The future of patient voice: Learning from the Healthwatch model
Read our response to the the King's Fund's report published today, "The future of patient voice: Learning from the Healthwatch model."
Healthwatch Herefordshire welcomes this important report from The King’s Fund on the future of patient voice. The findings highlight the critical role that independent, trusted organisations play in ensuring that people’s experiences shape health and care services.
We strongly support the report’s emphasis on independence, community relationships and the ability to hear from people who are often least likely to be listened to. These are the foundations that enable meaningful engagement and build trust with local communities.
We also welcome the recognition that understanding people’s experiences across whole health and care journeys is essential. Listening across organisational boundaries is key to capturing how services work together in practice, particularly as systems become more integrated.
As the system evolves, it is vital that patient and public voice is strengthened, not diluted. Any future model must retain independence, maintain strong local connections, and ensure that insight from communities leads to real, joined-up improvements in services.
Healthwatch Herefordshire remains committed to championing the voices of local people and ensuring those voices influence decisions across health and care.
Read the full report here
View the King's Fund review here
