Healthwatch Darlington Annual Report 2024–2025: Celebrating Impact, Reflecting on Change
This year’s report is called “Unlocking the Power of People-Driven Care”, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.
We are very sad and disappointed by the government’s decision to close Healthwatch England and transfer the duties of local Healthwatch to Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local Authorities. We will not know the full implications of the government’s proposals until we see the details within the NHS 10 year plan, the Penny Dash Review into Patient Safety and ultimately, the legislation has been agreed and published by parliament.
We will continue to champion the involvement of users and carers in health and care decision making. We believe the best way to improve services for everyone is having a strong independent voice for residents where people can share their views and experiences of all of the health and care services they use.
We are also committed to delivering our Healthwatch contract and other activities to a high standard until new arrangements are put in place. This means we will focus on delivering our plan for 2025/6, working in partnership with local organisations, service providers and our fellow Healthwatch colleagues in the North East and North Cumbria.
We will share further information about our future as the government’s plans for future arrangements become clearer.
In the meantime, we want to thank each of you, our partners, colleagues, and supporters, for working alongside us. Whether it’s collaborating on strategic change, championing inclusion, or engaging with local people, your partnership has been vital. We remain confident that together, we can continue to amplify community voices, drive improvements, and support a healthier Darlington.
With heartfelt thanks and warm wishes
