News and reports

New plans to open surgical hubs should reduce the backlog of patients waiting for care. Healthwatch England's National Director Louise Ansari highlights the need for a focus on tackling health inequalities.

Welcome to our August 2022 Healthwatch newsletter. This includes information about our work, updates on health, social care and COVID-19.

We are delighted to announce that Geoffrey Bowden has been appointed Chair of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove.

Healthwatch volunteers undertook an Enter and View visit to two wards at the Royal Sussex County Hospital - read about what they found and our recommendations

NHS England has achieved the first milestone in its plan to eliminate backlogs caused by Covid. Read Healthwatch England's response.

Following an unannounced inspection in April 2022, the CQC, Care Quality Commission have downgraded the Royal Sussex County Hospital Accident & Emergency Department from "Good" to "Required Improvement". Read our press release.

The NHS has announced a new plan and more money to improve support for Long Covid. Find out how the experiences you shared helped make the difference.

Healthwatch England finds that record NHS waiting times appear to be increasing the number of people paying for private care, according to a new BBC analysis. Read their response

Healthwatch Brighton and Hove led the organisation of a regional conference, alongside other local Healthwatch partners in East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Meadway.

Welcome to our July 2022 Healthwatch newsletter. This includes information about our work, updates on health, social care and COVID-19.

Healthwatch were commissioned to explore service user experience of mental health services and accommodation which provides mental health support, in our city. This report is about the experiences of 137 service users and 96 mental health professionals.

We spoke to 20 people who had ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ internet skills. This study showed that the context of use was an important part of digital exclusion, with some people happy to use the internet for some purposes but not for health and care.