthwatch is helping to change GP surgeries in Camden.News -
From 31 July, all organisations providing NHS or adult social care will have to comply with the accessible information standard. Here we look at what you should expect as a result.News -
This is the question we are working with local Healthwatch to find out.News -
When someone dies unexpectedly while under NHS care, it is important that the correct processes are in place to find out why. The Care Quality Commission is looking at this issue and wants to hear your views.
