1. NHS Complaints Advocacy Service by POhWER

    News -

    From 1st July POhWER is delivering the NHS Complaints Advocacy Service, providing free, independent advocacy for the people of Brighton and Hove as part of the Sussex Advocacy Partnership.

  2. Let’s get you home, but let's make it real

    News -

    A Press Release on our latest report, looking at the experiences of old and frail people being discharged from the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

  3. Two reports on Patient Experiences local NHS Trusts

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    Our latest press release on the patient experience and physical environment at Brighton hospitals.

  4. Healthwatch in Parliament!

    News -

    Healthwatch England recently celebrated the award of £500,000 in funding to promote public and patient engagement around the NHS Long Term Plan.

  5. We promote the NHS Long Term Plan

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    Healthwatch England have been given £500,000 in relation to the NHS Long Term Plan, to promote engagement with the public, patients and NHS and Social Care staff.

  6. CQC Report on University of Sussex Health Centre

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission has just published a report from its inspection at the University of Sussex Health Centre.

  7. CQC Report on Westwood Care Home

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission carried out an unannounced inspection at Westwood Care Home on 18th October 2016.

  8. CQC Report on Integrated Care 24 Limited in Woodingdean

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission carried out an announced comprehensive inspection at Integrated Care 24 Limited – Woodingdean on 12th and 13th July 2016.

  9. Get your FREE NHS health check

    News -

    A great way to take control of your health and wellbeing is to have a health check. They are FREE for people aged 40 to 74, and people are encouraged to get their health check done every five years.

  10. CQC Report on Hove Park Villas Surgery

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this practice on 9 July 2015.

  11. Donate blood as a New Year's resolution

    News -

    The NHS Blood and Transplant is calling for people to step forward and make a New Years resolution that is worth keeping - give blood or platelets and help save lives!

  12. CQC Report on Vallance Residential Care Home

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission carried out an unannounced inspection at Vallance Residential Care Home on 13 December 2016.

  13. CQC Report on Arundel Park Lodge

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission carried out an unannounced inspection at Arundel Park Lodge on 29 November 2016.

  14. Brighton & Hove cervical screening rates lowest in south east

    News -

    Brighton and Hove has the lowest cervical screening rates in the south east and numbers attending for screening are falling year on year.

  15. Learning from voices of experience: Personal health records

    News -

    Ingrid Bridle, long-term patient and Chair of her GP Patient Participation Group in Tameside, talks about how online access to GP records benefits her:
    “Using my GP records gives me such a wonderful feeling of control over my stuff."

  16. Have you been told you are not eligible for treatment or that treatment is not available near you?

    News -

    Do you feel you have been personally affected by the current rationing of NHS services and treatments?

  17. Tips for communicating better with people with dementia

    News -

    Dementia UK has produced a very handy guide that explains the communication challenges that people with dementia face.

  18. Significant improvements in The Broadway Surgery

    News -

    Back in February 2016, The Broadway Surgery in Whitehawk Road was rated inadequate and was placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission.

  19. SECAmb ambulance service announces move to new Crawley operation centre

    News -

    SECAmb ambulance service has announced plans to move its operations centre into a new building in Crawley in May.

  20. How good are our HIV services?

    News -

    The complexity of the health system in England is holding back progress in meeting the needs of people with HIV, according to a new report from The King’s Fund.

  21. Healthwatch Board Meeting 24th May - CLOSED to public

    News -

    This board meeting was previously advertised as open to the public. Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had to change its status and make it CLOSED to the public.

    Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

  22. Worried about your teenager self harming?

    News -

    Sign up for FREE Parent Workshops about Teens and self harm in May and June.

  23. Think your teenager may have an eating disorder?

    News -

    Check out these useful tips from Beat for spotting the first signs.

  24. Don’t let embarrassment prevent you having your cervical screening

    News -

    Every day 9 women in the UK are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 3 women will lose their lives to the disease.

  25. The Annual Brighton Trans and Non-Binary Conference 2017

    News -

    The Annual Brighton trans and non-binary conference invites trans and non-binary people; researchers; people from the public, community and voluntary sector, and those who want to know more about trans lives and trans issues to the 2017 conference.

  26. Closure of Ridgeway Surgery, Woodingdean

    News -

    Healthwatch Brighton and Hove have been alerted to the planned closure of the Ridgeway Surgery in Woodingdean. This will become effective after 31 October 2017.

  27. Sneak preview on insights from our GP Patient survey

    News -

    Our full report is still to follow but we can share some initial insights.

  28. Scam Alert - fake Healthwatch Invoices!

    News -

    A number of people in the Brighton area have been sent fraudalent invoices claiming to be from Healthwatch Brighton and Hove.

  29. The future of the NHS and social care in Sussex & East Surrey

    News -

    The future of the NHS and social care services are being designed by Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships. There are 44 of these partnerships around the country and ours covers all of Sussex and East Surrey.

  30. Effective care – the future of ‘Planned Care’ in the NHS

    News -

    With help from local councils and public health the NHS is working to improve ‘Planned care’ –treatments that can be planned in advance, rather than emergency and urgent care which is more unpredictable and needs an immediate response.

  31. The future of mental health services

    News -

    The case for change: Mental Health services across Sussex and East Surrey are making changes to improve the way in which the system currently works. 

  32. Financial pressures in the NHS and how these will impact Brighton and Hove

    News -

    The financial pressure put upon the NHS can be broken down into an everyday scenario to reflect the realities of what the NHS faces:

  33. CQC finds significant improvement at Royal Sussex County Hospital

    News -

    Healthwatch Brighton and Hove welcomes the latest Care Quality Commission report on the Royal Sussex County Hospital and for their sister hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital at Haywards Heath.  Read more about the improvements that have been identified, and the challenges that still remain.

  34. GP Patient Survey – the story so far

    News -

    GP Patient Survey – 1000 local people speak out about GP services

  35. 40% of women not aware of right to choose where to give birth

    News -

    New research commissioned by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found that more women must be made aware of their right to choose their birth hospital.

  36. GP surgeries shutting in Brighton - Healthwatch in The Guardian

    News -

    Why are so many GPs Shutting Up Shop?

  37. Adult Advocacy Needs Assessment 2017

    News -

    The report recommends a more integrated advocacy service for vulnerable populations in Brighton and Hove.

  38. Healthwatch giving a voice to disadvantaged communities

    News -

    Healthwatch aims to help users of health and social care services have a voice on the quality of their care. In doing so, we are particularly committed to helping disadvantaged communities have a voice.

  39. Priority setting - Keeping it real in the city

    News -

    How do Healthwatch Brighton and Hove choose its Work Programme?

  40. Patient Transport Services - where are we now?

    News -

    Healthwatch has agreed with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) that we will re-run the Patient Transport Services (PTS) survey in December 2017. This will certainly keep our Enter and View volunteers busy in the run up to Christmas.

  41. The latest from the Healthwatch team

    News -

    Here at Healthwatch we represent the views of the people that use health and social care services in our city. Here is an update on our current projects across a range of services within the sector.

  42. Giving a voice to disadvantaged communities

    News -

    Healthwatch aims to help users of health and social care services have a say about the quality of their care. In doing so, we are particularly committed to helping disadvantaged communities have a voice.

  43. Invitation to patients and carers to be part of a Primary Care Reference Group

    News -

    Brighton and Hove CCG are looking for a range of people to be members of this group, helping influence the development of primary care services in the city.

  44. GP Patient Survey – now closed

    News -

    Over the summer Healthwatch Brighton and Hove sought patient’s views regarding their GP practice and the service the practice provides. An impressive 1,486 people had responded to the GP patient survey when it closed earlier this month.

  45. CQC Report: report into children and young people's experiences of hospital

    News -

    National survey shows most children and young people report good experiences of hospital care, but highlights some areas for improvement.

  46. MPs demand inquiry into Coperforma debacle

    News -

    Healthwatch has been at the forefront of efforts to monitor the quality of Sussex's Patient Transport Service and improve the standard of the service after problems experienced with Coperforma.

  47. Consultation on prescription changes ('over the counter' products)

    News -

    NHS England has launched a public consultation on proposals to rein in prescriptions for some ‘over the counter’ products such as dandruff shampoo and drops for tired eyes, in order to free-up funding to expand other treatments for major conditions such as cancer and mental health problems.

  48. Survey for NHS patients and carers or family members

    News -

    A new survey for NHS patients and carers or family members is available.

  49. Patient Transport Services 2018 update

    News -

    In our last newsletter we described the further work that Healthwatch would be undertaking to see how Patient Transport Services were performing. During November and December, our Enter and View representatives returned to the Royal Sussex County Hospital to speak to patients who were using the service.