Healthwatch Kirklees and Healthwatch Calderdale have shared the following update, which comes after the government announced plans to close Healthwatch.
The Government has shared its new 10-Year Plan for the NHS. Here’s what this means for you, your community, and your local health and social care services.
10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future
More than 250,000 people in England helped share their ideas to make this plan. The plan is about making health and social care better in the future.
Some of the changes include:
- Making it easier to see a GP or NHS dentist
- Using local pharmacies more to help people
- Increasing how much the NHS app can do
- Listening to how patients feel, not just looking at numbers
If everything in the plan works, it could help people get better care every day.
But there are also big changes to how people can share their thoughts and feelings about the NHS and social care.
Here is what is changing with Healthwatch:
- Healthwatch England will close, and all 153 local Healthwatch teams – including Healthwatch Kirklees and Healthwatch Calderdale – will stop running.
- The NHS will collect feedback on health services through local Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), which manage NHS budgets.
- Councils will collect feedback on social care services.
- A new National Director for Patient Experience will oversee how patient feedback is gathered across England.
- People will be encouraged to share their feedback using the NHS App.
BUT, right now, nothing is changing!
We want everyone in Kirklees and Calderdale to know that Healthwatch Kirklees and Healthwatch Calderdale are still open and working as usual.
Even though there are plans to close Healthwatch in the future. This will take time as laws need to be changed first.
For now, everything is the same where you live.
Our teams are still here to:
- Listen to your experiences of health care services
- Make sure your voice is heard
- Work with others to help improve care
We’re still doing our job, helping people, and making sure local health and care services listen to the community.
Update 21/07/2025
131 local Healthwatch services, including Healthwatch Kirklees and Healthwatch Calderdale, have signed a powerful open letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This letter urges the government to reconsider the proposal that would bring public voice functions under the control of local authorities and NHS bodies. Check out our post ‘Healthwatch Open Letter: 131 Local Healthwatch Services Oppose Government Plans to Weaken Independent Public Voice‘ to get more information on the letter.
If anything changes, we will let you know. Until then, keep telling us what’s working well – and what’s not. We’re still here, still listening, and still ready to help.