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Healthwatch England is the independent customer champion, part of the voluntary sector, for health and social care services. It ensures the overall views and experiences of people who use health and social care services are taken seriously both locally and nationally.

The role of Healthwatch

Healthwatch England leads and supports the Healthwatch network – comprising 148 community-focused local groups. Our local community is Healthwatch Dudley where we work locally to promote better outcomes in health and social care:

  • Providing intelligence to influence policy, planning, commissioning and delivery of health and social care services.
  • Providing information and advice to help you access and make choices about services.
  • Helping to access the independent complaints advocacy to support you if you need help to complain about NHS services.
  • Having credibility and public trust through being responsive and acting on concerns when things go wrong and operating effectively and efficiently.
  • Be statutory organisations (i.e. established by law).

Healthwatch Dudley - what do we do?

We engage with members of the community to gather information (both positive and negative) and pass this on to the people providing and planning the services. We do this so services can share and learn from each other.  We also provide a signposting function, which means that people can contact us for help to find services, pass on positive feedback or for information about where to go if things have not gone so well and you wish to make a complaint.

We are independent of the NHS and the council.