Abolishing Healthwatch would leave NHS 'marking its own homework'
Healthwatch Haringey challenges the NHS and providers of care services in the community, when patients or the public highlight problems.
In an interview on 30 May with BBC News, the Local Government Association (LGA), who represent local councils in England and Wales, warned that abolishing Healthwatch would leave the NHS “marking their own homework”.
The Department for Health and Social Care says these changes will give patients a "stronger, clearer voice at the heart of health and social care".
However, the LGA, like Healthwatch, are concerned by the lack of a plan for an alternative to Healthwatch and believe disbanding Healthwatch could:
- Create a "fragmented system" which would undermine accountability.
- Be a “significant step back” in accountability, as without an independent, locally rooted voice to challenge and represent communities, there is a risk of duplication and gaps.
We welcome the LGA comments on the Government’s proposals, and agree with the LGA that moving our independent responsibilities to NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities means our NHS and local authority partners would have to respond to feedback about their own services, rather than being challenged by Healthwatch Haringey as an independent body and voice for patients.
The Health Bill is going through parliament and had its second reading on 1 June, with 59 references to Healthwatch. Representatives from various parties talked about the importance of Healthwatch, including Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet who raised the important role Healthwatch Haringey and Healthwatch Barnet play in being a champion for the health and care ecosystem within a locality.
We will continue to engage with our local MPs across Haringey to challenge these proposals.
At this stage, there is still very little detail about how any new arrangements for gathering public feedback would work in practice locally.
As things become clearer, we will continue to explain what is happening and focus on what any changes could mean in practice for people locally.
While national discussions about the future of Healthwatch continue, our work locally carries on as normal.
The Local Government Association interview is on the BBC News website. To read this, click on the ‘Find out more’ button below.
