News and reports

The Government has announced that it wants to change the law to:
1. Transfer the work of Healthwatch England to the Department of Health and Social Care.
2. Transfer the work of local Healthwatch services to the NHS and local authorities.

We designed this page to provide support and resources for health and care providers to improve their ability to meet the accessibility needs of people with disabilities that affect communication. Members of our South West London Accessible Information Standard Community of Practice, a group that includes people with lived experience, GP practice and Integrated Care Board staff, and Disability charities, contributed to this list.

July is Disability Pride Month, offering an opportunity to celebrate the identities, cultures, and social contributions of Disabled people. Disability Pride Month seeks to combat stigmas associated with disability, and it also offers an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that Disabled people face in daily life.

Read our report about parent/carer experiences of the Emerging Needs Pathway (The autism diagnostic pathway for 0-8 year olds in Wandsworth)

We caught up senior staff leading healthcare at Wandsworth prison to hear how healthcare has been developing around the themes we had reported in our visit.

We caught up with those working in health and care to develop support for carers during hospital discharge processes to find out how things have changed or improved.

Read about our work with our community in the year 2024-5 and how services can improve based on the views of local people.

Find out about the topics we are focusing on for the next year, based on what the community has told us in most important.

Find out more about the Healthwatch Committee and see if you’re interested to join.

GP practices in South West London, which cover Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton, and Wandsworth boroughs, introduced a new BSL interpreter provider on 1st October 2024. DA Languages replaces the old provider, Language Line, and aims to make it easier for people to get the support they need. GP staff have been given training materials to help them use the new system.

We are so thankful to those who were able to attend our Healthwatch Wandsworth Assembly on the 27th of March at STORM Family Centre. We want to also say thank you again to Marie from STORM for letting us use their venue and to all the organisations who came to speak to attendees about great work they do.

The Furzedown Project launched ‘Ageing on Our Own Terms’ a new booklet for health and care commissioners, providers, and regulators, designed to assist in meeting the needs and aspirations of LGBT+ people as we age.