Kingston residents face losing their independent voice in the NHS and social care

For the first time in 50 years, people in Kingston could be left without an independent voice in health and care as the Government moves forward with plans to bring the powers of local Healthwatch ‘in-house’, and abolish the borough’s only statutory, independent organisation that champions patient voice. 

The Health Bill, which faces its first major Parliamentary debate on 1 June, would scrap Healthwatch England and all 153 local Healthwatch organisations across England and transfer their duties to Integrated Care Boards and local authorities. Under these proposals providers will be responsible for collecting and responding to feedback about their own services without the challenge of an independent and impartial body. 

Councillor Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, chair of the Local Government Association's health and wellbeing committee, told the BBC this was akin to health services "marking their own homework".

The local Healthwatch network was created in 2012 after the public inquiry into what went wrong in the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust scandal identified a culture that tolerated poor standards and valued positive information more highly than concerns. Critics of the Government’s plans have suggested that proposals to abolish Healthwatch risk repeating the mistakes of the past and putting the quality of patient care for local people in jeopardy. 

In it's independent national review of the Healthwatch model, The Kings Fund emphasised that any future arrangement must maintain independence from the health and care system so it can "speak truth to power and raise difficult messages where necessary."

The Health Bill would see 153 local Healthwatch organisations absorbed into just 27 Integrated Care Boards, many of which are facing mergers and restructuring and are under pressure to cut staffing and costs. 

Stephen Bitti, Chief Executive of New Dialogue, the home of Healthwatch Kingston said,

“Healthwatch Kingston has been the public voice service for patients, carers and families in the borough for 14 years. Our small team has worked tirelessly to build trusted relationships with local communities so that we can understand issues at scale and work collaboratively with NHS and local authority partners to make positive change.

Removing independent scrutiny at a time when NHS bodies are being overhauled and experiencing mounting pressure to cut costs is a dangerous combination. Independence and impartiality serve patients and service users, and accountability helps steer NHS and social care bodies in the right direction at a time of rapid change.”

Healthwatch Kingston says the proposals to remove independent voice services without a replacement risk leaving the people who most need to be heard unlikely to come forward or be listened to.

Kathryn Yates, Chair of New Dialogue, the home of Healthwatch Kingston said:

“We often hear how problems emerge in the gaps between services. With NHS bodies and councils, not only, marking their own homework, but focused on such a narrow part of the patient’s journey, the opportunity for improvement across the system stalls. Operating independently, Healthwatch Kingston can identify gaps across systems and identify areas where support is failing local people.”

“Losing the trusted, locally based service will most effect vulnerable people. Time after time we have seen how communication breaks down between services and people who have had poor experiences of care. When trust is broken, people rely on independence to be able to speak freely and honestly.”

Stephen Bitti outlined that Healthwatch Kingston remains committed to its responsibilities for people in Kingston, saying “we are still here working for local people, and we will continue to challenge decision makers when we think the outcomes of their choices will undermine patient and service user care.”