News and reports

Newcastle ranks as the 12th ‘least healthy’ area of England according to the Office for National Statistics' Health Index. The Health Index score measures factors such as access to health services, living conditions and behavioural risk factors.

Do you have a condition that affects your ability to communicate or understand information? We’re campaigning with Healthwatch England - so everyone has health and care information in the way they need it.

Jon Knight becomes the Chair of Healthwatch Newcastle Committee

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

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

Wednesday 9 March is No Smoking Day.

It’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

This February, NHS England and NHS Improvement is raising awareness of heart attack symptoms as part of the latest ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign.

The Accessible Information Standard is mandatory for all organisations that provide NHS or adult social care. It aims to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss get information that they can access and understand and the communication support they need from health and care services.

Home from Hospital is a free service. It provides practical and emotional support to older people returning home from hospital in Newcastle. Support is flexible and tailored to a person's individual needs.

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. This report outlines our collective survey findings from March 2020 to January 2022.

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.