Healthwatch Hillingdon, a charity based in The Pavillions Shopping Centre, funded by the national lottery aims to help local people get the best out of their local health and social care services Healwatch Hillingdon celebrates 5 years since launching on the 19th September 2013.
Healhwatch Hillingdon is one of the 152 in England that form the healthwatch network. As stated on their website one of their main aims is to ‘make sure the views and experiences of all people who use services are gathered, analysed and acted upon, so we can help make services better now and in the future.’
Examples of what the local public have been using healthwatch Hillingdon for these past 5 years includes, seeking to see something improved in their GP (making a phone call or filling out a complaint form), receiving guidance finding the right service for them (e.g. mental health call line). Or even taking part in one of the surveys which form their health reports such as the 'Expecting the Perfect Start' report which looked at 250 new mothers and their experiences on the NHS maternity wards.
The work of healthwatch Hillingdon has been nationally recognised and are 'delighted' to have recently won the Improving Health and Social Care category 2018, as a result of their detailed 'Safely home to the right care' report which gave an insight into Hillingdon Hospital patient experiences and discharge.
Another great achievement Healthwatch Hillingdon saw in 2018 was the launch of Young Healthwatch Hillingdon focusing on services and care for young people. Some wonderful opportunties I have been offered through being part of it include taking part myself is participating in an NHS PLACE inspection and attending a free dementia workshop.
My fellow young healthwatcher Smriti Pahari had this to say about her experience:
“My favourite part about being part of Young healthwatch Hillingdon is the ability to meet different types of people in our local community and finding out about their opinions and learning about their experiences. I also believe that by being a part of young healthwatch we have been successful in giving young people a voice and also been effective in making more people aware about the different health organisations available to them.”
