We’re aware that a great deal of change is happening within the NHS right now and there may be confusion around the future of Healthwatch Norfolk, following the announcement in June about plans to dismantle the Healthwatch network as part of the NHS 10-year health plan.
We would like to assure everyone that our contract with Norfolk County Council was recently extended to September 2027 at the earliest, ensuring we will remain in place and serving Norfolk communities for some time to come.
In the meantime, we have taken steps to challenge the Government’s decision and continue to explore options for a future Healthwatch Norfolk going forward.
Our CEO and Chair have sent a signed letter to all local MPs explaining the important role we fulfil in bringing forward independent patient voice, the impact that we have and the loss there will be for patients if our services are reduced.
Additionally, Healthwatch Norfolk facilitated a morning of discussions with key stakeholders including local NHS staff and leaders. From this a working group was created to explore how the county can adopt the 10-year plan and Healthwatch Norfolk has played a key part of these discussions and future plans.
We remain committed to our statutory duty of ensuring the patient voice is heard and acted upon and offering impartial and independent advice on health and social care services to anyone who may need us.
We have been encouraged by the level of support we have received locally for our continuation and would like to thank everyone who has extended their well wishes to us.
The national petition to save Healthwatch services is gathering pace and has now surpassed the threshold needed to receive a response from the Government, which we await. If you would like to sign the petition, you can do so here.
We will continue to update on the situation going forward and will provide further details as soon as we have them.
In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or need support and advice from our teams.
We are available Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm, on 0808 168 9669, or you can email us at any time at [email protected].