Government reverses plan to scrap Healthwatch Norfolk

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 15:13 · Archive

The government has withdrawn plans to abolish Healthwatch Norfolk after campaigners said it would undermine patient oversight of the NHS.

The government has reversed its plan to abolish Healthwatch Norfolk and more than 100 other Healthwatch groups across the UK. The proposals had been part of a health service shake-up intended to reduce duplication and save £1bn a year. However, campaigners argued that absorbing Healthwatch functions into the NHS would undermine the groups' independence and their ability to hold health and social care bodies to account.

Healthwatch Norfolk, which launched in 2013, has now been told that plans to abolish local Healthwatch boards and Healthwatch England, included in the draft Health Bill, are being withdrawn. Judith Sharpe, deputy chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said the organisation was 'delighted' and looked forward to 'continuing our work bringing forward the voice of Norfolk people to improve and shape health and care services'.

The reprieve comes as Healthwatch Norfolk carries out a major consultation on the future of the county's three acute hospitals, asking patients how they believe services should be delivered over the next 10 to 20 years. Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said it was 'essential that future plans are informed by the experiences and views of those who use these services'. The timing is significant as the Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group is conducting a clinical review that could see services including A&E, intensive care and maternity downgraded at Queen Elizabeth and James Paget University hospitals.

How it is being reported

• Independent voice that holds Norfolk's NHS to account reprieved by government U-turnThe independent voice of patients which holds health and social care bodies across Norfolk to account has been reprieved.Norwich Evening News · 28 Oct, 14:40
• Independent voice that holds Norfolk's NHS to account reprieved by government U-turnThe independent voice of patients which holds health and social care bodies across Norfolk to account has been reprieved.Eastern Daily Press · 28 Oct, 14:40

In this story: Healthwatch Norfolk · Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group · Queen Elizabeth Hospital · James Paget University Hospital · Norfolk

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