Search
News -
Plymouth City Council are launching an important consultation about how they deliver disability adaptations across Plymouth, and they need your help to spread the word and get involved.News -
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is proud to announce details of its annual Our People Awards celebration event, thanks to the generosity of its corporate sponsors.News -
This Share for Better Care Week (24 February – 2 March), Dr Ranj is teaming up with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthwatch England (HWE) to urge people across England to take three spare minutes to feed back on their recent health and social care experiences.News -
A project to support young people with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has secured funding to develop a multilingual virtual assistant.News -
Local people in Devon have one week left to share their experiences, views and ideas that will contribute to the development of the national 10-Year Health Plan whilst informing local priorities in Devon.News -
Nearly a fifth of people who have experienced trauma say they often avoid health services. Healthwatch England have called on the NHS to adopt pocket-sized trauma cards for patients to show during appointments, following a successful pilot.News -
The seniormost medic in the NHS in England is stepping down.News -
Our national partner Healthwatch England are asking about your experience of referral for specialist treatment. Has your GP referred you for an assessment or treatment at a hospital or community clinic? Share your story.News -
Today the government finally announced details of how it will fulfill Labour's election pledge to roll out a supervised toothbrushing scheme to children aged 3-5 living in deprived areas.News -
The government has announced that NHS dental changes will go up from 1 April by 2.39% .News -
People detained for inpatient assessment and treatment under the Mental Health Act seem to be more unwell on admission than in the past, according to a report out today from the Care Quality Commission.News -
A Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust team has been shortlisted for its work on digital literacy and inclusion in the prestigious Health Services Journal (HSJ) digital awards 2025.News -
Two projects have been awarded the 2024 Healthwatch Impact Award for their exceptional work in using local people’s experiences to improve care.News -
A new domestic abuse support service is set to launch in Devon.News -
Following the announcement last month that the government had agreed a new one-year contract with GPs, Healthwatch can bring you more details of what the changes mean to patient care from 1 April.News -
Good social care can make a big difference to someone's life. But are people always receiving the help they need? Find out what our research and feedback tells us and how we think social care support could be improved.News -
Want to find out more about heart health? Join Naing KoKo, consultant cardiologist, at a free health talk on Tuesday 29 April 2025, from 5.30pm-6.30pm at TREC, Torbay Hospital (or online).News -
Dr Joanna Bircher is now a member of the Healthwatch England Committee.News -
The NHS Peninsula Cancer Alliance and Macmillan Cancer Support are undertaking a survey to understand how cancer affects the feelings and emotions of patients, their families, and/or carers.News -
More than 40,000 patients in Devon eligible for the COVID –19 vaccination this Spring have been vaccinated in the first week of the campaign.
News -
The NHS in Devon is preparing for the start of the holiday season, as the first of many visitors start to arrive for the Easter weekend.News -
For the past three years, artist Helen Snell has worked with staff at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust to explore issues of wellbeing and burn out as they tried to recover from the pandemic.News -
The southwest’s major trauma centre and acute specialist hospital at Derriford will benefit from a new, state-of-the-art Emergency Care Building after the Department of Health and Social Care rubber-stamped funding for the project.News -
Working with Royal Mail, NHS and patient organisations, our national partners Healthwatch England have written an open letter to Ofcom highlighting the introduction of new protections to ensure reliable and efficient postal service for NHS patients.News -
New research from our national partners Healthwatch England reveals costs of additional eye care services are likely to deter some people from visiting opticians altogether.News -
Peninsula Imaging Network (PenRAD) has launched an AI-powered chest CT service across four NHS trusts in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to help detect lung cancer quicker.News -
The Government launched a call for evidence to inform the development of a men's health strategy for England. Share your views by 17 July 2025.News -
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust is pleased to announce the reopening of its newly refurbished St Edmunds community site in Torquay.News -
To help us get ahead of lung cancer, screening is currently being rolled out across Torbay and South Devon and is available for people aged 55-74 years old who have ever smoked and are registered with a participating GP practice in the area.News -
NHS prescription charges in England will be frozen for the first time in 3 years, keeping the cost of a prescription below ten pounds.News -
Last week the House of Commons Health and Care Select committee has published its report Adult Social Care Reform: The Cost of Inaction.News -
NHS England has published a national specification and clinical guidelines to support the goal of delivering 700,000 extra urgent NHS dental appointments during 2025-26.News -
Ahead of the bank holiday weekend, the advice is to:
• Order and collect any repeat medicines
• Make sure your medicine cabinet is well-stocked
• Make use of community pharmacies
• Look after yourselves and loved ones - check in on vulnerable family members and neighbours.
News -
New poll of 2,579 adults from our national partners Healthwatch England highlights that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis can change people’s lives. Yet long waits for assessments put people with suspected ADHD off seeking professional care. Read more from Healthwatch England below.News -
Inpatient and community children’s services run by Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as good by the Care Quality Commission following unannounced inspections last year.News -
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust have confirmed that they have secured £7.3million from the estates safety fund to reduce their critical infrastructure risks at Torbay Hospital, helping to prevent cancelled appointments and operations.News -
The Torbay Health and Wellbeing Voluntary Sector Network has released its second annual report showcasing an “extraordinary year of community collaboration, impact, and resilience in the face of ongoing economic and social challenges”.Report -
In October 2023, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust’s (UHP) Royal Eye Infirmary (REI) service moved from its location at Derriford Hospital to a new purpose-built building in the International Business Park near to the Derriford Hospital Site. Earlier this year Healthwatch Plymouth (HWP) conducted visits to the REI to engage with patients around their experiences of the new facility. This engagement report collates and summarises this patient feedback.Report -
On this page is our national partner Healthwatch England’s pharmacy closures briefing report, after they sent a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to all 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England to investigate the issue of pharmacy closures. Read a brief summary of the key findings and recommendations for healthcare leaders below.Report -
Our national partner Healthwatch England’s report unpacks women’s experiences of cervical screening and sets our recommendations for healthcare leaders.
A summary of the report is below. You can download the full report and a large print version further down this page.Report -
Healthwatch England’s research unpacks people’s experiences of using Community Diagnostic Centres and lessons for expanding community-based care.Report -
This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.Report -
This report describes the wide range of engagement, representation and impact undertaken by Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay in 12 months from April 2023 to March 2024. A brief summary is further down this page.Report -
This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and TorbayReport -
This report details our key activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and TorbayReport -
Our report on Patient Experiences of Pharmacy Services, detailing a total of 141 experiences about Pharmacy Services across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay during the 18-month period. Issues raised by those surveyed include medication delays and supply problems that affect the prescription/repeat prescription service, patients not knowing when their medications are ready for collection, and phone calls going unanswered. We have shared the report and its findings with NHS stakeholders in Devon and made key recommendations for them.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and TorbayReport -
This report details our key Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay activities for the last quarter, including how we have engaged with the public, a summary of the feedback we have collected, our reports, recommendations and any outcomes or impact made.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and TorbayReport -
In the Spring and Summer of 2023, independent consumer champion Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay (HWDPT) were commissioned by NHS Devon to visit Emergency Departments (EDs) across Devon’s four Acute Hospital sites to speak to patients to better understand what informed and influenced their decision to attend ED. 511 people conversed with HWDPT during 34 visits at various times and days, which included daytime, evenings and weekends.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and TorbayReport -
Healthwatch England report examining ten key areas of care, including GPs, dentists, hospitals, and social care. It is based on more than 65 thousand experiences recorded from all local Healthwatch organisations across the country – including from us here at Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay. It also includes recommendations and potential solutions for the NHSE, commissioners and service providers.Report -
This report describes the wide range of engagement, representation and impact undertaken by Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay over the past year.
By Healthwatch in Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay