We speak up for better care in our annual report
When the Government announced that functions of Healthwatch would be transferred to national and local government, as well as the NHS, it was clearly disappointing news. Not only for our staff and volunteers, but for everyone associated with Healthwatch, who have proudly supported communities across England in speaking up about their experiences of health and social care.
However, we welcomed the Government’s acknowledgement of the difference we have made and their aspiration to build on our work. With the NHS and social care services under huge pressure, it is more essential than ever that the experiences of the public, especially those already facing inequalities, are heard, understood, and acted upon.
In our most recent annual report, we explain how listening to the public led to change and highlighted concerns.
Listening matters
Healthwatch was established as an independent champion for those using health and social care because policymakers understood it pays to listen. Patients know when care isn't working. Their feedback helps services spot risks, improve safety, and make more informed decisions.
And listening leads to better outcomes. Care becomes more tailored, effective, and trusted when services act on what people say.
In stark contrast, ignoring patient and service user voices has deeply damaging consequences – especially in communities that already face health inequalities. A history of repeated scandals in the NHS, like the failures in care at the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust, has shown that when concerns are dismissed, harm often follows.
A legacy you can build on
Today, listening is more important than ever. The NHS and social care services are under pressure, but people still need care that is safe and works.
The Government’s 10-year plan aims to fix care, but it won’t succeed without continuing to understand the issues that communities face. Decision-makers in the NHS and local and national government must listen to service users and track progress to know if the steps they’re taking are working.
We’ve shown the way and created a legacy to build upon. We’ve shown that gathering feedback from every section of the community is essential – but to do this, you need to build trust.
We’ve shown how independent, impartial local evidence can illuminate inequalities and get care services to pay attention. We’ve shown how, with the right infrastructure, you can turn community feedback into actionable steps that improve care at a local and national level.
The lessons we’ve learned along the way
The full details of the system that will replace Healthwatch nationally and locally are yet to be unveiled. However, the Government has said that it aims to make it easier for people to share their views directly with the system to improve health and social care, and make it clear where accountability sits at all levels of the system.
Our strength at Healthwatch has been our reach into every community, our independence and our statutory role. If the Government is to realise their ambitions, we strongly advise that any new system be based on six tried and tested principles.
- Be locally driven: National policymakers will get the full picture only by ensuring the consistent collection of people’s experiences on the ground and having the infrastructure in place for this insight to reach them via the NHS and local councils.
- Reach out to communities: Many people don’t trust formal feedback routes and won’t talk to organisations unless they see them as independent and impartial. To hear diverse views and identify inequalities, NHS and social care decision-makers must work hard to reach out to communities and demonstrate that they are listening. Our experience has involved ensuring Healthwatch staff have the right skills to engage every community, working with local groups and harnessing volunteers that local people trust.
- Value qualitative evidence: Quantitative data only tells part of the story. Collecting and analysing people’s experiences is essential to understanding the impact of good or poor care, the existing blind spots, and the solutions.
- Make patient experience central to decision-making: Hardwire links between the NHS, councils and the Department of Health and Social Care’s Patient Experience function and ensure that patient experience staff have a strong presence at every policymaking level.
- Be transparent and show you are listening: The system, from the national Government down, must be honest and transparent about people’s concerns, open to getting views on “difficult” issues, and demonstrate that sharing feedback leads to change. It’s also important that the public understands how NHS and social care services can be held to account when they don’t listen.
- Build a system of accountability: Ensure those responsible for commissioning or providing health and care services are held accountable for their responses to the voices of patients and service users.
Without these principles, there is a real risk that the voice of patients and service users will become marginalised within the system, problems will be missed or ignored, and uninformed decisions will be made.
We’ll continue to carry out our role until new legislation is enacted. But we also stand ready to help those who will take over our work ensure that the public has an even stronger voice in tomorrow’s health and care system.
In our annual report, we talk in more detail about our work and what comes next.
