1. What should you expect when it comes to care for your teeth?

    Advice and Information -

    Four questions staff should ask you or a loved one about your oral health if you’re a care home resident, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quick guide.

  2. Dental Services - Report

    Report -

    One of the key issues that people in North Somerset discuss with Healthwatch North Somerset is difficulties experienced accessing NHS dental services, in particular in areas outside of Weston-super-Mare.

  3. Dentistry during Covid-19

    Report -

    Healthwatch Bristol, Healthwatch North Somerset and Healthwatch South Gloucestershire have been gathering feedback about dental practice and treatment throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.

  4. Zoom in for our next Prioritisation Panel meeting on February 23

    News -

    At our Prioritisation Panel you can hear first hand how Healthwatch uses your feedback to understand the city's key health issues and works to bring about resolutions to help everyone have better health and care.

  5. Advice for NHS Dental Contractors: updating your NHS website profile

    Advice and Information -

    Many dental practices are not updating their information on the NHS website. The Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and Healthwatch are urging dental contractors to review their profiles, to help patients find dental care more easily.

  6. South West to receive almost £5 million to provide additional dental appointments

    News -

    £50 million will be made available to the NHS in England to allow people suffering from oral pain, disease, and infection to get the care they need. £4,726,000 has been allocated to the South West.

  7. Annual Report 2021/2022

    Report -

    Your feedback helps us influence positive change and encourages the improvement of local NHS health and social care services. Take a look at everything we've been up to throughout 2021/2022.

  8. 'The barriers to accessing timely care can put people’s lives at risk' - Healthwatch England's response to the Care Quality Commission's 'State of Care' report

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their latest report sets out the challenges the NHS and social care sector face: 'the health and care system is gridlocked, unable to operate effectively.'

  9. What to do if you can't find an NHS dentist

    Advice and Information -

    NHS dental care has been massively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's been almost impossible to find an NHS dentist that's accepting new patients or doing emergency treatment.

  10. MPs to examine struggle to access NHS dentistry services

    Advice and Information -

    Parliament's Health and Social Care Committee has launched an inquiry into dentistry following a survey that showed 90% of practices across the UK were not accepting new adult NHS patients.

  11. Annual Report 2022/2023

    Report -

    Last year, 793 people shared their experiences of health and social care services with us. Our annual report sets out how your comments and concerns have had a real impact on local health and social care services.

  12. The way you make a complaint about some NHS services has changed

    Advice and Information -

    Everyone has the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care, treatment, or service. How you make a complaint about primary care services changed on 1 July 2023. Primary care includes GPs, pharmacies, dentists, and opticians.

  13. A third of people in England lack confidence they can access critical NHS services

    News -

    Healthwatch England has warned that people need more confidence that the NHS can provide timely care as the winter period approaches. A third of adults in England lack confidence that they can access timely care, including GP services, mental health support and hospital care.

  14. How will we make a difference in 2024-25?

    Report -

    Our workplan sets out the areas of health and social care we will be looking at over the coming financial year. It also outlines the research we plan to carry out in order to help improve local services.

  15. 10 top tips to get the most out of your dental appointment

    Advice and Information -

    Everyone should be able to access good quality NHS dental services. Take a look at our top tips to help you get the most out of your next dental appointment.

  16. Where can I go for support for my mental health as a parent?

    Advice and Information -

    We've pulled together a number of services for parents in need of support for their mental health. Read more to find out where you can go to get the help you need.

  17. Smoking during pregnancy - Action plan

    News -

    Our smoking in pregnancy action plan ‘accelerates’ the move to appoint new stop-smoking advisor

  18. Report on Maternity services in North Somerset

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset collects information from the public about their experiences of local health and social care services. This information is shared with service providers, local commissioners and all other relevant bodies.

  19. The Care Forum - Action plan to reduce smoking in pregnancy

    Report -

    The Care Forum was commissioned to deliver an engagement project by the BNSSG Clinical Commissioning Group. The brief was to recruit and engage with women who did not stop smoking during pregnancy, in order to discuss why this was

  20. Health problems more common in babies with older fathers

    News -

    A study of more than 40 million births in the US found babies born to men aged 45 or older were more likely to be born prematurely, have a low birth weight and need intensive care after birth than babies with younger fathers.

  21. Study shows a gap between pregnancies is beneficial

    News -

    The NHS say that women should leave at least year between pregnancies

  22. Having a baby and the effect on your mental health

    News -

    We want to hear about your experiences - whether having a baby had any effect on your mental health.

  23. Temporary closure of Cossham Birth Cenre

    News -

    Cossham Birth Centre temporary closure – letter from North Bristol Trust

  24. Discussion event on preventing cerebral palsy

    News -

    The Academic Health Science Network invite you to the following event: Wednesday 9th May 2018 from 11am - 2pm.

  25. Open letter shows progress in reopening health services ahead of winter

    News -

    An open letter outlining plans to get services back to their pre-pandemic levels but still ensure everyone’s safety has been released.

  26. "This is another scandal where it’s clear that lessons from past tragedies haven’t been learnt" - Healthwatch England's response to the Ockenden review

    News -

    Healthwatch England has responded to the Independent Review of Maternity Services at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, led by Donna Ockenden. The review examined almost 1,600 clinical incidents and found repeated failures in care.

  27. Share your experience: maternal mental health

    News -

    Have you given birth since April 2020? Did you experience any mental health issues or emotional challenges such as low mood before getting pregnant? We'd like to hear your story and find out if you got the support you needed from the NHS.

  28. Six-week postnatal checks are failing many new mothers, Healthwatch England warns

    News -

    Many women are struggling to access the support they need for their mental health during and after pregnancy. Only 1 in 5 were satisfied with the time their GP spent talking to them about their mental health at their six-week postnatal check.

  29. Continuity of care is crucial to addressing perinatal mental health

    News -

    Research shows that continuity of care - receiving care from the same midwife or team of midwives - is best practice in maternity care. But we spoke to new mothers whose experiences show that services don’t always implement it.

  30. Stories from new mothers: accessing maternal mental health services

    Blog -

    Mental health issues are widespread and of significant concern to new parents, but many face substantial difficulties accessing mental health services. Mothers from across the local area told us about their experiences.

  31. Stories from new mothers: the importance of good communication

    Blog -

    The commitment to personalised care has been a cornerstone of NHS policy on maternity care for many years. A crucial part of personalised care is good communication, listening and agreeing on actions together.

  32. Our statement following the conviction of Lucy Letby

    News -

    Lucy Letby was found guilty on the 21st August 2023 of murdering seven babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016, while working as a nurse. She was also convicted of trying to kill six other infants.

  33. CQC again rates maternity services at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust as good

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published a report following an inspection of the maternity services at both Weston General Hospital and UHBW Bristol Main Site (St Michael’s Hospital), both run by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, in December.

  34. Report: Investigating local health inequalities using the Core20PLUS5 approach

    Report -

    102 people in Knowle West, Hartcliffe and Weston-super-Mare spoke to us about their experiences of health and social care. They shared the barriers and failures that prevented them from accessing local services, and what improvements are needed.