1. We take your views to Parliament

    News -

    Last week, we travelled to London to join forces with more than 100 fellow local Healthwatch organisations at our annual parliamentary reception.

  2. New Emergency Dental Care now available

    News -

    New Urgent Dental Care Centres are being opened to provide emergency dental treatment during the Coronavirus pandemic.

  3. Do you use translation or interpreter services when you go to an NHS appointment?

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    The NHS wants to hear about your experience of using translation or interpreter services when you visit the dentist, pharmacy or optician.

  4. Twin crisis of access and affordability calls for radical rethink of NHS dentistry

    News -

    Healthwatch England warns dental crisis shows no signs of slowing, with four in five people, 80%, struggling to access timely care during the last lockdown.

  5. Are you struggling to get an NHS dentist?

    News -

    You are not alone! More people than ever before have been in touch this month to share their story about finding an NHS dentist and ask for information.

  6. NHS dentistry: We're calling for the Government to invest

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    We have co-signed an open letter addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak calling for a recovery plan for NHS dentistry.

  7. We're helping people every day

    News -

    Every month, we give support, information and signposting to nearly 2,000 people.

    Every day, we help individual people. This month we helped someone who needed a dental check up before they could start medical treatment.

  8. £6.8million to help tackle the lack of dentist appointments

    News -

    The NHS has today announced emergency funding to help create hundreds of new dentist appointments.

  9. What difference have we made this month?

    News -

    A highlight this month has been helping a young pregnant woman, who was homeless, to get the dental care that she needed.

  10. Lack of NHS dental appointments widens health inequalities

    News -

    A new survey of public attitudes to NHS dentistry shows half of adults in the South East find dental charges unfair amid escalating costs of living. 45% of people in the South East told us they struggle to get an NHS dental appointment.

  11. NHS acts on your feedback to improve dental care

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    Hundreds of you have been in touch to tell us your story about NHS dentists. We've been raising your concerns and now the NHS are making changes.

  12. Primary care work

    News -

    In May, Healthwatch England shared their initial response to the Government's Primary Care recovery plan and what it would mean for you and your loved ones.

  13. Our impact in dentistry

    News -

    In June we released out Annual report, which you can download at the bottom of this page. It shows the various ways Healthwatch continues its efforts to ensure the public experience is heard.

  14. Your vote determines our priorities

    News -

    All this week we are asking people to get involved in our campaign #YourChoiceOurPriority where we give you the power to choose our priorities for the year.
    Over the 7 days we will be asking you to vote for what you think we should prioritise.

  15. We're giving evidence to the Education Committee

    News -

    Next week we are giving evidence to the Education Committee about SEND.

  16. Stroke services : a decision is made

    News -

    For many months now, stroke services across Kent & Medway have been reviewed. The decision has now been made.

  17. West & North Kent residents - your views are needed

    News -

    You may already have heard about some potential changes to health services in East Kent. The ideas include changes to hospital and community services such as GPs.

  18. Changes to bus services in Thanet

    News -

    The Thanet Over Fifties Forum recently attended a meeting about changes to bus services in Thanet. They shared with us a report from the meeting.

  19. Additional public meetings in Faversham & Tenterden

    News -

    It has just been announced that two additional public meetings are being arranged to discuss the potential changes to health services in East Kent.

  20. Final public meeting about East Kent services this week

    News -

    Seven public meetings have already taken place across East Kent for people to hear and discuss the potential changes for health services in East Kent.

  21. Dermatology services : have your say

    News -

    If you live in Medway or North Kent, your dermatology services may change.

  22. Help shape Urgent Treatment Centres in North Kent

    News -

    Plans are being developed for Urgent Treatment Centres across the UK. The Centres would treat all minor illnesses and injuries for all age groups in one place.

  23. Calling all young people : make your voice heard

    News -

    We want to hear what's good, or not so good, about children's and young people's services in Kent & Medway.

  24. Commissioners respond to our GP report

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    In March we published a report detailing all the feedback we had heard from Kent residents about GP services.

  25. Have your say about Outpatients in Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley

    News -

    Outpatients services in Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley are set to change as part of a new transformation programme launched by NHS.


  26. Get involved with the changes to health and social care in East Kent

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    Those of you who live in East Kent will be well aware that plans are being developed to transform and improve services for local residents.
    The public are now being invited to evaluate the options before the public consultation later in the year.

  27. Making your voice heard: Wheelchair services

    News -

    Earlier this year, we started to hear a number of serious stories from patients and professionals about wheelchair services.

  28. Healthwatch Kent scruitinises the North Kent Urgent Care Review

    News -

    Urgent Care services in Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley are being reviewed with a view to making changes.

    Healthwatch has a statutory responsibility to scruitinise the process of change to ensure the voice of residents has been heard.

  29. Urgent care in Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley is going to change. Get involved

    News -

    A formal public consultation has been launched this month to decide the location of a new Urgent Treatment Centre in Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley area.

  30. Help turn the national NHS plan into a Kent & Medway vision

    News -

    You’ve probably heard about the NHS Long Term Plan in the news.

    The Long Term Plan is a national vision for our health services over the next 10 years.

  31. Healthwatch Kent met with senior NHS leaders this week to discuss their concerns about how NHS contracts will happen in the future.

    News -

    This week we gathered senior commissioners to discuss how health services could be commissioned in the future.

  32. Update on the East Kent Transformation

    News -

    This week we joined the first of three sessions to discuss the options for the transformation of services in East Kent.

  33. Healthwatch and Dartford Gravesham, Swanley CCG hit the highstreet

    News -

    To make sure you have your voice heard on the plans to create a new Urgent Treatment Centre in Gravesend or Dartford, we headed out with Dartford, Gravesham & Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group.

  34. Working with HOSC

    News -

    We attend HOSC every month. HOSC stands for the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee and is a meeting of KCC Elected Members who scrutinise health services.

  35. We are winners!!!

    News -

    We have been recognised as highly commended in the Championing Diversity & Inclusion category at the 2019 Healthwatch Network Awards last night.

  36. Last chance to have your say about Urgent Care in North Kent

    News -

    Time is running out if you want to get your voice heard about changes to Urgent Care services in North Kent.

  37. Have you heard that the Clinical Commissioning Groups are going to merge?

    News -

    Currently in Kent & Medway, we have eight Clinical Commissioning Groups who are responsible for commissioning our health services.
    From April 1st 2020, GPs have voted for all the CCGs to merge into one single Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

  38. Stroke patients being heard loud and clear

    News -

    Together with the Stroke Association and Healthwatch Medway, we have set up the Stroke Co-Design Group to ensure the voice of patients and carers is clearly heard during the design of our new stroke services in Kent & Medway.

  39. Special Educational Needs : a new pathway

    News -

    We've been helping decision makers to develop a new pathway for children and young people who have special educational needs.

  40. Have you say on Kent County Councils draft 5 year plan

    News -

    Kent County Council have just launched a new consultation on their 5 year plan 'Your Future, Our Priority' and want to know your thoughts.

  41. Driving improvements to the wheelchair service

    News -

    You will know that we’ve been working with the Kent Physical Disability Forum for over a year now to help improve the wheelchair service for thousands of people in Kent.

  42. Urgent Care Consultation listens to patients

    News -

    Residents in North Kent have recently been asked for their thoughts on plans to create an Urgent Treatment Centre. 16,500 people responded and it's brilliant to see plans change as a result of their views.

  43. Stroke patients & carers continue to design the new stroke service

    News -

    Stroke patients and their families were invited to Maidstone Hospital this week to chat with hospital staff about what the new Stroke Unit may look like in the future.

  44. Stroke patients & carers continue to design the new stroke service

    News -

    Stroke patients and their families were invited to Maidstone Hospital this week to chat with hospital staff about what the new Stroke Unit may look like in the future.

  45. A better 111 service for Kent, Medway and Sussex

    News -

    Last summer the NHS Commissioners in Kent, Medway and Sussex announced that South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) had been awarded a five year contract to provide the new NHS 111 service. The new service is due to start in April this year.

  46. Final decision on stroke services

    News -

    A decision has finally been made in the long running review of stroke services across Kent & Medway.
    The Court of Appeal refused an appeal against the judicial review which means plans to create three new hyper acute stroke services can go ahead.

  47. Did you know that we now have an enhanced NHS 111 service in Kent?

    News -

    When people in Kent, Medway & Sussex call NHS 111 they will now find more experienced clinicians on hand to answer their queries than ever before.

  48. Have you been a patient at Ruby Ward in Medway, or care for someone who has?

    News -

    Would you be willing to share your experience?

  49. Have you used the wheelchair service?

    News -

    We've been working for years to help improve wheelchair services and make sure they work well for everyone who uses them.