Sign up to Healthwatch Communities Involved

Local Healthwatch, the new watchdog organisations set up as part of the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, came into being on 1 April to hold health and care services to account.

To be effective, to ensure that local services meet needs, they need your support. All VCS organisations are being encouraged to sign up to supporting their local Healthwatch. In addition new volunteers and leaders are being called for who can get involved with local Healthwatch to make it strong and collective.

Over the past few months Regional Voices, the partnership of nine regional networks including One East Midlands, has been working in partnership with National Voices, NAVCA and Community Service Volunteers to sign people up to receiving information about local Healthwatch and to get involved. They have already connected widely across the country with thousands of people, to tell them what Healthwatch is and to get them signed up, via their website at http://healthwatch-ci.co.uk.

This is your last chance to sign up using the website, which will stay open until the end of May. Please spread the word as widely as possible, log onto the website and use the quick, easy sign up to register your interest. This will ensure that you get information about your local Healthwatch, which will help your Healthwatch to be strong and collective.