Celebrating ten years of people speaking up to make care better
On 1 April 2013, Healthwatch was launched with one simple aim, to make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear the care experiences of people in England and use your feedback to improve support.
Over the last decade, millions of people have shared their stories, good and bad, telling us what's working and what isn't regarding health and social care. With the help of people in every area of England, we've been able to help improve health and social care services.
To mark this important milestone, local Healthwatch services across England will be celebrating the contribution of its Healthwatch Heroes - the members of the public who have spoken up about their care and the health and social care professionals who have acted on this feedback.
Our Healthwatch Heroes
People like Angela, who helped make it easier for people to contact their social worker. Angela often had to wait up to an hour to get through to her social worker, resulting in expensive phone bills. Angela spoke to Healthwatch Islington about her idea for a messaging service that could make things easier. They also found the service was struggling to handle the volume of calls. Thanks to Angela, the Adult Social Service changed its telephone service to make it easier for people to talk to a social worker.
The difference you have made
The evidence provided by people's experiences has helped improve NHS and social care services nationally and locally.
For example, last year the Healthwatch network supported more than two million people to have their say on care and get the right advice.
Here are just some of the ways people helped make a difference in 2021-22:
- Healthwatch research exploring vaccine confidence with people from different backgrounds provided vital lessons for public health campaigns.
- Public feedback helped highlight the negative impact poor NHS admin can have and recommended five principles for services to improve people's experiences.
- The Government updated national hospital discharge guidance to put patient safety first, thanks to the views of patients and carers.
- NHS England announced improvements to non-emergency patient transport services thanks to public feedback.
- After Healthwatch and other organisations called for an urgent response to hospital waiting lists, and better interim communication and support, the NHS set out a recovery plan to address the backlog.
- Healthwatch uncovered that only a third of NHS Trusts fully comply with their duty to help patients with sensory impairments and learning disabilities, which has helped lead to a national review of the Accessible Information Standard.
Thank you Angela and everyone else who has played their part
Commenting on the anniversary, our National Director Louise Ansari said:
"Over the last ten years, we've been able to help improve health and social care services. But nothing would have changed if local people had not spoken up about their care and services had not listened. So thank you Angela and everyone else who has played their part.
"However, we can't stop here. With NHS and social care services facing such big challenges, your feedback is more critical than ever. By sharing your experience, you can help professionals to put themselves in your shoes, to understand your reality and the issues that need tackling to improve care.
"So next time you use a health or care service, take a moment to share your experience. It won't take long and could make a real difference in making care better for you and your community."
Be a Healthwatch Hero and have your say today.
