Healthwatch Hertfordshire showcases work – amid speculation over its future

Over the past 12 months, Healthwatch Hertfordshire staff and volunteers have spoken to more than 5,600 patients about their experience of health and social care services in the county in a bid to raise awareness and improve care. They’ve given vital advice and information to more than 49,000 residents – whether that’s how to access a service or how to complain when it goes wrong. And they’ve published eight different reports – focusing on areas as diverse as GP online consultations, sexual health services, heart health and diabetes, including 49 recommendations. But as they publish their 2024/25 annual report, speculation is mounting that the government is set to take away statutory functions from Healthwatch organisations nationwide. Reports have suggested that Healthwatch is one of many organisations that could be abolished as part of the government’s upcoming 10-year health plan, which could be published as early as this week. But Healthwatch Hertfordshire chairman Neil Tester is keen to stress that the organisation is very much open for business. Mr Tester says he has been struck by the number of people – including those from the NHS, the county council and the voluntary sector – who have already said how sad they would be to lose Healthwatch Hertfordshire. But he says the organisation is very much focused on continuing to deliver the work they had committed to for 2025/6 – as an independent voice in the system. He says that once the Government’s plans are announced, they will be able to think and talk about their longer-term plans as an independent charity. But he stresses that any changes by the Government would take until at least 2026 to legislate for. “At the moment we just don’t know what the full impact will be,” Mr Tester told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “It may well not be until the Bill is published that we really understand some of the details and timings. “So we are focused firstly on making sure that people understand we are still here with a job to do – and still doing it to the best of our ability. “What matters to all of us is making a difference to people in Hertfordshire, and that’s what we will stay focused on.” Only once the plans are published by the government, says Mr Tester, will they be able to decide what they could do as an independent charity, which, he says, could see many of the organisation’s functions continue. And he said: “There are scenarios where it may be possible to continue offering many of the same services, albeit other people may have the statutory remit.” Fundamentally, Healthwatch exists to advocate for people who are struggling to get answers about how health or social care should be working for them. It’s an organisation that identifies and recommends ways for the broader issues patients have experienced to be resolved, by finding out about people’s experiences more generally. And it represents patients on official bodies such as the Herts Health and Wellbeing Board, the Herts and West Essex Integrated Care Partnership board and the Herts Health Scrutiny Committee. Mr Tester says he is proud of their continuing focus on making sure that everyone in the county has a voice. He points to a more formal system that he says can make it easier for voices that probably would have been heard anyway. But he says Healthwatch has amplified voices that are heard less often, who are furthest away from decision-making and maybe have complex needs and challenges. And he says the publication of the 2024/5 annual report this week will “hammer home” the organisation’s work. “When people see the annual report, it will hammer home the volume, quality and impact of what our staff and volunteers do to help tens of thousands of people who contact us or get information from us,” he said. “Every year we seek their views and their experiences so we can help to shape health and care services.” More information about Healthwatch Hertfordshire can be found here

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