News and reports

Disabled people and people with sensory loss have a legal right to get health and social care information in a way that's accessible for them. Yet Healthwatch England has found one in five people struggle to understand the information they receive.

See how we work out the main health and care priorities for Bristol from your feedback. Our meeting at 3:30pm on August 17 is where we action your comments or concerns with providers to ensure what you tell us makes a difference.

As a local Healthwatch, we are able to visit health and social care services (such as hospitals and GP surgeries) and see them in action. This is called 'Enter and View'. Our goal is to identify what's working well and where improvements are needed.

After collating the experiences of experiences of people involved with hospital discharges, local NHS leaders have pledged clearer information, better communication with patients and carers, and £17m investment into the discharge to assess model.

Everyone receiving care in hospital should be treated with respect and dignity. We asked hospital staff and older patients who had recently had a stay in a Bristol hospital to tell us about their experience of care and what dignity means to them.

That’s the question being asked by the new Integrated Care System (ICS) for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, as it launches a wide-ranging public engagement exercise to shape priorities for health and care in the years ahead.

Your feedback helps us influence positive change and encourages the improvement of local NHS health and social care services. Take a look at everything we've been up to throughout 2021/2022.

Learn about the NHS app, how to order prescriptions, view test results, book GP appointments, and access online consultations at one of our free digital skills workshops. You'll receive 1:1 support and be able to ask questions.

Read the minutes of our May 4 2022 Prioritisation Panel, when we came together to discuss the health and social care issues you've raised, and what Healthwatch Bristol can do to bring about change.

We've collated the experiences of 141 patients, families, carers, and NHS staff involved with the hospital discharge process. More than 75% of respondents said they felt delays in admission or discharge had a negative psychological effect.

Healthwatch England has responded to the Independent Review of Maternity Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, led by Donna Ockenden. The review examined almost 1,600 clinical incidents and found repeated failures in care.

Smokers and former smokers (more than 100 cigarettes in your lifetime) aged between 55 and 74 and registered with an eligible GP practice will be invited for a lung health check by the NHS to help identify lung cancer at an early stage.