1. What is Healthwatch Enter and View?

    News -

    We have the power to 'Enter and View' providers of health and social care, such as hospitals, care homes and dentists, and to observe and report on how those services are being run.

  2. Healthwatch calls on health professionals in Swindon to make more space for new parents to talk about their mental health

    News -

    Independent health and social care champion Swindon is calling on local services to make more space for new parents in Swindon to talk about their mental health.

  3. Proposal to transform local maternity services reaches final decision stage

    News -

    The decision on a proposal to transform maternity services across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire will be made at the joint Governing Bodies meeting in common for the three Clinical Commissioning Groups on 16 January 2020.

  4. Proposal to transform local maternity services is approved

    News -

    The joint Governing Bodies of Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Groups (BSW CCGs) today approved a proposal to improve and modernise maternity services across the region.

  5. SpeakUp2020: Share your views and help make the NHS better

    News -

    New campaign calls on Swindon residents to share to their experiences of NHS services to help make care better for all.

  6. Changes to community maternity services agreed as CCG continues to respond to current coronavirus challenge

    News -

    Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group has today agreed a set of recommendations that will maintain the health and wellbeing of mums-to-be during the current coronavirus outbreak. Read more.

  7. Key messages about maternity services during COVID-19

    News -

    We appreciate this is a worrying time for pregnant women and mums who have recently had their baby. We want to ensure we give you the latest information about how we have had to change our services to keep everyone safe. Find out more.

  8. Maternity Voices Partnership Plus Survey - B&NES, Swindon & Wiltshire

    News -

    B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire Maternity Voices Partnership want to gather the views of pregnant women and those who have had their babies with a survey they are running. They will share the findings with local maternity services. Find out more.

  9. New quiet room at Great Western Hospital to provide space for families to think and reflect

    News -

    A new quiet room has opened at the Great Western Hospital to provide a calming space for families to receive and understand potentially upsetting news about their pregnancy journeys and baby’s.

  10. Maternity support during COVID-19

    Advice and Information -

    Read about how coronavirus could affect you, your baby and your pregnancy care.

  11. Opening Doors - a Conversation About Covid-19 Vaccination in Pregnancy

    News -

    Save the date in your diary!

  12. Healthwatch Swindon News Bites December 2021

    News -

    In this month's news you can hear what we have been up to and find out about some of the great resources currently available.

  13. Good News

    News -

    Help us spread a little Joy and share your Good News Story.

  14. Tell us your story of maternal mental health care

    News -

    Pregnancy is a major life event for any family. It can be joyful and fulfilling but also challenging. We’re launching a national survey to understand if care works for new mothers and birthing parents. Share your story.

  15. Six-week postnatal check for new mums – Q&A

    Advice and Information -

    What is the six-week postnatal check for new mothers and why it’s important that you attend it? In this advice piece, we cover all the basic questions you may have about it.

  16. Six-week postnatal checks are failing many new mothers

    News -

    Deep-dive analysis of experiences of 2,693 new mothers and birthing parents shows that six-week postnatal checks – required of GPs in England - are failing many new mothers. We call for action.

  17. Maternal mental health: The changes your feedback made possible

    News -

    Your experiences of maternal mental health care continue to shape NHS services, with NHS England recently announcing improvements to maternity and neo-natal services.

  18. Stories from new mothers: the importance of good communication

    Blog -

    The commitment to personalised care has been a cornerstone of NHS policy on maternity care for many years. A crucial part of personalised care is good communication, listening and agreeing on actions together. In this blog, we share new mothers' stories highlighting the role of communication and choice.

  19. Enter and View - Maternity Services at Great Western Hospital

    Report -

    We visited the Maternity Services at Great Western Hospital on 19th February 2024.

    Our Enter and View visits are a way that we can gather information about services and collect views of service users, staff and volunteers.

    Following on from our visit we have made some recommendations to the service provider based on the feedback we have received and what we observed.

  20. Where can I go to get help for my health out of hours?

    Advice and Information -

    Health issues unfortunately don't leave us alone at the weekend and people are often in need of medical assistance out of hours. Using NHS guidelines, we have provided some advice and information on where you can go for help when your GP is closed.

  21. Do you need help getting to hospital?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you travel to your hospital appointments.

  22. Thinking about end of life care for you and your family

    Advice and Information -

    End of life care is support for people who are in the last months or years of their life. The guidance on the NHS website helps you know what to expect, how to plan ahead and how to manage your day to day decisions.

  23. NHS Long Term Plan

    Report -

    What changes do people want to make to local NHS services? Read our report to find out what people were telling us in Swindon.

  24. Healthwatch Swindon Quarter 4 Report - 2018/19

    Report -

    Find out about the work we've carried out in January 2019 to April 2019.

  25. Healthwatch Swindon Quarter 3 Report - 2018/19

    Report -

    Find out about the campaigns and projects we have been working on from October to December 2018.

  26. Quality Checkers Enter and View Reports: August 2018 - April 2019

    Report -

    This is a brief final report about nine quality checking Enter and View visits to GP practices and dental surgeries in Swindon undertaken by supported volunteers with learning disabilities.

  27. Annual Report 2016/17

    Report -

    Read our annual report for 2017/18 to find out about the work we've done and our plans for the year ahead.

  28. Annual Report 2014/15

    Report -

    Read our annual report for 2014/15 to find out about the work we've done and our plans for the year ahead.

  29. Annual Report 2013/14

    Report -

    Read our annual report for 2013/14 to find out about the work we've done and our plans for the year ahead.

  30. Oral health and dental services in Swindon survey

    Report -

    We wanted to find out if the dental system works for all who use it, as well as speaking to those who are not having their needs met.

  31. NHS England Patient Registration Confirmation Exercise

    Report -

    This is a snapshot report of NHS England Patient Registration Confirmation Exercise relating to GP practices

  32. The Orchards Care Home Enter and View Report - July 2019

    Report -

    We carried out an announced Enter and View visit to The Orchards Residential Home in July 2019.

  33. Ridge Green Medical Practice Enter and View report - February 2019

    Report -

    This enter and view visit was carried out with volunteers from Swindon Advocacy Movement and is part of our quality checkers project, which looks at health and social care services from the perspective of someone with a learning disability.

  34. Old Town Surgery January 2019 Enter and View report

    Report -

    This enter and view visit was carried out with volunteers from Swindon Advocacy Movement and is part of our quality checkers project, which looks at health and social care services from the perspective of someone with a learning disability.

  35. Moredon Medical Centre and IMH Hub Enter and View report January 2019

    Report -

    This was an unannounced Enter and View visit to Moredon Medical Centre/GP surgery and to the IMH telephone contact centre/hub.

  36. New online appointment tool to improve patient experience at the Great Western Hospital

    News -

    Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is introducing local patients to a new online appointment service, aiming to improve patient experience and reduce the number of missed appointments.

  37. Patient Participation Forum - September 2019 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 4 September 2019.

  38. Patient Participation Forum - May 2019 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 2 May 2019.

  39. Patient Participation Forum - March 2019 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 13 March 2019.

  40. Patient Participation Forum - January 2019 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 14 January 2019.

  41. Patient Participation Forum - November 2018 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 19 November 2018.

  42. Patient Participation Forum - May 2018 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 23 May 2018.

  43. Patient Participation Forum - January 2018 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 10 January 2018.

  44. Patient Participation Forum - September 2018 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 10 September 2018.

  45. Patient Participation Forum - October 2017 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 27 October 2017.
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  46. Patient Participation Forum - June 2017 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 12 June 2017.

  47. Patient Participation Forum - April 2017 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 5 April 2017.

  48. Patient Participation Forum - February 2017 Meeting Notes

    Report -

    Take a look at our meeting notes and presentation slides from our Patient Participation Group Forum held at Sanford House on 9 February 2017.

  49. Healthwatch Swindon Advisory Group

    Report -

    Each quarter we meet with our Advisory Group to decide which areas in health and social care we should focus on. This is a vital part of Healthwatch because it ensures we are independent and that the work we do is informed by members of the public.

  50. Primary Care Networks

    News -

    Primary Care Networks are a key part of the NHS Long Term Plan. They bring together general practices so that they can work together at scale so that they can share costs, provide more services to patients and integrate health and care.