1. Registering with your GP: understanding your rights

    Advice and Information -

    People have told us they can have problems registering with a GP. This article explains more about your rights and what do to if you are refused the right to register.

  2. Do you need help travelling to NHS services?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you when travelling to your GP, hospital or other NHS services.

  3. Getting the most out of the virtual health and care experience

    Advice and Information -

    With more and more appointments happening online, we've put together some tips on how to get the most out of the virtual health and care appointments both for patients and health and care professionals.

  4. GP referrals – what is a referral?

    Advice and Information -

    When you need specialist NHS support, like hospital tests or treatment, you often need a referral from your GP first. Find out what this includes and what to expect.

  5. Let's talk about Parkway Medical Centre

    Blog -

    Are you a patient at Parkway Medical Group in Chapel House, Newcastle?

  6. Cervical Cancer Prevention Week

    Advice and Information -

    We’re supporting Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 17-23 January and encouraging women and people with a cervix not to ignore their invitation.  Did you know, one in three eligible people don't attend cervical screening? It’s a test that saves lives.

  7. Because We All Care - take 5 minutes to share your experiences

    Blog -

    Healthwatch and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are working together to hear your experiences of health and social care.

  8. Supporting effective GP patient participation groups

    Blog -

    It has been a contractual requirement for each GP practice since April 2016 to have an active and involved Patient Participation Group (PPG).

  9. Our Resources

    Advice and Information -

    We’ve put together some of our resources on this page to help you keep up to date.

  10. Compliments, comments and complaints: encouraging feedback from your patients

    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.

  11. All about choice - what is NHS Choices saying about you?

    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.

  12. GP appointments: what do Newcastle patients want?

    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.

  13. What does urgent care mean to me?

    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.

  14. ‘People-driven care’ conference 2016

    Report -

    We presented some major research projects, including local home care services, people’s preference when making a GP appointment and young people’s attitude to dental care, inviting people to think about the next steps. Delegates also shortlisted Healthwatch Newcastle’s priorities for 2016—17.

  15. PPG forum report — February 2020

    Report -

    The report from the first forum, held in February 2020. This forum supports and develops patient participation groups (PPGs) in Newcastle and Gateshead.

  16. Newcastle Outer West PCN patient survey

    Report -

    Six GP practices in Outer West Newcastle - Denton Park Medical Group, Denton Turret Medical Group, Newburn Surgery, Parkway Medical Group, Throckley Primary Care Centre and Westerhope Medical Group - partnered with Healthwatch Newcastle to run a survey gathering patients’ views on additional services, accessing the practices and how COVID-19 affected their experience.

  17. Healthwatch Participation in Practice Award 2019-2022 interim report

    Report -

    It has been a contractual requirement for each GP practice since April 2016 to have an active and involved Patient Participation Group (PPG).

    We set out to create a best practice award for PPGs aimed to increase and improve the involvement of patients in their GP practice. Several GP practices in Newcastle and Gateshead participated in our pilot from autumn 2019 to February 2021. This interim report outlines what we did.

  18. How to get the most out of your GP appointment

    Advice and Information -

    Do you struggle to speak to your doctor about your medical concerns? You’re not alone. Take a look at our top tips to make the most of your GP appointment.

  19. The Diabetes Epidemic in the UK: Unveiling the 5 Million Milestone

    Advice and Information -

    In a groundbreaking revelation, the latest report from Diabetes UK has sent shockwaves through the nation's healthcare landscape. The number of people living with diabetes in the UK has surpassed the 5 million mark for the first time, marking a significant milestone that demands our attention. This unprecedented figure not only highlights the scale of the diabetes epidemic but also underscores the urgent need for awareness, education, and proactive measures to tackle this growing public health challenge.

  20. Top tips to get the most out of your GP appointment

    Advice and Information -

    Do you struggle to speak to your doctor about your medical concerns? You’re not alone. Take a look at our top tips to make the most out of your GP appointment.