News and reports
Latest news and views
The Health Bill Committee - What are we saying?
The Health Bill has now reached Committee stage, where proposals to abolish local Healthwatch are being examined in detail. This article outlines what they have been hearing and adds some of our own narrative.
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Next steps for the NHS 10 Year Plan
The King’s Speech today mentioned the government's intentions to make health reforms in this parliamentary session. These reforms to include the proposed abolition of local Healthwatch. What does this mean in practice?
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Our response to The King's Fund report - March 2026
The publication of “The future of patient voice: learning from the Healthwatch model” by The King’s Fund provides an important and timely assessment of how people and communities are heard across health and care. What do the key factors they raise mean…
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Former government minister backs The King’s Fund study on importance of independent patient voice in health and social care
Today’s King’s Fund Report “The Future of Patient Voice; Learning from the Healthwatch Model” underlines that a key strength of Healthwatch is its independence of the system, giving it credibility with the public.
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National petition triggers government response - please continue your support
We are calling for ongoing public support as the national petition challenging government plans to abolish local Healthwatch services surpasses 10,000 signatures — the threshold that requires a formal government response.
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Sign our petition to review the decision to abolish independent local Healthwatch and protect the independent voice
In light of the government’s proposals to abolish local Healthwatch and therefore remove the only collective, independent and statutory opportunity for the public to hold the NHS and social care system to account, local Healthwatch have put together a…
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Following the Ockenden review
Our thoughts are with the families whose devastating experiences have shaped the Ockenden review into maternity services at Nottingham University…
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Written evidence submissions
Opportunity to add your voice to the 60 other organisations and people who have submitted written evidence to the Health Bill?
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Celebrating our volunteers this Volunteers Week
This #VolunteersWeek we again take the opportunity to thank all of our volunteers for this support.
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Latest reports and publication
Making every voice count: Healthwatch Surrey Annual report 2025-26
Our 2025/26 annual report ‘Making every voice count’ highlights our impact throughout the year supported by our volunteers. Thank you to the people of Surrey for trusting us with your experiences.
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Bridging the Digital Divide - summary report - June 2026
Following the publication of Government guidance in October 2025 requiring GP practices to keep their online forms open during operating hours we revisit our previous work about digital access to GP services and the use of AI to note any changes in people's experiences or views.
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