News and reports

The Care Forum has been selected to provide Healthwatch services for Bristol, North Somerset and North Somerset (BNSSG) over the next three years.

According to estimates by Healthwatch England, up to 1.5 million working-age disabled people in England could need social care support but are not accessing it. This means they are likely to be missing out on help with daily activities such as washing, cleaning, socialising, and going to the shops.

We've been working with Healthwatch Bristol, the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) to improve the discharge process.

Last year, more than 200 people shared their experiences of health and social care services with us. Our annual report highlights all the ways we've used your feedback to improve care, plus our plans for the year ahead.

Access to NHS dental care continues to be one of the main issues we hear about from the public. The Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) has published a draft oral health and dental strategy for the next three years.

This checklist is a tool for people with a learning disability and their carers or supporters to fill in before attending an annual health check. It aims to help you recognise when things aren’t right, take actions to keep healthy, and to speak up and seek help.

Following patient feedback, the NHS has committed to making it easier and quicker for you to get the help you need from your GP and the healthcare community around your surgery. Our newly updated booklet explains what changes you may see, and how you can help us monitor them.

102 people in Knowle West, Hartcliffe and Weston-super-Mare spoke to us about their experiences of health and social care. They shared the barriers and failures that prevented them from accessing local services, and what improvements are needed.

Eligible people are being invited by the NHS to have a top-up Covid-19 vaccination this spring. In line with expert advice, the NHS is offering Covid-19 vaccinations to people who are at increased risk of serious illness from the virus – including those aged 75 and over (by 30 June 2024), residents of care homes for older adults, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system.

Patients will be able to have scans and tests at a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) from April 2024 as part of a wider NHS initiative to increase access to diagnostic procedures.

If your GP refers you to a specialist, you usually have the right to choose which hospital you go to. You can choose a hospital in your area – or one further away if you wish.

The Care Quality Commission, independent regulator of health and social care services, inspected Maternity Services at North Bristol NHS Trust in November 2023.