Your health and social care champion
Healthwatch Sheffield is your local health and social care champion. We are here to support people of all ages and backgrounds living in Sheffield, and help amplify the voices of those who aren't always heard by services. If you use GPs, hospitals, dentists, pharmacies, care homes, home carers or other support services, we want to hear about your experiences.
We have the power to make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers listen to your feedback and improve standards of care. We also help people to find reliable and trustworthy information and advice. Our service is free and available to everyone living in Sheffield or accessing health or social care services here.
How we work
Healthwatch is a statutory organisation set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012. We are part of a network of over 150 local Healthwatch across England, with statutory powers and duties. Our work makes an impact locally, but we also feed into national research and campaigns through Healthwatch England, our national body. We are independent from the council and the NHS.
In Sheffield, the Healthwatch contract is held by Voluntary Action Sheffield (VAS). This helps us connects us to the city's voluntary and community sector organisations; we work alongside these groups to listen to, understand, and share the views of even more people.
Healthwatch Sheffield has a Strategic Advisory Group which shapes the work we do – this is a group of volunteers who help us make decisions about what to focus on, and keep track of our progress against the priorities we set. To maintain our independence, our decision-making process is separate from decision making in VAS.
We are a small staff team supported by volunteers. We also work closely with our community partners and local strategic partners to ensure we make the biggest possible impact for local people.
Stay up to date
Find out more about our latest work in our Quarterly Reports, and read what people have been telling us in our monthly round ups.
You can also sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates on our work.
Have your say
Tell us your experience of health and social care services in Sheffield and help make care better. Health services include GPs, dentists, opticians, pharmacies and hospitals. Social care services could be care at home, residential and nursing homes, personal budgets etc.
Advice and information
We can help you find the answers - from accessing the right health or social care service for you, to finding other organisations who can support you to stay well. If you can't find the answer below, contact us - we're always happy to talk, and we'll work together to help you.
Our Strategic Advisory Group
Find out more about our Strategic Advisory Group (SAG).
Our staff
Meet our staff and volunteers.