10 years making a difference together
Your feedback is helping to improve the NHS and social care
You might think, 'What's the point? Nothing changes.' But every story shared with us matters. Thanks to millions of people, just like you, speaking up, we’ve been able to champion big healthcare changes.
Improved maternal mental health support
Thanks to your feedback we were able to show that not all GP practices complied with the requirement to provide six-week postnatal checks, with over one in ten new mothers telling us they didn’t receive one. Following our calls for change, the NHS have approved a plan to improve the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal services.
Better access for GP services
For over a year now, we have been calling for improvements to make it easier for people to access their GP practice. Thanks to your feedback across the year on several of our projects, our calls for reform have been addressed in the latest primary care recovery plan, where the NHS has set out it’s commitment to making it easier to get an appointment with your doctor.
Improving the wait for cancer care
In our recent report based on your feedback we published that 45% of people were not referred for suspected cancer at their first appointment. We called on the NHS for change to improve waiting times and the NHS announced changes to simplify the care timeline and give patients a better understanding of what to expect.
Positive changes to patient transport support
Thanks to sharing your views with us, together we’ve helped improve non-emergency patient transport services. The NHS has proposed new, clear, and consistent eligibility criteria for support, and has also committed to improving the coordination and communication of appointments using better technology.
Making a difference locally
Across England, local Healthwatch are making a difference by ensuring local people can access the care they need. Want to see how your feedback benefits your local community? Then check out the impact local teams have made in their community.
Our year in numbers 2023-24
1,149,000
People accessed advice and information online, by phone, or face-to-face.
403,000
People shared their feedback about health and social care with us.
