Sign the petition: review the decision to abolish independent local Healthwatch

The NHS 10 Year Health plan proposes to abolish Healthwatch England and 152 local Healthwatch, and transfer functions ‘in-house’ to local authorities and NHS Integrated Care Boards once legislation has passed. This is a result of the Review of patient safety across the health and care landscape, led by Dr Penny Dash.

If this goes ahead as planned, it will remove the only collective, independent and statutory opportunity for the public to hold the NHS and social care system to account.  

Why is it important? 

Independent public voice initiatives are uniquely positioned to:

• Be an independent critical friend, driven by communities – working constructively with local stakeholders, but always with the freedom to raise concerns without fear or favour, based on what people with lived experience really think. Services can’t be held to account by the same bodies that fund or manage them. Independence is essential for honest feedback and meaningful scrutiny.
• Amplify the collective voices of people at risk of health inequalities – speaking to people experiencing health inequalities and asking about the barriers to accessing services. The new plan relies heavily on individuals feeding back to the services they use, and has a strong focus on digital methods. We are concerned that this will exclude many. Proactively and meaningfully listening to communities is essential to the successful delivery of services.
• Create a bridge across sectors – people do not fit neatly into one box, often using services across health, social care, and voluntary sector organisations. However, new proposals involve splitting work to understand people’s experiences between the NHS and local councils. Independent organisations can listen to people’s whole story, connecting it to different services and aiming towards more integrated and inclusive care, where services work better together.
• Be independent, trusted and impartial – people often lack trust and fear repercussions sharing their feedback directly with those providing their care. Independent organisations are better placed to build this trust, and can also provide impartial information and advice to help people navigate complex services across health and social care. The proposed future model does not recognise this information and advice function, or suggest who will fill that role.