News and reports

Launched last year by North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Big Conversation heard from almost 5,000 women as part of a programme aiming to make the region a driving force for better women's health.

The new report - published by the region's independent Healthwatch network - used a regionwide survey and a series of focus groups to better understand what matters to women about their health.

#BIGconvo

This report summarises the findings of a community engagement project led by the Healthwatch Tees Valley Network, which gathered feedback from patients, carers, and the wider community to help the hospitals focus on areas for improvement.

This report represents the voices of patients, carers, and communities across Tees Valley, North Yorkshire, and County Durham. Through focus groups and online engagement, people have shared their experiences, challenges, and aspirations for healthcare services under the University Hospitals Tees partnership.

This report is not just a reflection of current services, but a tool for ongoing dialogue and collaboration. Healthwatch remains committed to ensuring that community voices continue to influence the development of healthcare services.

In 2024 / 2025, we prioritised visiting GP Practices across Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland to:-
• Develop relationships with GP Practices.
• Share our resources and raise awareness of HWST.
• Inform patients about additional roles within GP practices.

Outcome of the Roadshow:-
• Raised awareness of Healthwatch to over 700 people.
• Made 367 people aware of the additional roles with GP Practices.
• Identified 124 who didn't recognise they were unpaid carers

Impact of the Roadshow:-
• Signposted unpaid carers to support organisations and information to support their needs and those they care for.
• Enhanced patients' understanding of additional roles, so they are better informed about seeing the right health professional for their needs, potentially reducing people's over-reliance on GPs.
• Illustrated the prescription journey to give patients a realistic understanding of timescales.
• Supported the creation of Patient Participation Groups (PPG), which help to bridge the gap between patient experience and healthcare professionals.

As well as increasing awareness of Healthwatch South Tees, workshops were held to identify what health and care services these communities use, the barriers they face in accessing these services and most importantly discussing solutions to remove them.

Our report below includes a summary of the key findings and recommendations to improve access to services.

We are pleased to present Healthwatch Middlesbrough's Annual Report for 2023/24.

In September 2023, Healthwatch South Tees (HWST) welcomed two new Engagement & Events Officers to the team as a way to increase awareness of our function with South Tees communities and encourage additional feedback of health and care services to inform our work.