Responding to the announcement that Healthwatch England and local
Healthwatch organisations will no longer be abolished, Sarah
Woolnough, Chief Executive at The King's Fund said:
We're pleased the government has listened to concerns about the
future of Healthwatch and acted to retain an independent voice
for people using health and care services.
Our own research at
The King's Fund highlighted the importance of maintaining a
strong, independent voice that could speak truth to power on
behalf of patients and the public. It is a good thing that the
government is changing its approach.
And the government is right to say that more can be done to
ensure Healthwatch plays a more influential role in bringing
together people's experiences and ensuring those voices are
heard. This includes reducing variation in the capacity and
capability of local Healthwatch organisations, having a clearer
and more effective relationship between local and national
Healthwatch, and putting in place greater accountability so
insights gathered by Healthwatch are translated into action to
improve care locally and nationally.
Healthwatch's important role in ensuring patient voices remain
rooted in the community will also need to be connected to the new
Director of Patient Experience role in the Department of Health
and Social Care, to bring health and social care learning
together and strengthen accountability for how organisations
respond to feedback.'
ENDS
Notes to editors
- The
King's Fund's report setting out learnings from the Healthwatch
model: The future of patient
voice: learning from the Healthwatch model | The King's Fund
- The
King's Fund are embarking on a project, The future of patient
feedback, in partnership with National Voices, Edge Health
and The Foundation, and commissioned by NHS England. The project
aims to redesign how national feedback is collected, analysed and
shared so it provides a clearer picture of people's experiences
and helps drive improvements in care.
