The difference our volunteers make across North Yorkshire
On a rainy morning at Harrogate Hospital, at a busy auction mart in Skipton, or in a quiet care home in Scarborough, you might spot a Healthwatch volunteer chatting with someone about their experience of care.
In a county as large and rural as North Yorkshire, reaching people isn't always easy. From market towns and coastal communities to remote villages, our volunteers help us listen to people who might otherwise go unheard.
They give their time to listen, share information, visit places where care is provided and help us understand what health and social care is really like for local people.
Behind many of the reports we publish, recommendations we make and improvements we help influence are volunteers making that work possible.
“You meet such a range of people. Every event is different and you always learn something new.”
Visiting care homes
Enter and View is a legal power that allows Healthwatch representatives to visit certain health and care settings, see how care is provided and talk to people about their experiences.
Our trained volunteers visit care homes across North Yorkshire, speaking with residents, relatives and staff about daily life, dignity, communication, activities and the care environment.
These visits are not formal inspections. They provide an independent snapshot of people's experiences. Our reports celebrate good practice as well as making recommendations about where things could be better.
This work has encouraged care providers to reflect on areas including communication, inclusion and access to healthcare, while making sure good practice is recognised and shared.
Helping make health information easier to use
Our volunteers have also helped people find and understand information about their care.
They visit GP practices and community venues to share practical resources, including our guide to getting the most out of your GP practice.
Volunteers also reviewed 84 GP practice websites across North Yorkshire from a patient's point of view, looking at how easy they were to use, whether information was up to date and how accessible they were.
Their findings helped practices identify where information could be clearer and easier for patients to find.
Listening to communities
At the heart of volunteering with Healthwatch is something simple but powerful – listening.
Our volunteers speak to people across North Yorkshire about both positive experiences and the challenges they have faced. What they hear helps us understand what matters to local communities and where things could be better.
Volunteers have supported work including:
- Exploring the need for extra support at health appointments
- Listening to midlife women about alcohol and health
- Making healthcare information easier to understand
- Gathering feedback on patient transport and access to healthcare
- Understanding experiences of adult social care
They also help develop and promote surveys, gather responses and speak to people face to face, helping our work reflect experiences from communities across the county.
“It’s rewarding to know that the conversations we have can lead to improvements in local care.”
Healthwatch volunteer
Supporting farming communities
Our volunteers have played an important role in helping us understand and respond to the experiences of North Yorkshire's farming communities.
In our earlier farming work, volunteers helped gather feedback from more than 200 people. Farmers and their families told us about physical pain, stress, isolation and the practical difficulties of accessing healthcare in rural areas.
What we heard helped influence practical responses, including health checks being offered at auction marts, and helped take the experiences of North Yorkshire's farming communities into discussions at parliamentary level.
That work has continued during summer 2026 through our project focused on men's mental health in farming.
Our volunteers have joined us at auction marts and agricultural shows across North Yorkshire, helping share practical information about mental health and wellbeing support and making it easier for people working in farming to find help when they need it.
It is a good example of what volunteering can make possible: listening to people's experiences, understanding what they need and then taking information and support back into the communities we heard from.
Supporting our volunteers
Our volunteers give their time alongside work, caring responsibilities and other commitments, so making sure they feel supported and valued matters to us.
In our recent volunteer survey, 85% said they feel supported by the Healthwatch staff and management team. Volunteers also spoke about feeling welcomed, well prepared and listened to.
“Being part of Healthwatch gives me a sense of purpose. It feels good to contribute to my local community.”
Healthwatch volunteer
The difference our volunteers make
From listening to someone at a community event to visiting a care home, reviewing health information or speaking with farmers at an auction mart, our volunteers help us stay connected to communities across North Yorkshire.
Their contribution helps us gather experiences, identify where things could be better, recognise good care and make recommendations based on what local people are telling us.
Most importantly, they give people the time and space to tell their story and help make sure those experiences count.
We simply could not do this work without them.
Thank you to our volunteers
Whether giving a few hours at an event, listening to someone who needs to be heard, contributing their knowledge to a project or travelling across North Yorkshire to visit a care home, our volunteers give us something incredibly valuable – their time.
To every Healthwatch North Yorkshire volunteer: thank you for everything you do.
