The UK government will retain and strengthen England’s Healthwatch patient-feedback network, Healthwatch said Wednesday, reversing a Health Bill proposal to abolish it and preserving a channel for patients to share service experiences.
Healthwatch England is a statutory body that gathers feedback from people using health and social care services. The original plan would have moved national oversight to a new Department of Health and Social Care directorate and shifted local duties to integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities, according to a government fact sheet. The stated rationale was to bring patient feedback into central government and place local feedback with bodies involved in planning and commissioning services.
During an Oct. 13 House of Lords debate, peers questioned whether organizations that plan or commission care could collect feedback independently. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper told The Guardian, “Patients need a voice in our NHS.” The Guardian also reported criticism of the abolition proposal by Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parliamentarians.
Chris McCann, Healthwatch’s acting chief executive, said people would retain “an independent organisation they can turn to.” The announcement did not explain how Healthwatch’s statutory status or independence would be reflected in the final bill, or specify future powers, funding or an implementation timetable.
Parliament’s bill page still listed the text brought from the Commons on Sept. 9. House of Lords committee-stage sittings were scheduled for Nov. 3, 9 and 11.
