The King’s Fund has today published a report on the future of patient voice and what can be learned from the Healthwatch model, following the Government’s decision last year to close the Healthwatch network.
In June 2025 it was announced that Healthwatch England and all 153 local Healthwatch organisations would be closed and the statutory functions of local Healthwatch transferred to NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities. The King’s Fund conducted research to explore what has worked well in the Healthwatch model, what the challenges have been and how this knowledge can shape how the planned changes are carried out.
About The King’s Fund
The King’s Fund is an independent charity working to improve people’s health. Founded in 1897, the Fund aims to shape health policy and how that policy is put into practice through a number of means, including research and analysis and public engagement.
For this project, the Fund reviewed existing evidence about how Healthwatch works, conducted interviews and carried out two workshops with local and national stakeholders to establish the value of the Healthwatch model. The work was jointly funded by Healthwatch England, but the research and analysis was independently developed and written by The King’s Fund.
What did they find?
The report states that: “Healthwatch’s independence has ensured it’s been seen as credible by communities and allowed scrutiny of issues the health and care system may overlook.
“Independence from government and services has enabled local Healthwatch and Healthwatch England to provide objective, impartial and trusted advice and guidance to help people navigate the health and social care system and understand their rights.”
It then notes how the relationships local Healthwatch have built with their communities, especially with people who are marginalised and those affected by inequality, were key to the model’s strength, enabling local voices to influence policy debates.
The report also highlights the huge amount of patient feedback collected by Healthwatch groups. This, it says, “has helped the health and care system capture emerging issues that mattered to patients, service users and local communities, and helped place issues such as NHS admin failures and access to GP and dentistry higher on the national policy agenda.”
However, the limited statutory powers of Healthwatch were also raised. This means that while Healthwatch can report on issues, it has less ability to hold the health and care system to account and ensure those issues are addressed. The falling budgets of local Healthwatch, and variations in budgets across the country, have also placed limitations on its effectiveness and consistency of impact.
What does this mean for the future?
The King’s Fund report concludes that whatever replaces Healthwatch, “must build on the core conditions that enabled it to have a positive impact: a voice independent of government and services; the capacity to gather unsolicited, varied and rich community insight, including from seldom heard groups; and a geographical scale that supports both local insight and system or national-level influence.”
It goes on to say that “any future model must enhance – not weaken – the system’s capacity to hear, understand and respond to people’s experiences”, reiterating the importance of maintaining a level of independence from the NHS so that it can be held to account effectively and difficult issues raised where necessary.
The report’s authors also urge the Government to provide clarity on what comes next after Healthwatch, to “manage the transition carefully to retain expertise and avoid losing trusted relationships built over many years.”
‘Timely report’
Alex Stewart, Chief Executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said: “This timely report not only highlights the value of the work of the Healthwatch network across the country, but also what risks being lost if robust new systems are not put in place to ensure the independence of patient voice.
“We urge the Government to take on board the findings and recommendations of The King’s Fund and commit to a system that allows for patients to share their experiences free of fear or favour, to ensure a fair health and social care service for all.”
Read the full report on The King’s Fund website here.