Healthwatch exists to make sure health and social care services are shaped by the people who use them. Across England, there is a network of independent local Healthwatch, as well as regional collaborations like Healthwatch in Greater Manchester, and an independent national body, Healthwatch England. Sharing the same name, each part of this network has a different but complementary role, all working to amplify people’s voices and improve services. We have detailed more about how these different parts work independently and together and what makes each of them unique.
Healthwatch Locally
Each local Healthwatch operates independently within its respective local authority area, ensuring that people’s voices, especially those who find it hardest to be heard are at the heart of health and social care decisions.
Local Healthwatch listen to individuals’ experiences with health and social care providers, including GPs, hospitals, mental health services, and community care. They champion what matters most to local communities and work collaboratively to find practical solutions that improve services.
As independent statutory watchdogs, funded primarily by local authorities, local Healthwatch ensure that public feedback is not only heard but actively shapes service planning and delivery. This role extends beyond identifying concerns: it involves working to ensure that services are designed around the real needs of the people who use them, and making practical changes that improve people’s experiences.
Local Healthwatch teams also collaborate with the voluntary sector, community organisations, and NHS providers to highlight service gaps and drive meaningful improvements. They inform residents about changes to services, advocate for their involvement in decision-making, and provide clear, accessible information about available health and social care support.
Ultimately, the goal is to make sure health and care services work better for everyone, now and in the future.
Healthwatch in Greater Manchester
The Healthwatch in Greater Manchester Network is a collaboration of the ten independent local Healthwatch organisations working across the boroughs of Greater Manchester. Included in this are:
- Healthwatch Bolton
- Healthwatch Bury
- Healthwatch Manchester
- Healthwatch Oldham
- Healthwatch Rochdale
- Healthwatch Stockport
- Healthwatch Salford
- Healthwatch Tameside
- Healthwatch Trafford
- Healthwatch Wigan & Leigh
Recognising that healthcare extends beyond local authority boundaries, Healthwatch in Greater Manchester has a long-standing history of working together on joint projects, sharing intelligence, and ensuring that residents who access care across multiple areas receive seamless support. This collective approach enhances our ability to drive meaningful change in health and social care services across the region.
Since 2021, the ten local Healthwatch organisations have been actively integrating within the Integrated Care System (ICS) by strengthening collaborative strategies and deepening partnerships. This integration ensures that Healthwatch effectively represents the voices of Greater Manchester residents in an evolving healthcare landscape. While each local Healthwatch continues to fulfil its statutory role through local authority commissioning, Healthwatch in Greater Manchester plays a vital role in working collectively with ICS leaders and other key system stakeholders to shape regional healthcare policies and services.
As a network, Healthwatch in Greater Manchester has a unique ability to gather intelligence from community engagement activities across the region, capturing insights that reflect the lived experiences of individuals and communities. These insights inform decision-makers and hold them accountable for delivering improvements that truly meet local needs. The strength of this collaboration led to a formal partnership agreement between Healthwatch in Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester ICS (2023–2026), reinforcing Healthwatch’s role in influencing regional health and care policies.
Beyond Greater Manchester, Healthwatch in Greater Manchester contributes to national policy discussions by sharing local intelligence with Members of Parliament, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and Healthwatch England. This ensures that the challenges and priorities identified by local people shape national healthcare decisions.
By fostering cross-borough collaboration and strengthening ties with the ICS, Healthwatch in Greater Manchester enhances patient advocacy, increases transparency in decision-making, and ensures that health and social care services are developed with the needs of local communities at their core.
Healthwatch England
Healthwatch England is the national body that provides support, and guidance to the Healthwatch network across the country. It has a distinct remit focused on championing the views of people at a national level, advising the Secretary of State, NHS and ensuring that the experiences shared by local Healthwatch are considered in national health and social care decisions.
While Healthwatch England offers valuable resources and policy insights, each local Healthwatch and the Healthwatch in Greater Manchester network operate independently to represent and respond to the specific needs of their local communities. This means that, although we work collaboratively with Healthwatch England and share intelligence where appropriate, our focus remains firmly on amplifying local voices and driving improvements both locally and regionally.
Legislation
The legal foundation for Healthwatch comes from the Health and Social Care Act 2012.
This Act introduced a major reform of the health and social care system in England and created Healthwatch at both national and local levels. Under this legislation:
- Local Healthwatch were set up as independent statutory bodies within each local authority area. They have a legal duty to gather people’s views and experiences of health and care services, represent those views to decision makers, and help shape improvements. Local Healthwatch also have statutory powers, including the right to “enter and view” health and care services to observe how they are delivered.
- Local Healthwatch can make formal recommendations to commissioners and providers of health and social care services. Under the Act, these bodies are required to respond in writing within 20 working days, explaining what actions they will take (or why they are not taking action). This duty ensures accountability and helps make sure that public feedback leads to meaningful change.
- Healthwatch England was established as the independent national body to provide leadership, support, and guidance to the local Healthwatch network. It has a distinct remit to represent the interests of consumers of health and social care services at a national level. Healthwatch England can provide advice directly to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, NHS England, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). When advice or recommendations are given, these bodies are legally required to respond in writing, setting out what they intend to do in that response.
Together, these arrangements ensure that the people of Greater Manchester have a strong, independent voice influencing how services are designed and delivered both locally and nationally.