Healthwatch Bristol
We want local people to have a say in what works well and what could be better, so that services fit around the needs of individuals and their relatives or carers.
Healthwatch was set up in 2013 as a requirement of the government’s Health and Social Care Act 2012. Healthwatch Bristol is part of a national network of 152 local Healthwatch schemes, supported by the umbrella organisation, Healthwatch England.
Healthwatch South Gloucestershire is run by The Care Forum. The Care Forum is an independent charity with a Board of Trustees, around 40 staff members, over 100 volunteers and a membership and mailing list that is open to local residents, voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and people who work in or use local health and social care services.
Our vision
Our vision is for Healthwatch Bristol to be an influential body that can champion the quality of local health and social care provision, and provide local people with a strong voice.
Our role is to:
- gather local people’s views and experiences of local health and social care services
- share this information with those involved in buying, providing and evaluating these services and seek responses where necessary
- use our representation on various boards and committees to make recommendations about how services could or should be improved
- signpost people to local health and social care services
- help local people get involved in checking, assessing and designing health and social care services
- carry out Enter and View visits to publicly funded adult health and social care services to listen to people’s experiences of the care that they receive.
* The Care Forum is a Registered Charity No.1053817 and a Company Limited by Guarantee in England No.3170666 Registered Address, The Care Forum, The Vassall Centre, Gill Ave, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ