News and reports

National GP patient survey sees a further fall in satisfaction, especially regarding making appointments. Read the Healthwatch response.

Alcohol Change UK wants to see a Britain with alcohol but without serious alcohol harm. The average drinker in the UK spends £62,899 on alcohol in a lifetime based on a new estimate from Alcohol Change UK. We might expect that, for this amount of money, the benefits would be huge. But this brings with it many additional personal costs.

Healthwatch welcome the creation of an independent public inquiry to learn lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic. The lessons from this inquiry could improve how government, NHS England, health and care providers and commissioners respond to future pandemics or public health emergencies.

With the NHS turning 75 this week, Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England, reflects on why listening to users of health and care services is so integral to improving the quality and safety of care.
As the NHS turns 75 this, we should celebrate all the institution does for us and all the fantastic work its 1.2 million workers do to treat and care for us. But, we should also reflect on its challenges and how it needs to change to continue delivering safe, high-quality care for all.

Halton Send Parent Carer Forum (HSPCF) have been approached by Tony Ryan who has been commissioned by Mersey Care to carry out an independent review of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS.)

He is interested in the views of children and young people and their families, who have used CAMHS services in mid-Mersey in the last 12 months. If this applies to you, please give a couple minutes of your time to answer the short questions on the attached survey. Your voice matters and is the best way to help improve services for our children and young people.

HRB Diabetes Collaborative Clinical Trial Network is looking to contact a broad range of healthcare professionals, carers and most importantly people living with type 1 diabetes, to get their perspectives on what are the most important unanswered questions in type 1 diabetes. They have designed a survey to gather questions and opinions on type 1 diabetes. 

Our Annual Report for 2022 - 2023 is published today and highlights the work of our Healthwatch over the last year and shows how your feedback has helped influence improvements in health and care services.

Junior Doctors are to hold a five-day strike in mid-July in what would be the longest period of industrial action in the history of the health service. The British Medical Association (BMA) confirmed that the five-day walkout would run from 7am, Thursday 13 July, until 7am Tuesday 18th July. This will be the fourth round of strikes by Junior Doctors since the start of the year.

If yes, then have you thought about volunteering with us at Healthwatch Halton?

Healthwatch volunteers come from all walks of life and are helping to empower patients, advocate for better healthcare and transform local communities.

The Government has announced a consultation to change legislation on visiting in care homes, hospitals and hospices.

Love Your Lungs Week 2023 aims to raise Awareness of Lung Conditions.

Formerly Breathe Easy Week, Love Your Lungs Week is an initiative started by the British Lung Foundation, now Asthma and Lung UK, to raise awareness and focus on lung health and takes place between the 21st and 27th June this year.

Drowning Prevention Week aims to help ensure everybody across the UK and Ireland, has the opportunity to enjoy water safely.
Now in its tenth year, Drowning Prevention Week 2023 is a crucial campaign that has proven to have a real impact. Due to the pandemic, close to 2 million young people missed out on the vital opportunity to swim, leaving a dramatic gap in school swimming and water safety education.