1. Raising awareness of diversity

    News -

    A trans health survey carried out by The Diversity Trust and supported by HWNS found that 51 per cent of trans and non-binary patients had self-harmed or injured themselves and 40 per cent had attempted to take their own life.

  2. Healthy Weston - Easy read documents

    News -

    Please click below for an easy read version of the Healthy Weston Documentation.

  3. University hospitals Southampton offer leadership development opportunity

    News -

    University Hospitals Southampton offer leadership development opportunity for aspiring leaders with disabilities.

  4. North Bristol NHS Trust

    News -

    North Bristol NHS Trust Equality Newsletter

  5. Workforce Race Equality Standard data report

    News -

    We are pleased to attach a copy of the 2018 WRES data report, which provides an overview of the data on all nine WRES indicators and makes comparisons to previous years’ data.

  6. Pride 2019

    News -

    We enjoyed entering a wonderful rainbow world of fun and fiesta at Weston Pride and thanks to everyone who posed with our fluffy photo frame and told us their thoughts on health and social care - it WILL make a difference.

  7. North Somerset statement of action for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

    News -

    It was asked that the Clinical Commissioning Group and the Local Authority jointly submit a written statement to Ofsted following the Ofsted and CQC Inspection in North Somerset.

  8. NHS leaders commit to specialist help support for Veterans in every part of the NHS

    News -

    NHS leaders have confirmed today that specialist health support for veterans will be available in every part of the health service, across the country.

  9. University Hospitals Bristol Statement

    News -

    University Hospital Bristol response to The Diversity Trust and local Healthwatch report, Trans health, care and wellbeing report April 2018

  10. Black History Month Celebration

    News -

    University Hospitals Bristol Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Workers’ (BAMEW) Forum supported by RCN South West invite you to celebrate with them on 17th October 2018.

  11. "My voice - my choice" - Leonard Cheshire

    News -

    A series of workshops are being held in Weston-super-Mare to allow disabled adults to share stories and suggest ways of making it easier to be part of the community.

  12. Special Educational Needs and Disability Review

    News -

    Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have published their findings following their joint review of services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in North Somerset, which took place 14-18 May 2018.

  13. Black and Ethnic Minority cancer patients encouraged to give feedback

    News -

    NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens today issued an appeal for more black and ethnic minority (BME) patients to help improve cancer care by sharing their experiences.

  14. Healthcare communication cards

    News -

    Action on Hearing Loss have a Health and Care Communication Card to support anyone with hearing loss in communicating their needs to health care professionals.

  15. Taking pride in equality, diversity and inclusion

    News -

    NHS England will be represented at a series of Pride events this summer. This is first time that members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender plus staff network will march representing the organisation.

  16. Better care in my hands

    News -

    CQC’s national reports and thematic reviews from the last five years consistently show that some groups of people are less involved in their care than others.

  17. BME Communities are heard

    News -

    A new joint venture will ensure the voice of black and other minority ethnic (BME) communities in North Somerset continues to be heard.

  18. Avon and Wiltshire Partnership

    News -

    Avon and Wiltshire Partnership (AWP) were anonymously nominated for ‘Excellence in Diversity Awards’ earlier this year, and then later shortlisted for the ‘Diverse Company – Public Sector’ category.

  19. British Sign Language Service

    News -

    British Sign Language (BSL) users are now able to get in touch with NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre using a video call supported by a BSL interpreter.

  20. Have your say

    News -

    On Thursday 27th August between 1.00-2.00pm the @NHSEngland twitter channel will dedicate this hour to Learning Disabilities, exploring the latest service model, discussing learning disability services and welcoming feedback via #TransformingCare.

  21. When to call 111

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    A helpful video describing when to call 111 for advice compared to when to call 999 for an ambulance

  22. Women's only support group

    News -

    A women's only support group has been launched for people who need help with addiction and their friends and family.

  23. Action needed after review shows BAME adversely affected by pandemic

    News -

    Large scale research and data collection is needed to tackle “humbling inequalities" in Covid-19 death rates, according to the new Public Health England report. We want our feedback to build an understanding of health experiences of BAME groups.

  24. NHS Race and Health Observatory

    News -

    A new NHS centre to investigate the effects of race and ethnicity on people’s health has got the go ahead after Covid 19 helped to focus minds on the continuing problem of racism in medicine.

  25. Sir Michael Marmot says Healthwatch can energise and give power to communities

    News -

    Sir Michael Marmot author of the landmark report Marmot Review: Fair Society, Healthy Lives spoke to Healthwatch about how the Covid-19 pandemic has “amplified” health inequalities even further.

  26. Historic turning point - Covid vaccines rolled out to first patients at Southmead Hospital

    News -

    The new Covid-19 vaccine has been rolled out in Bristol today (December 8) – with the over 80s and care home staff first on the list to receive it.

  27. 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.

  28. If you have a learning disability you need to be on your GP's learning disability register to have the vaccine

    News -

    Find out more about how to get on your GPs learning disability register to ensure you have the Covid-19 vaccine. Being on the register also means you should be invited to have an important health check-up to pick up any symptoms of illness.

  29. Vaccine research shows positive reaction among Asian communities

    News -

    Sayd Ahmed from North Somerset Bangladeshi Association has been on a mission to speak to all Asian households in the area to encourage them the Covid vaccine is safe. He told HW he spoke to 2,200 people and they all were in favour of having it.

  30. Winterbourne View 10 years on: Supporting those with learning disabilities to stay safe and well

    News -

    People with learning disabilities are still at risk of dying unnecessarily and receive poorer care – 10 years on from the abuse suffered at Winterbourne View.

  31. Struggling to access digital services? Take a look at three new booklets, created to help people use the internet

    News -

    Alive, a charity dedicated to improving the quality of life of older people and their carers, have published three booklets with the help of Healthwatch North Somerset to help those who struggle with technology access online services.

  32. Translated COVID-19 advice posters available in 12 languages

    News -

    Posters with the most recent COVID-19 information and recommended steps to keep everyone safe and reduce the spread of the virus are have been translated into 12 different languages, including Somali, Polish, and Gujarati.

  33. Disabled people being left behind due to a lack of accessible healthcare information

    News -

    Disabled people and people with sensory loss have a legal right to get health and social care information in a way that's accessible for them. Yet Healthwatch England has found one in five people struggle to understand the information they receive.

  34. Experiences of being in hospital for people with a learning disability and autistic people

    News -

    The Care Quality Commission says people with a learning disability and autistic people "continue to face barriers when accessing health care and treatment" after collecting people’s experiences from 8 hospital trusts in England.

  35. Is North Somerset deaf aware?

    News -

    The North Somerset Deaf Awareness Partnership surveyed the d/Deaf community, asking which services are and are not deaf aware. Call centres and the Audiology Department at Weston General Hospital were among those that were found to be not deaf aware.

  36. People are increasingly avoiding NHS appointments and prescriptions due to cost of living, Healthwatch warns

    News -

    The number of people avoiding an NHS appointment because they can’t afford travel almost doubled between October and December as the cost of living crisis is forcing many to change how they use health and care services.

  37. 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.

  38. Work around improving access to online health services shortlisted for national award

    News -

    In 2022-23, we supported more than 1000 people and held almost 150 learning sessions to help older adults develop the skills to use online health services. We're delighted that this work has been shortlisted for a national award.

  39. Healthwatch North Somerset receives national award for improving digital inclusion

    News -

    We're delighted to have been recognised at the National Healthwatch Impact Awards for helping people who are digitally excluded develop the skills to use online health services.