What Healthwatch will do – Healthwatch Blackburn with Darwen will make a positive contribution to the successful local achievement of outcomes set out in national frameworks for the NHS, primary care, adult social care and public health. Particular attention will be paid to:

  • Improved patient and user experience.
  • Improved communication.
  • Improved satisfaction with health in local area.
  • Greater patient and public involvement in health and social care.
  • Strong relationship with commissioners, the Health &Wellbeing Board and the Health and Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee
  • Improved access to services.
  • Improved people’s understanding of their rights (consumer champion) and taking a human rights-based approach to championing their rights
  • High public Awareness/Profile of Healthwatch.
  • Good image/trust of Healthwatch with the public.
  • Gathering views and understanding the experiences of patients and the public.
  • Making people’s views known.
  • Promoting and supporting the involvement of people in the commissioning and provision of local care services and how they are scrutinized.
  • Function Four: Recommending investigation or special review of services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
  • Providing advice and information (signposting) about access to services and support for making informed choices.
  • Making the views and experiences of people known to Healthwatch England (and to other local Healthwatch organisations) and providing a steer to help it carry out its role as national champion.
  • NHS Complaints Advocacy

Health and Well-being Strategy

The workplan has been aligned against the three main strands in Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Health & Well-being Strategy.

  • Start well
  • Live well
  • Age well
  • All Ages

Our priority projects for 2025/26 are:

  • Start Well

    Young Health Champions

    Understanding young people’s use of vaping with additional substances

    Coproduction of a toolkit to reduce A and E attendances for child injuries

     

     

  • Live Well

    Supporting Family Health (Katie I’ve taken the plunge and changed it from the Community Champions because that would just be duplicating Spring North!)

    Understanding adults with Learning Disabilities’ experiences of supported accommodation

    Improving people’s access to making complaints about the hospital

    Understanding the health pathway for prison leavers

     

     

  • Age Well

    Understanding people’s experience of hospital discharge