1. Visits to care homes in Cambridgeshire

    Report -

    The reports from 13 care homes we visited using our legal power to enter and view.

  2. First of our care home food and drink reports published

    Report -

    Our volunteers stepped up to the plate when they dined with the residents at Rheola Care Centre in St Ives on a planned visit to the home.

  3. Whittlesey care home visit report published

    Report -

    Our volunteers visited Keneydon House in Whittlesey as part of our care home food project to find our about the residents' experiences of food and drink in the home.

  4. New report published after vist to Symonds House

    Report -

    Our volunteers visited Symonds House in Cambridge as part of a project to find our about people's experiences of food and drink in care homes.

  5. Making choices about the end of life

    News -

    Most people want to die at home, but the reality is that the majority of us are spending our last days in hospital.

  6. Report from our End of Life event

    News -

    Today Healthwatch has published a new report Empowering people at the end of life.

  7. Covid-19: county council ups adult social care payments

    News -

    People receiving direct payments for adult social care are to get a 10% rise from Cambridgeshire County Council.

  8. Latest guidance on testing for coronavirus

    Advice and Information -

    Free testing for coronavirus (Covid-19) from the NHS has ended for most people in England.

  9. New vaccine hopeful but stick to lockdown rules

    News -

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson is urging people to continue with the lockdown rules and basic hygiene advice and not get distracted by news of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine progress.

  10. Leaving hospital during Covid-19 - our new report

    News -

    The way people are discharged from hospital across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough should work better for patients says our new report published today.

  11. Leaving hospital during Covid 19

    Report -

    Hospital discharge is a complicated process. And the way people leave hospital across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough should work better for patients says our new report out today.

  12. Why ReSPECT matters in decisions near the end of life

    News -

    The local NHS has responded to a letter from us promising improvements to end of life care for people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

  13. Tell us your care home experiences

    News -

    The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on care home residents and on their friends and families and staff.
    Our new survey records your experiences and challenges over the last 12-18 months – and asks what life is like now.

  14. Are you able to visit loved ones in local care homes?

    News -

    Limits on visitors at care homes have been lifted in updated Government guidance. But is this making a difference for local families getting to see their loved ones?

  15. Life in a care home report

    Report -

    Our new report, Life in a care home, is published today. And tells the experiences of people living at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic and their friends and families.

  16. Insights from our new care home report welcomed

    News -

    Our new Life in a care home report, published today, has been welcomed by local councils and our local NHS as "important" and providing "valuable insights".

  17. How your feedback is helping to improve end of life care

    News -

    Thanks to the feedback you shared, NHS and care services have worked hard to improve the support people and their families get near the end of life.

  18. Healthwatch Summit shines light on challenges facing Adult Social Care

    News -

    At our recent Healthwatch Summit – Adult Social Care: Meeting the challenges, we welcomed a wide range of local health professionals and service users who shared their experiences.

  19. The Integrated Care System – One year on

    News -

    In this article, we explain the role of Integrated Care Boards and Integrated Care Systems, identify their different roles, and look at how Healthwatch works with them.

  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. Support available when you have a terminal illness - planning end of life care

    Advice and Information -

    Palliative care is support for people who are in the last months or years of their life. We have pulled together some guidance to help you know what to expect, how to plan ahead and make decisions about your future care.

  22. Do you need help travelling to NHS services?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you when travelling to your GP, hospital or other NHS services.

  23. First Steps to Health report published

    Report -

    Over 1,000 people told us what their First Steps to Health would be in an innovative survey to find out about local people's attitudes to using primary care services.

  24. Helping Addenbrooke's improve outpatients' care

    Report -

    We are helping Addenbrooke's improve people’s experiences of outpatients. This was an area of concern for the Care Quality Commission when they visited last year.

  25. New Healthwatch report on Hinchingbrooke Emergency Department

    Report -

    Staff are friendly but the Emergency Department (ED) can be very busy and patients aren’t always getting the privacy they need, says new Healthwatch report published today.

  26. Healthwatch report finds caring staff at Addenbrooke’s A&E

    Report -

    ‘Staff are helpful and caring’. That's the main message people had for us when we visited Addenbrooke's Hospital in early December.

  27. Making care better in Addenbrooke's Outpatients' Department

    News -

    "What's the point in telling you about my experience? It won't make any difference."

    We hear this a lot and can understand people's cynicism; But we believe that most of the time, most people providing care want to do the best job they can.

  28. Patient voices help improve care in Hinchingbrooke Emergency Department

    News -

    Privacy for patients and continuous staffing of the reception desk are two of the things that have improved for patients in Hinchingbrooke Hospital Emergency Department, since Healthwatch visited them last October.

  29. Changes made in Addenbrooke's Emergency Department following Healthwatch visit

    Report -

    Patient voices help improve care in Addenbrooke’s Emergency Department after the hospital makes a number of changes following a visit from Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

  30. "Requires improvement" CQC rating for Hinchingbrooke Hospital and NWAFT

    News -

    North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) has been given a "requires improvement" overall rating following an inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

  31. Healthwatch Board meeting in public - Weds 17 January 2018

    Report -

    At this meeting we will be hearing from Paul Marshall, Cambridgeshire Sector Lead for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST).

  32. Playing the part in improving older people's care

    News -

    More than 70 people came to an emotional performance of Phyllis, a play about an older woman’s experiences following a fall.

  33. New patient group gets policy change at hospital trust

    News -

    A new patient group - recruited with help from Healthwatch - is up and running, aiming to help shape policy and services at local hospitals.

  34. Sorting out a problem with healthcare

    Advice and Information -

    NHS care is usually very good and most people don’t have any problems. But occasionally things can go wrong. Find out how to complain about healthcare services.

  35. Community Values Panel helps NHS

    News -

    A unique approach to tackling funding issues in our local NHS has been highlighted in our newly-published Community Values Panel reports.

  36. Is it OK to redirect people from A&E if they don't need emergency care?

    Report -

    The number of people using urgent and emergency care services is increasing. And people are often arriving at A&E when they don't need to be there.

  37. Tracking patient experience in new A & E target trial at Addenbrooke's

    News -

    Healthwatch Cambridgeshire and Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge have taken part in a review of new Accident & Emergency targets.

  38. Non-essential appointments and procedures to be postponed

    News -

    The local NHS is postponing all non-essential appointments from 20 March to help it deal with the pressures caused by COVID-19 coronavirus.

  39. Virus forces changes to way hospital patients discharged

    News -

    The coronavirus crisis has put huge pressure on our local hospitals.

    To make sure they can look after people with acute needs, hospitals are changing the way patients no longer needing a bed are discharged.

  40. Wisbech and Doddington MIUs to close temporarily

    News -

    Doddington and Wisbech minor injury units are to close - temporarily - on Monday, 6 April.

  41. We're here ... and we're listening

    Blog -

    It's business as usual for Healthwatch says CEO Sandie Smith. And it's more important than ever for local people to tell us how their health and care has been affected during the coronavirus crisis.

  42. First findings published from our Covid-19 survey

    News -

    Communications with patients and service users must be a priority as health and care services restart following the peak of the pandemic.