What is the Healthwatch Network?
By making sure the views and experiences of all people who use services are gathered, analysed and acted upon, we can help make services better now and in the future. Healthwatch actively seeks views from all sections of the community, especially from those who sometimes struggle to be heard and not just from those who shout the loudest. We also encourage health and social care providers,regulators and planners to hear directly from people themselves.
Healthwatch has two parts; the nationally-focused Healthwatch England and 149 community-focused local Healthwatch. Together we form the Healthwatch network, working closely to ensure consumers’ views are represented nationally and locally.
What does local Healthwatch do?
Local Healthwatch help people get the best out of their local health and social care services; whether it’s improving them today or helping to shape them for tomorrow. Local Healthwatch is all about local voices being able to influence the delivery and design of local services. Not just people who use them, but anyone who might need to in the future. We have representatives on boards, committees, project groups for
commissioners and providers.
Local Healthwatch:
- provides people with information, advice and support about local health and social care services
- gathers the views and experiences of local people on the way services are delivered and have the power to enter and view adult health and social care services to get a feel for how they are delivering
- influences the way services are designed and delivered based on evidence from those who use services
- influences how services are set up and commissioned by having a seat on the local Health and Wellbeing Board
- passes information and recommendations to other local Healthwatch, Healthwatch England and the Care Quality Commission
The role of Healthwatch Trafford
Healthwatch Trafford will:
- Provide information about health and care services in Trafford.
- Enable people to share their views about Trafford’s health and social care services to help build a picture of where services are doing well and where they can be improved.
- Alert Healthwatch England to concerns about specific care providers.
- Participate in decision-making via local authority health and wellbeing boards.
- Play an integral role in the preparation of the statutory Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and joint health and wellbeing strategies.
- Provide evidence-based feedback to organisations responsible for commissioning or delivering Trafford’s health and social care services.
- Help the Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group (Trafford CCG) to make sure that services really are designed to meet citizens’ needs
How Healthwatch Trafford works
- Healthwatch Trafford is commissioned by and accountable to Trafford Council, but operates independently.
- Healthwatch Trafford will continuously be shaped by the community in Trafford, giving local people more ownership of it and helping it build credibility with the public
- There is a contribution by volunteers and members of the public alongside credible, dynamic voluntary and community sector organisations with track records in community engagement.
- Healthwatch Trafford is the local authority’s critical friend, ensuring that the people of Trafford feel their voice is being heard.
- Healthwatch Trafford has the power to influence commissioners and providers of health and social care in the region.
Visit the Healthwatch Trafford website for further information here.
