Suffering in silence
This report highlights what people have told the Healthwatch network about their experience of making a complaint about health and social care services.
Report
News and reports
Our Annual Report 2013/14
Our Annual Report, Loud and Clear: Making your voice heard highlights our work and the work of the Healthwatch network over the past 12 months.
Report
Renewed efforts required to create compassionate complaints system
Our new report highlights the complexity of the process someone needs to follow to make a complaint about their health or social care service.
Using the views and experiences of patients and their families, have published our findings from our investigation into the utterly bewildering and largely ineffective complaints system in health and social care.
News
Our financial performance and position 2013/14
Find out about more about our financial performance and position for the financial year 2013/14.
Report
More reassurance needed about how medical records are being used by government
We share our views on government plans to provide medical researchers and NHS managers with access to people’s personal medical records.
We are calling on the Rt. Hon Mr Hunt to create a single regulatory regime for different uses of patient records and ensure that people have the right to opt out of all government data sharing projects.
News
Our response to Department of Health Consultation: Protecting health & care information
Read our response to The Department of Health’s consultation on proposals to strengthen the controls on the use of an individuals health and care data.
Our response also includes issues that people have been sharing with local Healthwatch across the country about worries about the security of their data.
Response
Bringing the voice of consumers to Parliament
Healthwatch from across England share their concerns in Westminster to make sure people can have their say about changes to health services in their area.
Healthwatch from across England share their concerns in Westminster to make sure people can have their say about changes to health services in their area.
News
NHS complaints data is just ‘tip of the iceberg’
Our new analysis of complaints data shows that over half a million incidents of poor care across NHS went unreported in last two years
News
Our letter to NHS England about CCG public involvement
We have written to NHS England to assess to Clinical Commissioning Groups can involve local Healthwatch in changes to how health and care services are run.
Response
Our letter to the Local Government Association about CCG public involvement
We have written to the Local Government Association to discuss how we can work together to ensure that Clinical Commissioning Groups involve the public in decision making processes.
Read the letter we sent.
Response
Our response to CQC plans to introduce special measures scheme for GP practices
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has announced plans to introduce a new 'special measures' scheme for GP practices that will see those offering poor care being given deadlines to make improvements and facing closure if they fail.
The special measures scheme will be introduced from GP practices from October this year.
Response
Our response to CQC special measures report
The Care Quality Commission has released a report into progress made at 11 NHS trusts that were put into special measures in July 2013.
The report, highlights the work by Monitor and the NHS Trusts Development Authority to support the 11 trusts in special measures.
Response