News and reports

Our hub in The Galleries shopping centre, Broadmead will be closed to the public between Monday 25th and Friday 29th December. It may take us longer than usual to get back to you over the Christmas and New Year period.

Health and care partners in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) are investing an extra £40m into services to boost capacity and speed up hospital discharge during the challenging winter months. Planning for this winter began in February, with significant extra funding allocated to winter schemes to maintain safe and effective care for local people.

Our 2022 Annual General Meeting was attended by our Trustees, staff, and members of our volunteer team. We discussed the work we'd done over the previous year and looked at how we can continue to be a voice for patients in the future.

For the first time, the NHS has published the number of individual patients on the waiting list – 6.5 million – in addition to the total number of appointments and treatments currently on the waiting list – 7.77 million.

Helping more people to manage their mental health through self-care is one of the key priorities set out in the draft mental health strategy prepared by health and care partners in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. People from across the region are being invited to have their say on a new Mental Health Strategy.

Our 2023 AGM will take place between 11am and 12:30pm on Tuesday 14th November at John Wesley's New Room, 36 The Horsefair, Bristol BS1 3JE. Everyone is welcome.

NHS@Home offers healthcare in your home or normal place of residence, rather than in hospital. It can offer an alternative to going into hospital when you are unwell, and it can help you return home from hospital more quickly.

Read the minutes of our September 27 2023 Prioritisation Panel, where we come together with our volunteers to discuss the health and social care issues you've raised and what we can do to bring about change.

The Care Quality Commission found Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust must improve in a number of areas, including monitoring the conduct of temporary staff, and considering the level of noise and the impact on patients.

What would your top priority be in a new 'Experience of Care' strategy? These are two of the questions University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are asking you to share your views on as they set out to co-design their new strategy.

Read the minutes of our July 12 2023 Prioritisation Panel, where we come together with our volunteers to discuss the health and social care issues you've raised and what we can do to bring about change.

Healthwatch England has warned that people need more confidence that the NHS can provide timely care as the winter period approaches. A third of adults in England lack confidence that they can access timely care, including GP services, mental health support and hospital care.