Patient watchdog boards retained after government U-turn

Summarised from BBC Beds Bucks And Herts's report · Updated 4 Nov, 06:17 · Archive

More than 150 Healthwatch patient advocacy boards will remain open after the government reversed earlier plans to abolish them. The boards, which advocate on behalf of patients, are located across England including six in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'We will retain Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch, while strengthening them to ensure patient voices are heard and can influence real change.' The decision to close the boards was originally announced in June 2025 by then health secretary Wes Streeting, who said the NHS needed 'more doers and fewer checkers' as part of a national review into patient safety. However, many of the boards, including Milton Keynes, signed an open letter urging the government to reconsider. Cooper, who replaced Streeting as health secretary in July, said she had always been clear on the importance of communities having a say in local services.

Read the report

• Local patient watchdogs to stay open after U-turnHealthwatch boards were to be abolished as part of a 10-year health plan to cut down bureaucracy.BBC Beds Bucks And Herts · 4 Nov, 05:46

In this story: Yvette Cooper · Wes Streeting · Maxine Taffetani · Healthwatch · NHS · Bedfordshire · Hertfordshire · Buckinghamshire

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