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Enter and View

Our Enter and View programme involves visiting publicly funded health and social care services in Brighton and Hove to see what is going on and to talk to service users, their relatives and carers, as well as staff. We do this with authorised representatives, who go through a training programme with us.

Every local Healthwatch across the country has a legal responsibility to carry out an Enter and View programme. But we are not inspectors, instead, we focus on gathering the views and experiences of the people receiving care.

How does it work?

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Our Enter and View role is different to an inspection. We focus on what it is like for people receiving care. We provide extra eyes and ears, especially for the most isolated and vulnerable. Visiting places where people receive care is a powerful way for us to hear directly from individuals about their experiences of services.

  1. We arrange a visit with the service and read background information on it.
  2. On an agreed date, our trained volunteers spend time at the location, talking to both people receiving care as well as those providing it.
  3. We write a report on what our volunteers have seen and heard.
  4. We publish the report on this web page and share it with the organisations involved, as well as the CQC and Healthwatch England.

Read the full guide

Where can Enter and View take place?

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The legislation places a duty on health and social care providers to allow Authorised Representatives of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove to carry out an Enter and View visit on premises where health and social care is publicly funded and delivered.

This includes:

  • NHS Trusts
  • NHS Foundation Trusts
  • Local authorities
  • Primary medical services, such as GPs
  • Primary dental services, such as dentists
  • Primary Ophthalmic services, such as opticians
  • Pharmaceutical services, such as community pharmacists
  • Premises which are contracted by local authorities or the NHS to provide health or care services, such as adult social care homes and day-care centres

The list of service providers who have a duty to allow entry is set out in section 225 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and supplemented by Reg 14 of the 2013 regulations.

Full list of our Authorized Representatives 

Our Enter & View policy

Authorised Representative Recruitment Process

If you would like to join our Enter and View team, please email Jo at jo@healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk.

Volunteer Application Form

Apply to become a Healthwatch volunteer using our online application form below, or download a copy to send in to us via email or post.

Online Volunteer Application Form

Download Volunteer Application Form