Why listening to people matters in health and social care

Health and social care services exist to support people in their everyday lives. To do that well, services need to understand real experiences. Listening to people who use or try to access services, as well as those who care for others, helps shape care that is safer, fairer, and more accessible and better aligned with what people need.

Across England, healthcare services continue to face pressure. Millions of people are waiting for routine treatment, and many people report difficulties getting GP appointments, finding an NHS dentist, or timely treatment. Access to services is also not the same for everyone. Factors such as transport, cost, digital access, language, disability, and caring responsibilities can make it harder for some people to get the care they need. 

National data also shows differences in access and waiting times depending on where people live and their personal circumstances. These challenges are not just figures in a report. They affect daily life, work, family responsibilities, and wellbeing.

This is why local voices matter. They help us understand what life is really like behind the numbers for people.

Listening to people’s experiences adds detail that data alone cannot provide and helps show what using services is really like day to day. It can highlight issues such as missed letters delaying appointments, unclear communication increasing worry, or appointments being difficult to attend because of travel, cost, or caring responsibilities. These everyday issues are often what shape people’s overall experience of health and social care.

Good listening also means hearing from a wide range of people, especially those who may find it harder to speak up. We know some groups face greater barriers to care, including people on lower incomes, those living with long term conditions, unpaid carers, disabled people, people from some ethnic minority backgrounds, and people whose first language is not English. These differences in access, experience, and outcomes are often described as health inequalities. They are shaped by wider factors such as income, housing, education, location, and how services are designed. If these voices are not heard, services risk being shaped around the experiences of only a small part of the population.

Independence is an important part of patient voice work. People tell local Healthwatch they are more open when feedback is gathered independently and taken seriously, rather than feeling like a tick box exercise. This helps build trust and encourages people to share honest experiences, including things that may feel uncomfortable to raise directly with providers.

Local Healthwatch regularly hears from people who want to share both what works well and what could be better. For staff and decision makers, independent insight adds value by showing how services work in practice. It helps identify where systems create unnecessary barriers, where communication could be improved, and where small changes could make a real difference to people’s experiences.

People’s voices already play a role in informing planning and decision making. Bringing together insight from local communities helps ensure decisions are grounded in real experiences rather than assumptions. This sits alongside clinical data, performance information, and professional expertise to support more informed choices. 

National learning shows that relatively small improvements can have a big impact, such as clearer appointment letters, better information when people leave hospital, and more consistent communication, all shaped by listening carefully to what people say about their experiences.

By valuing people’s voices, services can better understand how care works in practice and where it can be improved. Local Healthwatch listens to people’s experiences of health and social care, shares this insight with those who plan and deliver services, and helps people find information and understand their options when they are unsure where to turn. Listening carefully to a wide range of people helps shape care that is fair, responsive, and centred on those who rely on it.