Healthwatch Northumberland Strategic Plan
The Health and Social Care Act of 2012 set out a powerful ambition of putting people at the heart of health and social care. The Act created Healthwatch England and 152 local Healthwatch in every local authority area.
Healthwatch is independent and its sole purpose is to understand the needs, experiences and concerns of people who use health and social care services and to speak out on their behalf. We are not part of the NHS or Northumberland County Council nor are we affiliated with any of the health and social care providers or any political party. Healthwatch ensures that the views and feedback from patients and carers are an integral part of local commissioning across health and social care and our remit also includes providing information about local care services and choices to be made in respect of those services.
Healthwatch Northumberland is delivered by Adapt (NE) and engages with the residents, patients, families and carers of Northumberland to understand their views and use these to influence local services. We work with a range of key stakeholders in the county and beyond sharing the views of the people of Northumberland and working to ensure they are central to all decisions made about health and social care. These stakeholders include Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group, Northumberland County Council, North East Ambulance Service including Patient Transport Services, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust and the Care Quality Commission as well as care homes and other organisations such as private companies and charities.
