News and reports

In some rural areas, your GP surgery may not only prescribe your medicine but also dispense it, and this is known as a dispensing doctor service.

Waiting for planned medical care or surgery can be frustrating. That’s why you should get regular and accessible updates from your healthcare professionals while you wait.

More than a million people have an appointment with their general practice every day in England. Most are satisfied with the quality of care they receive. But there is still much to do to improve public satisfaction with accessing help from their local surgery.

Healthwatch North Yorkshire will be visiting libraries across the county this spring. Come along to share your experiences of health and social care, ask questions, and find information about local services.

Behind every improvement in local care, there are Healthwatch volunteers who help turn real experiences into change.

Behind every improvement in health and care services are the voices of people locally. Volunteers like Sheena play a vital role in making sure you are listened to.

Women say being listened to and taken seriously by healthcare professionals is one of the most important factors in good care, according to new research from Healthwatch England.

Listening to people’s real experiences helps show what accessing health and social care is really like. It highlights inequalities and helps services make practical improvements that better reflect people’s everyday needs.

Since publishing our report on the challenges farmers face when accessing healthcare, organisations have begun taking practical steps to bring support closer to home and work.

Farmers told Healthwatch that long hours, isolation and inflexible services make it hard to look after their health. Thanks to your feedback, new ways to access care are being tried across North Yorkshire.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath recently discussed proposed changes to Healthwatch during an appearance on the Health Service Journal podcast.

People across the country have shared their experiences of long waits and overcrowding in A&E departments, prompting new insight from Healthwatch England into the pressures facing urgent and emergency care.