What could proposed changes to Healthwatch mean for people in North Yorkshire?
The proposals are part of the Health Bill, new legislation covering wider changes to the NHS and health and care system in England.
For people in North Yorkshire, the important question is what would replace Healthwatch – and whether people would still have somewhere independent to share their experiences and speak up about health and social care.
The plans aren't final, and nothing is changing for now.
What you need to know
- Healthwatch North Yorkshire is still here, independent and working as normal.
- The Government's plans would abolish local Healthwatch organisations in their current form, with responsibilities for hearing people's experiences moving to NHS organisations and councils.
- MPs have raised concerns about what could be lost, and the Government has said it will review this part of the Bill.
- The Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords, so the proposals could still change.
What is being proposed?
The Bill proposes major changes to Healthwatch at both national and local level.
Healthwatch England currently leads the national Healthwatch network and uses what local Healthwatch organisations hear from people across the country to highlight issues nationally.
Under the plans, Healthwatch England would be abolished and its functions brought into the Department of Health and Social Care.
Local Healthwatch organisations would also be abolished in their current form. Responsibilities for hearing people's experiences would instead move to NHS organisations and councils.
The Government says this would put people's voices closer to where decisions about services are made.
We agree that people's experiences should help shape care. The question is how that can happen while making sure people still have somewhere independent to speak openly about their experiences.
Why does having somewhere independent matter?
It can be difficult to speak openly about an organisation when you're relying on that same organisation for your care.
Perhaps you've had a poor experience at hospital, struggled to get a GP appointment, had problems arranging care for a family member or tried to raise a concern and felt nobody was really listening.
That's where having somewhere independent can help.
Healthwatch is separate from the organisations that provide, plan or pay for NHS and social care. We listen to people's experiences – good and bad – look at whether others are telling us similar things and use what we hear to ask questions and push for improvements.
Being independent means we can raise concerns, publish what we find and take people's experiences directly to those making decisions.
What people tell us can show things that figures, targets and official reports sometimes can't: the everyday reality of using NHS and social care.
What could this mean here in North Yorkshire?
Your care doesn't always fit neatly into one organisation.
You might leave hospital and need support from your GP, community health teams and council social care. From your point of view, it's all part of the same experience.
You shouldn't need to understand which organisation is responsible for which bit before you can tell someone what worked – or what went wrong. An independent local organisation can listen to that whole experience.
North Yorkshire brings its own challenges too. It's a huge county, and getting health or social care in Scarborough can be very different from someone's experience in Skipton, Richmond or a small rural village.
Distance, transport and what's available locally all matter.
Whatever happens next, we believe it's important that people across North Yorkshire still have somewhere to share their experiences – and know they'll be heard.
Where have the plans got to – and what happens next?
The Health Bill completed its stages in the House of Commons on 8 September 2026.
During the debate, MPs raised concerns about what could be lost if local Healthwatch organisations were closed. Changes that would have removed the plans from the Bill were not agreed, so the proposals remain.
However, Health Minister Karin Smyth said the Government had heard the strength of feeling about Healthwatch and would work with MPs and members of the House of Lords to review this part of the Bill.
The Bill has now moved to the House of Lords, where there will be further opportunities for it to be scrutinised and changed.
So the proposals are still in the Bill, but they are not necessarily final.
We'll keep a close eye on what happens and let you know when there is more to share.
Have your say
While all this is being discussed in Parliament, Healthwatch North Yorkshire is still here.
You can tell us about your experience of health or social care – good or bad, whether something worked really well, something needs to change or you simply want someone independent to hear what happened.
What you tell us helps us understand what's happening across North Yorkshire and push for better health and social care.
