Healthwatch Waltham Forest, which collects NHS patient feedback, has called its pending closure a “sad and unsettling moment” for staff, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
The Waltham Forest arm of an NHS quango has criticised the government’s choice to shut it.
Healthwatch is one more than 200 NHS quangos that will be shuttered as part of the Labour government’s ten-year health plan, announced in late June.
Set up in 2013, it collects testimonies and feedback from patients and uses them to push for improvements to services. It has branches all across the country, including one in Waltham Forest.
The National Guardian’s Office, which aids whistleblowers, will also be closed down alongside the Health Services Safety Investigations Body.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the NHS needed “more doers and fewer checkers”.
Healthwatch Waltham Forest has called the plan to shut it a “sad and unsettling moment” for staff.
A spokesperson said: “Over the past twelve years, we have helped thousands of residents raise concerns, access vital advice, and influence meaningful change in the local services they rely on.”
They added that the watchdog had not yet been given a timeline for its closure.
Louise Ansari, the chairwoman of Healthwatch England, told the BBC: “Our focus now is on ensuring a smooth transition of our functions to the NHS and government, so that the voices of patients and the public continue to be heard.”
Going forward, patients in the NHS will be encouraged to leave feedback on services through a dedicated smartphone app.
The Department for Health and Social Care was contacted for comment.
The government says that by scrapping 201 quangoes, there will be tighter coordination between departments and employees.
In March, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that NHS England would also be scrapped, in a bid to give the government greater “democratic control” over the nation’s healthcare.
NHS England is mainly composed of managers, not doctors or nurses, and oversees spending and improvements to health services, such as cutting waiting times.
Gita Malhotra, chair of Healthwatch Redbridge, said the body “received no explanation, no rationale and no invitation to engage in dialogue,” which showed a “worrying disregard for the vital role Healthwatch plays”.
She attacked the decision to “sideline” Healthwatch workers, adding: “These teams are not ‘wasteful’ or faceless bureaucrats but passionate, caring and dedicated individuals who support local people, tackle and address health inequalities and hold systems to account.
“The way this decision and news has been handled is in stark contrast to the government’s avowed commitment to person-centred care and wellbeing.
“If we truly want better care, we must start by respecting those who champion patients, not [by] sidelining them.”
The chair said that, over the past 13 years, the body had heard from “women afraid to attend intimate examinations, profoundly deaf patients written off as difficult by health professionals, [and] families devastated by toxic cultures in maternity services across north east London”.
She added: “The stories and experiences that people share with us are often deeply personal, complex, and challenging. It takes great courage to speak up. Most people simply want to be heard, their experiences taken seriously, and their needs acknowledged.”
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations
