1. 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.

  2. Smoking during pregnancy - Action plan

    News -

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

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  5. 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.

  6. Study shows a gap between pregnancies is beneficial

    News -

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

  7. 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.

  8. Temporary closure of Cossham Birth Cenre

    News -

    Cossham Birth Centre temporary closure – letter from North Bristol Trust

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. "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.

  12. '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.'

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. 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.

  21. 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.

  22. Healthwatch England publishes Annual Report

    Report -

    People's real life experiences of NHS and social care set out in new report to MPs

  23. Your feedback can make a difference

    News -

    See our new video of how we can use your feedback to make a difference

  24. Digital Champions Report

    Report -

    Our Digital Champions report has now been published

  25. We need your views

    News -

    We welcomed the public to our AGM on October 29th with two speakers from Sirona and North Somerset Council’s Public Health department.

  26. Speak up on what matters to you

    News -

    Speak up on what matters to you about health services

  27. Our next digital event

    News -

    Grab your chance to Go Digital when Healthwatch runs its next free session with Portishead GP surgery, Harbourside.

  28. Surprise Award for our Chair

    News -

    Healthwatch North Somerset board chair, Georgie Bigg, wins surprise award for supporting NSCP’s community work

  29. New Healthwatch contract is announced

    News -

    New Healthwatch contract is announced to cover three areas

  30. Join Helen and tell us how NHS money should be spent.

    News -

    Nailsea cancer survivor Helen Hamblin has said more money should be spent on helping people cope with the aftermath of traumatic illness.

  31. Today's public meeting agenda

    News -

    Anna Hayes from North Somerset People First will be giving insight into the experiences faced by people with learning disabilities at our Public Board meeting this afternoon (April 9th).

  32. Healthwatch North Somerset Strategic Priorities

    News -

    View are strategic priorities below

  33. Using technology to build a stronger Healthwatch community

    News -

    From Healthwatch England:

    With 152 Healthwatch organisations across the country, we need to make good use of technology to help our teams connect and learn from each other.

  34. Healhwatch network reveals top priorities for 2019

    News -

    HEALTHWATCH NETWORK REVEALS TOP PRIORITIES FOR 2019

  35. Healthwatch North Somerset organises PPG meeting

    News -

    Healthwatch North Somerset organises Patient Participation Group (PPG) Chair’s quarterly meeting

  36. Consultation on the future of Healthwatch North Somerset

    News -

    North Somerset Council wants to hear your views to make sure the best possible decisions are being made for local people.

  37. Annual Report 2018/2019

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset publishes its annual report

  38. Annual Report 2017/2018

    Report -

    Our annual report for 2017/18 has now been published and is available to view

  39. Annual report 2016/17

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset publish their annual report for the 2016/17 year

  40. Annual Report 2015/16

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset have published their annual report for the year 2015/16

  41. Annual Report 2014/2015

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset are pleased to publish their Annual Report for 2014 / 2015

  42. Annual report 2013/2014

    Report -

    We are pleased to announce that our annual report for the year 2013 / 2014 is now published

  43. Enter & View - Winscombe Surgery

    Report -

    On 23rd April Healthwatch North Somerset carried out an Enter & View at Winscombe surgery

  44. Enter and View - Banwell Surgery

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset conducted an Enter and View with Banwell Surgery,

  45. Enter and View - North Somerset General Practice

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset conducted an Enter and Views in North Somerset General Practices between Nov 2017 and April 2018

  46. Enter and View - Graham Road

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset conducted an enter and view at Graham Road surgery in Weston-super-Mare

  47. Enter and View at Riverbank Medical Centre

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset carried out an enter and view at Riverbank medical centre. We have now published our report which includes all our observations and recommendations together with the feedback we collected from both staff and the public

  48. Enter and View at The Heath Centre

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset sent a team of authorised enter and view volunteers to Health Centre. Below is our full report detailing all our findings, including responses from staff and public together with our recommendations going forward

  49. Enter and view at Clarence Park Surgery

    Report -

    On 12th April we carried out an enter and view at Clarence Park surgery is Weston-super-Mare. Below is our full report detailing our findings, observations and recommendations to improve the service.

  50. Enter and view at Milton Surgery

    Report -

    Healthwatch North Somerset carried out an Enter and View at Milton Surgery. We have now published out report, detailing all our findings, including observations, feedback from staff and patients and recommendations to improve the service