News and reports

Around one in five GP visits are for non-medical problems. Many things that affect our health can’t be treated by doctors or medicine alone. This includes loneliness, money problems, housing, education or employment status. NHS social prescribing link workers can connect you to the right community groups and services to help support you.

My Voice Matters is ensuring the voice of people with diverse lived experiences and backgrounds are heard.
We are proud to be able to give the opportunity for seldom heard voices to be heard by providers and wider organisations in their own words.

This report was written by Dr Aanchal Rana as a practice track report for the degree of MSc Global and Public Health Policy at the University of Bath.

We offered her access to our team and engagement pathways to support her delivering this piece of work. All opinions and findings are her own.

In this November issue you can find out about:

My Voice Matters is ensuring the voice of people with diverse lived experiences and backgrounds are heard.

We are proud to be able to give the opportunity for seldom heard voices to be heard by providers and wider organisations in their own words.

This report is data analysis which has been researched and written by a Young Healthwatch volunteer who is studying the University of West of England (UWE).

In this Autumn issue you can find out about:

Our Enter and View visit , our latest findings from feedback - 'What Matters to Families?' and about organisations which may be new to you plus where to meet us in October.

Over the past 8 months Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset has attended sessions with Southside 'family food and play', a number of the local food pantries and in the Summer joined in the fun at one of Bath Area Play Project's playdays.

This report brings together anonymous feedback and key findings from these engagements and a series of recommendations and next steps for Healthwatch in Bath and North East Somerset.

We visited Cleeve Court on 6th September 2024, it is primarily a care home for people diagnosed with Dementia.

Our Enter and View visits to care homes are a way that we can gather information about services and collect views of service users, their carers, staff and relatives.

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.

Our new research shows worryingly low public confidence in being able to access NHS services. A third of adults in England lack confidence that they can access timely care, including GP services, mental health support and hospital care. Read the findings and our calls to action.

A review was undertaken by one of our Young Healthwatch Volunteers asking five questions to understand what online support is offered via the GP surgeries locally. Our findings have been published in a report.

Each cancer support group is different, but many people find it helpful to have support during and after diagnosis. Some also offer advice and support to family and friends of people going through cancer care and beyond.
Listed below are some local and national support groups that people might find helpful. The ones listed are mostly for adult support groups.

The cost-of-living crisis is putting many people under financial strain, and prescription costs are more than some people can afford to pay. Find out what help is available to help you cover the cost of your medication.

We're backing calls to introduce 'Martha's Rule' in NHS hospitals. Find out what it is and why we are supporting it.