Healthwatch to stay!

News - 28 October 2026

We are delighted to announce that plans to abolish local Healthwatch and Healthwatch England as part of the Health Bill have been abandoned. This is a huge victory for an independent voice for patients and the public in general.
In the centre are the words 'Breaking news - Healthwatch to stay - independent voice protected.

Following a vast amount of work undertaken both locally and nationally to highlight the importance of retaining an independent voice for local people and the work that local Healthwatch do, the decision to scrap local Healthwatch and Healthwatch England has been abandoned. Throughout the debate on the Health Bill in Parliament, MPs and peers from all sides raised serious concern that scrapping it would mean the loss of important accountability within the NHS.

This rethink means Healthwatch Surrey, and all 153 local Healthwatch and Healthwatch England will continue to champion the voice of local people to shape, improve and get the best from NHS, health and social care services. 

We are also pleased the proposal is also to strengthen our remit to ensure patient voices are heard and can influence real change across health and care services. This gives us the opportunity to build on the best of what Healthwatch has achieved locally and nationally, and to spread best practice to all parts of the country. 

We look forward to continuing our work to ensure everyone's voice is heard.

Our Helpdesk

The Healthwatch Surrey Helpdesk is here to provide information and signposting to local people about health and social care services.

It’s also the place to share your experiences of health and social care. Whether it’s good or bad, big or small, we welcome your feedback and act on it to help improve care where you live.

Contact our Helpdesk

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