The National Pharmacy Association is urging the government to urgently increase funding to contractors or it will recommend that members take 'collective action' in early 2025..

The NPA said this week that 99% of members who took part in its ballot were prepared to limit services in protest at funding shortfalls. This could mean not opening in the evenings or weekends, withdrawing free home deliveries of medicines, withdrawing from locally commissioned services like emergency contraception, or not supplying free monitored dose systems.

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Since June 2021, ECS have been hosting second year medical students from Keele University for their community placements. Students training to be doctors each have to spend time with a local community organisation who work with a range of people accessing and using health and social care services.

As a provider of seven local Healthwatch we have been able to provide placements for nine students since 2021 and have just welcomed a further six to their placement for this academic year.

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Residents across Cheshire and Merseyside are being urged to make their voices heard and help shape the future of local GP and health services by taking part in a new survey launched by Healthwatch Warrington.

Get Involved Now

Take the Survey

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We are delighted to announce that we have been re-accredited the Cyber Essentials certificate.

Engaging Communities Solutions (ECS) are happy to announce that we have completed our re-accreditation for the Cyber Essentials certification and have been awarded the accreditation for another 12 months.

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SANDWELL Metropolitan Borough Council has awarded the new Healthwatch Sandwell contract to existing provider Engaging Communities Solutions Community Interest Company.

This means ECS (Engaging Communities Solutions) will continue to deliver the contract they have held since 2018 and maintain the high level of support offered to local residents throughout the borough.

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Lord Darzi has conducted an independent investigation into the state of the NHS in England.

Lord Darzi has published his Independent Investigation into the state of the NHS in England. The report covers patient access, quality of care, and the overall performance of the health system and states that the NHS “is in serious trouble”.

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Our team at Healthwatch Halton were part of a group of local Healthwatch who conducted research for Healthwatch England on Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs). The research unpacks people's experiences of using Community Diagnostic Centres and lessons for expanding community-based care.

The survey found that Community Diagnostic centres are speeding up access to tests and nearly nine in 10 users said they had positive experience, with 7 million tests, such as X-rays and scans are now provided across network in England.

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The Healthwatch Sandwell Annual Report is now live! The team at Healthwatch Sandwell have been working hard during 2023-2024 to listen to the voices of local people throughout Sandwell and influence changes in the services that people use.

Click here to see what the team have been doing to help people get better healthcare!

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Our team at Healthwatch Bedford Borough have been in conversation with the lovely team at Bedford Borough Libraries in relation to our commitment to step up our outreach in rural parishes.  This new initiative is as a result of the feedback received from stakeholders which identified the need for more rural engagement with the team at Healthwatch Bedford Borough making rural isolation one of their key strategic priority areas for 2024/25.

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Following last year’s Carers project, our team at Healthwatch Stoke on Trent are now launching a new Digital Carers Forum, which is their latest initiative in an ongoing commitment to supporting the Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s All-Age Carers Strategy.

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On Wednesday 28 August, Healthwatch Walsall launches its second Health and Care Information and Advice Roadshow at the Ryecroft Community HUB. This is a great opportunity for members of the public to get invaluable Health and Care Information and Advice from a range of services. Pop along and see for yourself or to get more information about Healthwatch Walsall, visit their website here.

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A joint report by Healthwatch Halton and Healthwatch Warrington has called for improvements when patients are discharged from hospital.

The report was based on the feedback from 90 patients and their carers / family members who had been inpatients at Halton or Warrington Hospital. 

Where discharge had worked well, people highlighted good communication, feeling involved in the process, involvement of their family members where applicable, and good coordination and quality of aftercare. Too often though there were inconsistencies in the discharge experience of the patients we heard from.

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ECS has been awarded the Advocacy Quality Performance Mark (QPM) from the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi). The QPM is the UK’s only independent quality performance mark for organisations offering independent advocacy; an essential service for people who need support to express their needs and have increased choice and control in their lives.

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Channel 4 documentary programme Dispatches aired this week on 24 June at 9pm ‘Undercover A&E: NHS in Crisis. Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin is asking people ‘What has your experience of care been like in Telford and Shrewsbury Hospitals A&E Departments?’

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As the next round of junior doctors' strikes approaches, residents of Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin are reminded of the significant impact their support can have during what is anticipated to be a busy period for the local NHS.

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News - 24 June 2024

Norman Holding has been appointed as the interim Chair of the Healthwatch Warrington Independent Strategic Advisory Board. The news follows the recent departure of Pat McLaren who resigned at the end of May.

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We are excited to announce the launch of our Citizens Involvement Charter, a new initiative which aims to strengthen community engagement and amplify the voices of those within the community.

We have designed this charter because we want to recognise and celebrate local organisations that have been silent supporters, helping to share surveys and gather your stories and experiences of local health and social care services. We recognised the need for a more structured approach that allows us to identify, celebrate and measure the impacts of local organisations within our projects.

Interested in signing up as a charter champion? Click here to find out more.

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On 6th June I attended the Social Research Association Conference (SRA). As a member of SRA for some years now, I have benefited greatly from the training that they offer but this was the first time I had attended the conference. So armed with my ECS branded water bottle, I set off at a ridiculously early hour, on the train from Stoke-on-Trent.

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As we celebrate Volunteers' Week 2024, we want to take a moment to put a spotlight on and say thank you to our amazing volunteers. We are very grateful for the time that they generously give, along with their support and efforts, to help to create positive change within our communities.

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The NHS Constitution outlines your rights as a patient and the NHS's commitments to you. 
The Government is planning changes to the Constitution – like introducing the right for families to ask for a second opinion if their loved one’s condition worsens while they’re in hospital.  
They’re running a public consultation on these changes, where you can tell them what you think.
Now’s your chance to learn more about the Constitution and suggest any other changes you'd like to see.
Let’s build an NHS that works for everyone.

The Government has launched a consultation on the NHS Constitution, which sets out your rights as an NHS patient. Read why it's important to have your say.

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