On Tuesday 27 October, representatives from Healthwatch Dorset travelled to London to join forces with more than 70 attendees from fellow local Healthwatch organisations to raise the real life concerns of people using health and social care services.
Attended by more than 30 parliamentarians, as well as key decision makers from across health and social care, the event at the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, provided an opportunity for Healthwatch Dorset to speak with Michael Tomlinson MP for Mid Dorset & North Poole about the work they have been doing to shape local services on behalf of Dorset residents, including:
* Their latest project on home care which has gathered feedback from over 700 people across Dorset
* Creating changes to our local hospitals following their report “Every One Matters”
* Highlighting problems with mental health crisis care
Joyce Guest, chair of Healthwatch Dorset, told us: “Over the last year Healthwatch Dorset has had many successes, including making improvements to GP surgery patient information, access to dentistry and we also won a 2015 national award for our volunteers, which we're really proud of. This event was a wonderful opportunity to speak to MP’s about our local work and to look at the national impact of Healthwatch"
Michael Tomlinson MP said, "It was wonderful to hear more about the work of my local Healthwatch and I'm keen to support this project which enables local people to really influence their health & care services".
The reception was hosted by national body Healthwatch England to mark the launch of its third annual report, “People as Partners” and highlight the work of the Healthwatch network nationwide.
To read more about what Healthwatch England and the rest of the network have achieved over the last year go to http://www.healthwatch.co.uk/annual-report.
For more about the work of Healthwatch Dorset, visit www.healthwatchdorset.co.uk or call 0300 111 0102.