A year in review 2013-14: Informing, influencing, together

Last year saw 148 new organisations come into being all over England, called local Healthwatch (to join the national body created the year before, Healthwatch England). These local organisations were created to be the consumer champion for users of health and social care services across their geographic regions, with the intention of giving local people a stronger voice to challenge and influence how local services were planned and run. Additionally, these bodies were tasked with providing information about local services and help people who want to make a complaint about NHS services – holding them to account.

This report was produced by the previous Healthwatch Dorset service provider, Healthwatch Dorset CIC.