1. What to expect when waiting for care

    Advice and Information -

    Waiting for planned medical care or surgery can be a frustrating time. That’s why it’s so important that while you wait, you get regular, clear and accessible updates so that you can plan your next steps.

  2. Colonoscopy confidence – your common sense bowel check

    Advice and Information -

    We know some people feel anxious or worried when they’re told they need a colonoscopy but it’s important to have this test if you’re referred. Bowel Cancer UK has launched the Colonoscopy Confidence campaign to explain what a colonoscopy is, why it matters and encourage people to attend their appointment.

  3. 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.

  4. Home from Hospital

    Advice and Information -

    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.

  5. Know the symptoms of a heart attack

    Advice and Information -

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

  6. A new Children’s Heart Centre

    News -

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

  7. Bowel Cancer Awareness Month

    Blog -

    Nearly 43,000 people are detected with bowel cancer each year in the UK. If it is diagnosed early it is treatable and curable.

  8. Newcastle ranks as the 12th ‘least healthy’ area in England

    Blog -

    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.

  9. Help teach lifesaving skills to community groups

    Blog -

    St John Ambulance is asking for volunteers to teach lifesaving skills to community groups. Can you support the delivery of a National Coordination of First Response project by teaching lifesaving skills to community groups?

  10. Organ Donation Week 26 September – 2 October

    Blog -

    It’s Organ Donation Week, and NHS Blood and Transplant services want to get people talking about organ donation.

  11. Our Resources

    Advice and Information -

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

  12. Healthwatch Newcastle listening event 2015

    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.

  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. Focus on Newcastle Eye Centre

    Report -

    During spring 2017, in collaboration with Newcastle Eye Centre, we gathered the feedback of service users on eye services run by Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

  15. Our complaints process

    Report -

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

  16. One-third of adults in England express doubts about their ability to receive timely healthcare

    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.

  17. Have your say about health and social care services in Newcastle and Gateshead

    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.

  18. Your experiences of Dentistry in 2023

    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.