1. How good are our HIV services?

    News -

    The complexity of the health system in England is holding back progress in meeting the needs of people with HIV, according to a new report from The King’s Fund.

  2. Healthwatch Board Meeting 24th May - CLOSED to public

    News -

    This board meeting was previously advertised as open to the public. Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to change its status and make it CLOSED to the public.

    Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

  3. Worried about your teenager self harming?

    News -

    Sign up for FREE Parent Workshops about Teens and self harm in May and June.

  4. Worried about sexual health, drugs or alcohol?

    Advice and Information -

    Get free advice using these Brighton and Hove helplines.

  5. Think your teenager may have an eating disorder?

    News -

    Check out these useful tips from Beat for spotting the first signs.

  6. Don’t let embarrassment prevent you having your cervical screening

    News -

    Every day 9 women in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 3 women will lose their lives to the disease.

  7. The Annual Brighton Trans and Non-Binary Conference 2017

    News -

    The Annual Brighton trans and non-binary conference invites trans and non-binary people; researchers; people from the public, community and voluntary sector, and those who want to know more about trans lives and trans issues to the 2017 conference.

  8. Closure of Ridgeway Surgery, Woodingdean

    News -

    Healthwatch Brighton and Hove have been alerted to the planned closure of the Ridgeway Surgery in Woodingdean. This will become effective after 31 October 2017.

  9. Sneak preview on insights from our GP Patient survey

    News -

    Our full report is still to follow but we can share some initial insights.

  10. Scam Alert - fake Healthwatch Invoices!

    News -

    A number of people in the Brighton area have been sent fraudalent invoices claiming to be from Healthwatch Brighton and Hove.

  11. The future of the NHS and social care in Sussex & East Surrey

    News -

    The future of the NHS and social care services are being designed by Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships. There are 44 of these partnerships around the country and ours covers all of Sussex and East Surrey.

  12. Effective care – the future of ‘Planned Care’ in the NHS

    News -

    With help from local councils and public health the NHS is working to improve ‘Planned care’ –treatments that can be planned in advance, rather than emergency and urgent care which is more unpredictable and needs an immediate response.

  13. The future of mental health services

    News -

    The case for change: Mental Health services across Sussex and East Surrey are making changes to improve the way in which the system currently works. 

  14. Financial pressures in the NHS and how these will impact Brighton and Hove

    News -

    The financial pressure put upon the NHS can be broken down into an everyday scenario to reflect the realities of what the NHS faces:

  15. CQC finds significant improvement at Royal Sussex County Hospital

    News -

    Healthwatch Brighton and Hove welcomes the latest Care Quality Commission report on the Royal Sussex County Hospital and for their sister hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital at Haywards Heath.  Read more about the improvements that have been identified, and the challenges that still remain.

  16. GP Patient Survey – the story so far

    News -

    GP Patient Survey – 1000 local people speak out about GP services

  17. 40% of women not aware of right to choose where to give birth

    News -

    New research commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that more women must be made aware of their right to choose their birth hospital.

  18. GP surgeries shutting in Brighton - Healthwatch in The Guardian

    News -

    Why are so many GPs Shutting Up Shop?

  19. Adult Advocacy Needs Assessment 2017

    News -

    The report recommends a more integrated advocacy service for vulnerable populations in Brighton and Hove.

  20. Healthwatch giving a voice to disadvantaged communities

    News -

    Healthwatch aims to help users of health and social care services have a voice on the quality of their care. In doing so, we are particularly committed to helping disadvantaged communities have a voice.

  21. Priority setting - Keeping it real in the city

    News -

    How do Healthwatch Brighton and Hove choose its Work Programme?

  22. Patient Transport Services - where are we now?

    News -

    Healthwatch has agreed with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) that we will re-run the Patient Transport Services (PTS) survey in December 2017. This will certainly keep our Enter and View volunteers busy in the run up to Christmas.

  23. The latest from the Healthwatch team

    News -

    Here at Healthwatch we represent the views of the people that use health and social care services in our city. Here is an update on our current projects across a range of services within the sector.

  24. Giving a voice to disadvantaged communities

    News -

    Healthwatch aims to help users of health and social care services have a say about the quality of their care. In doing so, we are particularly committed to helping disadvantaged communities have a voice.

  25. Invitation to patients and carers to be part of a Primary Care Reference Group

    News -

    Brighton and Hove CCG are looking for a range of people to be members of this group, helping influence the development of primary care services in the city.

  26. GP Patient Survey – now closed

    News -

    Over the summer Healthwatch Brighton and Hove sought patient’s views regarding their GP practice and the service the practice provides. An impressive 1,486 people had responded to the GP patient survey when it closed earlier this month.

  27. CQC Report: report into children and young people's experiences of hospital

    News -

    National survey shows most children and young people report good experiences of hospital care, but highlights some areas for improvement.

  28. MPs demand inquiry into Coperforma debacle

    News -

    Healthwatch has been at the forefront of efforts to monitor the quality of Sussex's Patient Transport Service and improve the standard of the service after problems experienced with Coperforma.

  29. Consultation on prescription changes ('over the counter' products)

    News -

    NHS England has launched a public consultation on proposals to rein in prescriptions for some ‘over the counter’ products such as dandruff shampoo and drops for tired eyes, in order to free-up funding to expand other treatments for major conditions such as cancer and mental health problems.

  30. Survey for NHS patients and carers or family members

    News -

    A new survey for NHS patients and carers or family members is available.

  31. Patient Transport Services 2018 update

    News -

    In our last newsletter we described the further work that Healthwatch would be undertaking to see how Patient Transport Services were performing. During November and December, our Enter and View representatives returned to the Royal Sussex County Hospital to speak to patients who were using the service.

  32. Insight from the GP review

    News -

    Healthwatch visited 29 surgeries in the city as part of the GP review. At each surgery the Healthwatch team observed the patient-friendliness of the environment paying attention to the comfort of the waiting area, appointment call systems, communication with patients, display of information, general hygiene and toilet facilities.

  33. The latest from the Healthwatch Team

    News -

    Here at Healthwatch we represent the views of the people that use health and social care services in our city. Here is an update on our current projects across a range of services within the sector.

  34. Young Healthwatch – what matters to you most

    News -

    Young Healthwatch and the 'Right Here' YMCA Downslink Project took part in a flash consultation with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), to find out what really matters to young people in relation to health and social care.

  35. Debating the cost of missed appointments

    News -

    Would you be surprised to learn that there are no national figures on how many people miss GP or NHS appointments? 

  36. GP Practice Changes in Brighton and Hove

    News -

    At the start of 2018, we see yet more changes to GP practices in Brighton and Hove. Unlike some previous changes these seem to herald improvements and increases in capacity, helping GP's take on more patients.

  37. Young people speak up about health and social care

    News -

    Young Healthwatch Brighton and Hove was created in 2017 in partnership with the YMCA Downslink Project, and operates through their 'Right Here' project. 

  38. Survey about the future of Brighton General

    News -

    If you use services at Brighton General then we want to hear from you.

  39. Healthwatch Report on PIP/ESA covered by the local press and news

    News -

    Our recent report highlighting the insensitive treatment of vulnerable people in PIP and ESA assessments is covered in local news.

  40. Sign up to free GP online services

    News -

    The service is free and available to everyone who is registered with a GP.

  41. Healthwatch report is referenced by Caroline Lucas

    News -

    Geoffrey Bowden talks with Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion & Co-leader of the Green Party.

  42. "Critical incident" declared at Royal Sussex as all beds are full

    News -

    The Royal Sussex Hospital have advised that they are dealing with a "critical incident" meaning the hospital is at capacity (i.e. all of its beds are occupied).

  43. Healthwatch GP review published

    News -

    Healthwatch Brighton and Hove’s 2017 GP review is published today.

  44. Important notice for Ardingly Court surgery patients

    News -

    From 1st April the service will operate as two separate practices, Ardingly Court and the Wellsbourne Centre in Whitehawk.

  45. Reporting to the Health Scrutiny Committee - Patient Transport Services

    News -

    Our recent report on the Patient Transport Services was submitted to the council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee

  46. Spotlight on Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships

    News -

    Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP) have been established all over England.  They involve the NHS and local councils developing and implementing shared proposals to improve health and care.

  47. Benefits assessments - are they meeting the needs of local people?

    News -

    “Vulnerable adults badly let down by benefits assessments" - 0ur in-depth report highlights how local benefits assessments fail to meet the needs of local people.

  48. Patient-led reviews of local hospitals - find out more about our annual hospital appraisals

    News -

    In March and April, hospitals in our city will undergo an independent review. These reviews are called Patient Led Assessments of the Care Environment, or PLACE.

  49. Number of GPs serving Brighton & Hove patients continues to fall

    News -

    Healthwatch has monitored with concern the falling number of GPs in Brighton and Hove in recent years.

  50. Focus on women's health - All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women's Health

    News -

    In March, our Board Chair, Fran McCabe attended the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women’s Health Conference at the House of Commons.