1. News -

    Healthwatch Newcastle welcomes our newest recruits and volunteers
  2. News -

    People with a learning disability often have poorer physical and mental health. An annual health check can improve health by spotting problems earlier.
  3. News -

    Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has plans for a new Children’s Heart Centre in Newcastle.
  4. News -

    This year our volunteer Raj will be presenting on stroke awareness on June 7. He will be talking about what a stroke is, risk factors, signs of a stroke and some ideas on how to support people following a stroke.
    Raj is a part of the Stroke Association and worked on NHS Stroke wards. He also supports children and young people with their special needs in schools.
    Following this presentation, our Volunteer and Engagement Officer Lesley Tweddell will ask for a vote of thanks and appreciation to all our volunteers for supporting the work of Healthwatch throughout the year.
    If you would like to know more about the role of a volunteer in Healthwatch come along and get more information from our stall on the day.
  5. News -

    If you would like to know more about Youthwatch,
    please email-
    Healthwatch Newcastle
    info@healthwatchnewcastle.org.uk or
    Text 07551052751 or Freephone 0808 801 0382
    Healthwatch Gateshead
    info@healthwatchgateshead.co.uk or
    Text 07498503497 or Freephone 0800 038 5116
  6. News -

    Healthwatch Gateshead and Healthwatch Newcastle would like to understand:

    - The impact of the cost of living on your physical, mental, and social health.
    - Changes to your health and social care due to the cost of living.
    - The impact of the cost of living on your interaction with health and social care services.
  7. News -

    Healthwatch Volunteer Raj Takes Initiative to Raise Awareness of Strokes
  8. News -

    Engagement Officer Jay Conlon Uses Personal Experience to Champion LGBTQ+ Health and social care Issues
  9. News -

    We are delighted to announce that the time has come for our much-anticipated Annual Joint Meeting, and we cordially invite you to join us for this significant event. This gathering serves as a valuable platform to strengthen our collaboration, share insights, and align our efforts for continued success.
  10. News -

    Read all our Monthly Newsletters for 2023 , stay up to date with activities of your local Healthwatch.
  11. News -

    - By Healthwatch England

    New research conducted in 2023, reveals a concerning lack of public confidence when it comes to accessing critical NHS services in England. Approximately one-third of adults in England express doubts about their ability to receive timely healthcare, including services such as GP appointments, mental health support, and hospital care.
  12. News -

    Celebrating Success: A Heartfelt Thank You for Making Our Annual Joint Meeting a Triumph!
  13. News -

    Don't miss our upcoming Online Forum featuring "Barnardo's Young Dads Service." This dedicated program offers vital support and guidance to young fathers navigating parenthood's challenges.


  14. News -

    Healthwatch Newcastle proudly announces the appointment of Afsana Begum as their dynamic new Research and Engagement Manager. Armed with an impressive degree in Public Health, Afsana brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will further invigorate the organisations' commitment to enhancing the health and well-being of individuals accessing health and social care services in Newcastle and Gateshead.
  15. News -

    Healthwatch Newcastle and Healthwatch Gateshead are here to help make local health and care services better for you. We do this by finding out how you are experiencing these services and ultimately feeding this back to the people delivering and commissioning the services, to influence positive change based on what we have been told.
  16. News -

    Following on from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports on Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Hospital Trust. Healthwatch Gateshead and Healthwatch Newcastle, alongside Healthwatch Northumberland and Healthwatch North Tyneside have released a joint statement.

    Please download the full statement below.
  17. News -

    Read all our Monthly Newsletters for 2024 , stay up to date with information and activities from Healthwatch Newcastle.
  18. News -

    People have been telling us about challenges they face getting NHS dentistry. As a result we are working with the NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) in the North East and North Cumbria to better understand people’s experiences of dentistry in 2023.
  19. Report -

    Our complaints process outlines how to make a complaint about us and our approach to making sure complaints are resolved.
  20. Report -

    A concern about the impact of the COVID-19 related lockdowns of 2020—21,was a recognition that restrictions had made life particularly difficult for families experiencing domestic abuse. Healthwatch Newcastle's Committee chose this as a priority piece of work to explore in greater detail.
  21. Report -

    The NHS Long Term Plan introduced targets to ensure GP practices offer an annual health check for people with learning disabilities.

    People with learning disabilities can have poorer physical and mental health than others and die younger. Annual health checks can provide a way to detect, treat and prevent new and unmet health conditions. Care for ongoing conditions can also be reviews during the annual check.
  22. Report -

    Healthwatch teams across the North East region saw a significant increase in concerns about accessing NHS dental care during 2021. Eight local Healthwatch worked together to gather people’s experiences in the region. We published a report outlining our collective survey findings from March 2020 to January 2022.
  23. Report -

    In March 2022 HWG and HWN launched a survey to gather young people’s views and general experiences of loneliness and social isolation.
  24. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meetings.
  25. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  26. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  27. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  28. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  29. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  30. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  31. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  32. Report -

    Agendas, notes, and minutes for our committee meetings and annual general meeting.
  33. Report -

    The 2013–14 annual report outlines how we work with Newcastle communities and statutory and voluntary and community organisations to ensure “outstanding social care and health services for all”. You can read about all our activities, including how our volunteers helped us with GP ‘mystery shopping’ and how we gathered local opinions and experiences of health and social care. A summary of this annual report is also available.
  34. Report -

    Between December 2013 and September 2014 our Champions carried out mystery shopping in GP practices throughout Newcastle. The aim was to find out the information GP practices gave about their procedures for compliments, comments and complaints, how clear that information was and how easy it was to find.

  35. Report -

    In the early autumn of 2014 we carried out a mystery shopper exercise on the NHS Choices GP profile pages for the 35 GP practices in Newcastle upon Tyne.
  36. Report -

    The annual report for 2014–15 sets out how we have continued to build on our commitment to outstanding social care and health services for all in Newcastle upon Tyne, it also outlines our refreshed strategic priorities and key goals for 2015–16.
  37. Report -

    This Elders Council of Newcastle report presents the findings of a December 2015 event where people discussed their expectations of home care services. The event was held in partnership with Newcastle City Council and Healthwatch Newcastle.
  38. Report -

    From late 2014 to early 2015 our young people’s group researched the attitudes of 13—25 year olds to dental care in Newcastle. Initial research by the group had found that children and young people thought there was a particular lack of information about eligibility for dental services.
  39. Report -

    On 3 June 2015, Healthwatch Newcastle and Healthwatch Gateshead teamed up with the Regional Refugee Forum (RRF) to hold an event for asylum seekers and refugees in Newcastle and Gateshead. The event was designed to give RRF members the opportunity to tell us about the unique and distinctive health and wellbeing issues affecting them. A follow up event was held on 15 October 2015.
  40. Report -

    This listening event in November 2015 enabled people to meet and talk with the organisations that plan and provide local social care and health services.
  41. Report -

    From July to December 2015 we carried out research into what people want when booking a GP appointment in Newcastle. A discrete choice experiment survey was developed in partnership with Northumbria University.
  42. Report -

    From October to December 2015 we asked service users, their carers and relatives, and also social workers, what they thought about home care services in Newcastle. We also interviewed the commissioners of home care services and met with several local voluntary and community sector organisations.
  43. Report -

    We held a highly successful first conference in March 2015. ‘There’s more to Healthwatch than health’ enabled us to gain valuable insights and information about local social care provision and experiences. Delegates also helped shape Healthwatch Newcastle social care priorities for 2015-16.
  44. Report -

    Our annual report for 2015–16 describes the work we have done over the last year to understand and improve people's experiences of social care and health services in Newcastle upon Tyne.
  45. Report -

    From September 2015 to January 2016 our young people’s group designed and delivered a mental health questionnaire aimed at young people in the 13—25 age range. The aim was to get a better understanding of the main issues young people face regarding mental health, and if schools and colleges are offering enough support to young people around these issues.
  46. Report -

    In spring 2016 we carried out a mystery shopper exercise on the NHS Choices dentist profile pages for the 42 dental practices in Newcastle upon Tyne.
  47. Report -

    This listening event in July 2016 enabled people to meet and talk with the organisations that plan and provide local social care and health services.
  48. Report -

    Following the publication our ‘GP appointments: what do Newcastle patients want?’ report we wanted to better understand how people define the term ‘urgent’ and whether they define it differently in different circumstances.
    We collaborated with Healthwatch Gateshead to carry out a short survey with the public in our respective local authority areas during the summer and autumn of 2016.
  49. Report -

    In autumn 2016, we were invited by the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) to carry out some research on the organisation’s behalf. The purpose was to hear views and experiences of NEAS services and also investigate the barriers that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities face.
  50. Report -

    During the summer and autumn of 2016 we gathered people’s experience of education, health and care (EHC) plans in Newcastle. This report on the findings includes 12 recommendations.