Government reverses plan to abolish Healthwatch
Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch organisations will remain in place after the government reversed plans to abolish them.
The organisations were due to be removed under proposals announced earlier this year as part of changes to health and care services in England. On 28 October, the government confirmed that Healthwatch would instead be retained.
Healthwatch was established to gather the views and experiences of people using health and social care services and use that information to help improve care. Local Healthwatch organisations collect feedback from people in their communities, while Healthwatch England can raise wider concerns with the Care Quality Commission, NHS England, local authorities and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
The decision means the existing independent route for people to share their experiences of NHS and social care services in England will continue.