An older woman is lying in a hospital bed speaking to a young doctor.

Meet the health and social care staff who go the extra mile

In the run up to the 70th anniversary of the NHS, we are joining in the celebrations with the launch of a new award to recognise the outstanding contributions of health and care staff towards improving patient care. ​​​​​​​
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Getting the basics right for people who are Deaf

Thanks to Sandra, NHS England is improving the way they communicate with people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
Being admitted to hospital can be a stressful experience for anyone. Now imagine you can’t understand what the doctors are saying about your medicine, care or when you can go home.
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Helping young people speak up about their mental health

Becky felt there wasn’t enough mental health support for people her age, and decided something needed to change.
Find out how through working with Healthwatch Dudley, Becky has helped more young people get the support they need to share their experiences of mental health.
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Speaking up saves lives in Bristol

Thanks to Errol, more men in Bristol are aware of the signs of prostate cancer and are being diagnosed and treated.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer which affects men in the UK, with around 1 in 8 diagnosed during their lifetime. It’s especially common amongst Black and Asian men.
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Our response to NHS plans to cut long hospital stays

Our National Director responds to NHS plans to improve patient care by cutting long hospital stays.
The plan aims to see the number of people staying longer than necessary in hospital reduced by a quarter ahead of winter, through greater use of alternatives to admission.
Response

Our response to CQC's "Driving improvement: Case studies from nine adult social care services"

Today, the CQC published a new report "Driving improvement: Case studies from nine adult social care services", which provides an insight into care services that achieved a significant improvement on their rating.
The report looks at services that were rated inadequate, the challenges they had to overcome, and how they got back on track. It also highlights the experiences of a wide range of people using the care services, as well as professionals. 
Response
An older man in a blue shirt standing in a garden

How you can help improve health and care for your community

Last year 4,700 people gave up their time to help make a difference to local health and care. This Volunteers' Week we spoke to Healthwatch Somerset about the difference our volunteers make and why we need more people to get involved.
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Our response to The Nuffield Trust's briefing on emergency readmissions

A new briefing from QualityWatch looks at the number of emergency readmissions to hospital. The report found there was a 41.3% rise in the number of people returning to hospital for "potentially preventable" conditions.
A new briefing from QualityWatch looks at the number of emergency readmissions to hospital. The report found there was a 41.3% rise in the number of people returning to hospital for "potentially preventable" conditions.
Response