News and reports

We are pleased to bring you our most recent edition of our public newsletter - keeping you informed of our latest work.

As part of our Enter and View role, we visited Derby House, a registered care home that supports 6 women who have a learning disability and autism.

We often focus on areas for improvement as we believe this is an important way to bring about positive change, but we’ve also heard some incredible – inherently positive - stories of care, compassion and dedication. This end of year Insight bulletin is dedicated to those.

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.

What people tell us about why Surrey’s library independence courses and community centres go unused.

Due to changes in contractual arrangements early in 2025, Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Board (ICB) commissioned Healthwatch Surrey to engage local residents and provide Information and signposting relating to the change. We did this in March 2025, and have returned in October 2025 to two venues to ask patients of the practice if they have noticed any changes.

As part of our work on access to primary care we wanted to speak to Surrey residents with low vision about their experiences of specialist eye care services, as well as the information and support they receive between appointments and following discharge.

We undertook an Enter and View visit to Hillcroft, a registered social care home for men and women over the age of 50 with a learning disability and associated needs.

This report highlights our major impacts throughout our second quarter of 2025/26 (July to September 2025). This quarter 677 people shared their experiences with us.

New research from Healthwatch England has found that one in five men are now using platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube - and almost one in 10 are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots - for information on staying healthy.

Our latest Insight bulletin highlights the key themes we’ve been hearing about recently from local people. We also highlight our latest news and opportunities to get involved.

Some recent research by the Nuffield Trust highlights what we have been hearing about NHS CHC funding - that the process is confusing and sometimes hard for individuals to go through. We have provided some information and advice to help with this, including a video by someone with lived experience.