Qurexa Logo
Qurexa

Trust. Care. Deliver.

Back to Blog & Insights
Health

Around 150 local branches were going to be abolished. Today the government changed its mind

Qurexa Editorial Team28 October 20267 min read 0 0
Around 150 local branches were going to be abolished. Today the government changed its mind

What happened

On Wednesday 28 October 2026, the government confirmed that Healthwatch England and the network of local Healthwatch organisations will be kept after all. Healthwatch is the independent body that collects what the public says about using health and social care, and passes it to the people who run those services. There are around 150 local Healthwatch organisations across England, one covering each local authority area. Until today, they were due to be abolished. The NHS Modernisation Bill contained provisions to close Healthwatch England and the local organisations, and move their work to the Department of Health and Social Care, to integrated care boards, and to local councils. Integrated care boards, often shortened to ICBs, are the bodies that plan and buy NHS services in each area. Those provisions are now being withdrawn. The Health Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: "Patients need a voice in our NHS." She confirmed: "We will retain both Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch." The government says both will be strengthened rather than simply left as they are. Healthcare Leader reports that the change was confirmed by a Department of Health and Social Care minister, Gillian Merron, during debates on the bill in the House of Lords. Chris McCann, acting chief executive of Healthwatch England, welcomed the decision. He said it matters that people have "an independent organisation they can turn to for advice, advocacy and representation", and that the aim is making sure "the voices of patients, families and carers are heard clearly and acted upon".

Why this matters

Most people have never heard of Healthwatch. That is fair enough. But if you have ever been sent to the wrong clinic, waited months for a letter that never came, or found that nobody would explain why your medicine had changed, Healthwatch is the part of the system whose job is to collect that and do something with it. It does two things. It takes individual accounts of care, and it turns large numbers of them into reports that services and regulators are expected to respond to. It is also meant to be independent of the NHS organisations it comments on. That independence is why the original plan worried so many people. Under it, the job of listening to patients would have moved to the Department of Health and Social Care, to integrated care boards, and to councils. Those are, in large part, the very organisations that patients complain about. Asking them to collect and act on criticism of themselves is a difficult arrangement to make work. The reversal came after sustained objections from charities, local Healthwatch staff and NHS think tanks. Local coverage has described it as a reprieve after an outcry. Stephen Bitti, chief executive of New Dialogue, which hosts Healthwatch Kingston, said: "This welcome news reflects the importance of putting local voices at the heart of services." For patients, the practical effect is simple. The route you can already use to raise a concern or share an experience is not closing. It stays open.

What the evidence actually says

It would be easy to report this as a straightforward win. The people who know the system best are more measured than that. Thea Stein, chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, summed the original plan up in one line: "It was the wrong solution to a real problem." The real problem is worth naming, because it has not gone away. Hugh Alderwick, director of policy and research at the Health Foundation, said the NHS "has a mixed record of listening to patients", and that Healthwatch's own impact has been "hampered by budget cuts and a power imbalance with the NHS". In other words, the body survived today, but the things that limited what it could achieve are still in place. There is also a lot that today's announcement does not settle. It has not been explained how Healthwatch's legal status and its independence will be written into the final bill. There is no detail yet on what powers it will have, how much money it will get, or when any of the promised strengthening will happen. Reporting on the day noted all three gaps. So the honest summary is this. A plan that would have removed an independent channel for patient feedback has been dropped, which most people working in this area think is the right call. Whether Healthwatch ends up more effective than it was depends on decisions that have not been made yet.

Qurexa perspective

We deliver prescriptions and groceries in Lincolnshire, and we help people keep on top of taking their medicines. The problems we hear about are rarely dramatic. A repeat prescription that keeps arriving short. A change nobody explained. A pharmacy that closed and a replacement that is two bus rides away. Those are exactly the things that sound too small to report, and that only matter when you add them up across a county. That adding up is the job Healthwatch does, and it is why we think today's decision is worth knowing about even though nothing about your care changes this week. If something in your own care is not working, the simplest first step is still to raise it with the people providing it. If that does not get you anywhere, Healthwatch is there, and it is free.

Practical advice

If you want to use Healthwatch, here is how. Go to healthwatch.co.uk and use "Find your local Healthwatch" to pick your local authority area. That gives you the organisation covering where you live. To share an experience of care, good or bad, use the "Give feedback" option on that site. Healthwatch says it takes about three minutes. You do not need to have made a formal complaint first, and you can do it about any NHS or social care service. Healthwatch can also point you towards help. Local Healthwatch offer information and signposting, and some provide or arrange advocacy, which means someone to help you put your case. For a formal complaint about NHS care in England, you have two routes. You can complain directly to the service, usually through its Patient Advice and Liaison Service, often shortened to PALS. Or you can complain to the body that commissioned the service. If you are not satisfied with the answer, you can take it to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. Do not wait on principle. Raising something early, while the details are fresh and records are easy to find, usually gets a better answer than raising it months later.

What to know

On 28 October 2026, the government confirmed that Healthwatch England and the roughly 150 local Healthwatch organisations in England will be retained and strengthened, rather than abolished. The provisions in the NHS Modernisation Bill that would have closed them, and moved their functions to the Department of Health and Social Care, integrated care boards and local councils, are being withdrawn. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said patients need a voice in the NHS and that both Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch would be retained. Healthwatch England's acting chief executive, Chris McCann, welcomed the decision. The Nuffield Trust called the original plan "the wrong solution to a real problem", and the Health Foundation pointed out that Healthwatch's effectiveness has long been limited by budget cuts and by its weak position relative to the NHS. Today's announcement did not set out Healthwatch's future legal status, powers, funding or a timetable. For patients, nothing changes immediately, and the existing route for raising concerns stays open. You can find your local Healthwatch and share an experience of care at healthwatch.co.uk. For a formal complaint about NHS care, start with the service itself, usually via PALS, and escalate to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman if you are not satisfied. Sources: Healthcare Leader, "Government scraps plans to abolish Healthwatch", 28 October 2026, https://healthcareleadernews.com/news/government-scraps-plans-to-abolish-healthwatch/ — The Carer, "Healthwatch England and Local Healthwatch Organisations To Be Retained", 28 October 2026, https://thecareruk.com/healthwatch-england-and-local-healthwatch-organisations-to-be-retained/ — Healthwatch Kingston, "Local Healthwatch to be retained", 28 October 2026, https://www.healthwatchkingston.org.uk/news/2026-10-28/local-healthwatch-be-retained — Brighton and Hove News, "Health watchdog bosses welcome reprieve after outcry", 28 October 2026, https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2026/10/28/health-watchdog-bosses-welcome-reprieve-after-outcry/ — Healthwatch England, https://www.healthwatch.co.uk/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. It describes a change to government policy, not a change to your own care. If you have concerns about your treatment or your medicines, speak to your GP practice or your pharmacist first.

#Healthwatch#patient voice#NHS policy#NHS complaints#NHS Modernisation Bill#patient advocacy

Related articles