How we make a difference

Healthwatch South Gloucestershire is your local health and social care champion. We listen to what you tell us about your experience, what needs to be improved and what you want for the future. 

We’re independent, so people trust us to say what they think. People tell us about both NHS and social care services, so we get a unique understanding of what’s really happening. This means NHS leaders and other decision-makers take notice of what we say.

Reaching out to our local community

There are a huge number of factors that can influence your experience of health and social care services. Culture, location, wealth, education, environment and discrimination can lead to worse health outcomes. This must change, which is why we strive to make sure we hear from as wide a range of our diverse community as possible.

Our goal is to help services improve the care they provide. We use your feedback to let people with the power to make key decisions understand where things are working well and where change is needed. Our dedicated and committed volunteers play a vital role in assisting our staff team in all our work, by listening to and collecting your experiences, connecting with people in the community, and supporting our in-depth research.

Find out what we'll be working on in 2024-25.

Take a look at our goals for 2023-24.

Supporting older adults to access online health services

In 2022-23, we supported more than 1000 people and held almost 150 learning sessions to help older adults learn about the NHS app and develop the skills to order prescriptions, view test results, book GP appointments, and access online consultations.

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Transforming the health visiting service after COVID-19

New mothers told us that there were issues with the transition from maternity care in hospital to the health visiting service in the community. We've worked with the local provider of the service to improve standards of care.

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Helping you make an informed choice about the COVID-19 vaccination

When COVID-19 vaccination rollout began, there was a great deal of misinformation about the vaccine. To help people to make an informed decision, we hosted a series of webinars with experts who could provide reliable guidance and answer questions.

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Improving the health and wellbeing of people with learning disabilities

People with a learning disability can sometimes find it difficult to identify any health issues they may be having. To make this easier, we created a checklist to help people with a learning disability get the most out their annual health check.

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Caring for someone with dementia? You can now find support more quickly

Caring for someone with dementia can be challenging, and carers often report feelings of guilt, confusion, and anger. We spoke to carers across South Gloucestershire to find out what help they needed, and put together a resource to help them access support.

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