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, with local funding extended until the end of February 2028. So we will be here until at least then.
- 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 and members of the House of Lords have raised concerns about what could be lost, and the Government has committed to reviewing the proposals.
- Changes to retain Healthwatch have been proposed in Parliament, but nothing has been agreed yet.
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.
North Yorkshire Council has agreed to fund Healthwatch North Yorkshire for another year, until the end of February 2028. This gives us greater certainty while the national proposals are being considered, although our longer-term future remains unclear.
Where have the plans got to – and what happens next?
The proposals to abolish Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch organisations are included in the Government's NHS reform legislation.
Amendments have been put forward in the House of Lords seeking to retain Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch organisations. A separate amendment from Lord Hunt proposes establishing a national patient experience and feedback function covering health and social care in England.
On 20 October, Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom and MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley, told the House of Commons that there must be an independent voice for patients within the health system.
She confirmed that the Government was looking again at its plans for Healthwatch and would report back in the House of Lords shortly, ahead of the committee stage.
The Bill will move to committee stage in the House of Lords on 28 October, when members will examine the proposals and amendments in more detail.
For now, the proposals to abolish Healthwatch remain in the Bill, and no final decision has been made. It is not yet clear what changes the Government may propose or what they would mean for local Healthwatch organisations and the people they support.
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.
