News and reports

People we engaged with during our ‘Including Communities’ work told us they felt at a disadvantage when trying to access NHS and social care services because they did not have a computer or were not computer literate.

Over a 20-month period, ending in October 2023, Healthwatch Kingston attended 28 health and wellbeing events and local community groups to engage with 334 people from seldom heard from communities and the most vulnerable in our society. Participants included refugees, asylum seekers and people from other migrant communities, people experiencing homelessness and areas of high deprivation.

In 2023, to ensure the views of people we engaged with helped inform change, we shared findings from our ‘London Ambulance Service Strategy 2023–2028: Healthwatch Kingston Community Engagement Report and Recommendations’ with the London Assembly Health Committee. Our research findings were included in the Committee’s formal letter to the London Ambulance Service (LAS) following their call for written evidence from patient groups and members of the public.

In 2018, Healthwatch Kingston established our Adult Safeguarding Community Reference Group to listen to and translate personal stories into evidence to help improve services. Over the past six years, we have expanded our reach to work collaboratively with people with lived experience of safeguarding from Kingston and across London; putting voices at the heart of safeguarding scrutiny and governance.

In 2021, collaborating with Kingston Voluntary Action, we engaged 348 people and 59 NHS and other health and social care professionals, to explore the lived experience of people accessing bereavement services and support in Kingston, particularly the intersection with culture, faith, and life philosophies.

NHS and social care services cannot make improvements without hearing your views. That is why we have made listening to feedback from all areas of the community a priority. This allows Healthwatch Kingston to understand the full picture and feed this back to services to help them improve…even if it sometimes takes a while for what you have said, to have an impact.

Healthwatch Kingston undertook an announced Enter and View to Amy Woodgate Care Home in May 2024. Our focus for this Enter and View was to observe the living environment; residents’ mealtime experiences; and activities provided.

Lord Darzi’s Independent Investigation of the NHS highlights the NHS's problems but presents a chance for change. You can read Healthwatch England's response here.

The LDC Confederation has partnered with the Healthwatch London Network to conduct this survey to understand your expectations of NHS dentistry. This is different from other Healthwatch surveys you may have taken because it aims to understand people’s priorities for national policy rather than on your experiences at your local service. It should take no more
than 7 minutes to complete.

It’s World Suicide Prevention Day. The theme for 2024 is “Changing the Narrative on Suicide” with the call to action "Start the Conversation." This theme aims to raise awareness about the importance of reducing stigma and encouraging open conversations to prevent suicides.

Healthwatch Kingston took part in Kingston Hospital Charities' Memory Walk to raise vital funds for bereavement services, ensuring the paediatric department can offer professional support to families who have lost a child.

The focus of our Open Meeting was the merger between Kingston Hospital and Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare (HRCH). You can catch up on all the presentations via recordings of the meeting here.