1. Do you need help travelling to NHS services?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you when travelling to your GP, hospital or other NHS services.

  2. Report into Electronic Prescriptions

    Report -

    This report summarises the feedback received by North Somerset residents regarding the Electronic Prescription Service EPS.

  3. Prescriptions unavailable

    News -

    Why can’t I get a prescription for an over-the-counter medicine?

  4. Lloyds pharmacies in the South West to close

    News -

    Please see the attached letter from Lloyds advising of the pharmacies that are due to close in the South West.

  5. NHS England launches first leadership training programme

    News -

    Hundreds of community pharmacists and technicians working across the NHS are being offered the opportunity to develop leadership and management skills on a training programme.

  6. Guidance on low value prescription items

    News -

    NHS England will be leading a review of low value prescription items from April 2017 and introducing new guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), with a view to substantially saving NHS expenditure in this area.

  7. Cost of wasted medications

    News -

    Healthcare leaders in the district are urging people to reduce medication waste. Repeat prescriptions which are no longer needed and people taking their medication incorrectly contribute to the hefty £1.2million annual spend on medication waste

  8. Stop medicine waste in North Somerset

    News -

    It’s predicted that wasting medicines costs £1.2 million a year in North Somerset, that’s equivalent to 75,000 GP appointments every year.

  9. Community pharmacy flu vaccines

    News -

    NHS England announced it will recommission the Community Pharmacy Seasonal Influenza Vaccination programme in 2016, after nearly a quarter of a million more people benefited from vaccinations in a community pharmacy setting during the previous year

  10. Healthwatch North Somerset pop up shop

    News -

    Our pop up shop opens on Monday 23rd February at 10am. We will be in Unit 17 Collier’s Walk, Nailsea (opposite Burchill’s fruit and shop)

  11. 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.

  12. Pharmacy spotlight: Day Lewis in Nailsea

    Advice and Information -

    Pharmacies offer a wealth of health and care services and popping in for advice might prevent the need to call 111 or visit your GP

  13. Blood pressure checks for over 40s now available at community pharmacies

    Advice and Information -

    People who are eligible for the service can receive a free blood pressure check without needing to book an appointment at their pharmacy. The check takes 10-15 minutes and carried out by a pharmacist.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. Think Pharmacy First for common health conditions

    News -

    People can now get treatment for seven common health conditions directly from their local pharmacist, without needing a GP appointment.

  18. 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.

  19. Do you need help getting to hospital?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you travel to your hospital appointments.

  20. 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.

  21. Healthy Weston - Easy read documents

    News -

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

  22. University hospitals Southampton offer leadership development opportunity

    News -

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

  23. North Bristol NHS Trust

    News -

    North Bristol NHS Trust Equality Newsletter

  24. 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.

  25. Trans health, care and wellbeing report

    Report -

    This report aims to identify the health, care and wellbeing needs of *Trans and **Non-Binary people. This report summarises the evidence, feedback, and experiences, from the Trans and Non-Binary people who took part in the research.

  26. 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.

  27. 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.

  28. 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.

  29. 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

  30. 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.

  31. "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.

  32. "The struggle for healthcare when you are deaf" - Terry's story

    Blog -

    While most hearing people take daily communication for granted, there are barriers everywhere for Terry, who is profoundly deaf.

  33. 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.

  34. 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.

  35. 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.

  36. Growing up with hearing loss

    Blog -

    The Reality of Growing Up with Hearing Loss – Action On Hearing Loss: RNID
    Kim’s Blog

  37. 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.

  38. 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.

  39. 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.

  40. 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.

  41. 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.

  42. 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.

  43. When to call 111

    News -

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

  44. 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.

  45. New review says BAME groups at higher risk of dying from Covid-19

    Report -

    A new review has shown the risk of dying from Covid-19 is higher among Black and Asian Minority Ethnic Groups compared to white groups. Healthwatch awaits recommendations from these findings which will really benefit BAME staff and patients.

  46. 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.

  47. 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.

  48. 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.

  49. 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.