News and reports

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees recently engaged with the public to seek their views and experiences of drug and alcohol services across the Borough - what they think is working well, what could be improved, and what could help them to access services in a meaningful way.

Healthwatch England CEO Louise Ansari has responded to a new report from the Nuffield Trust, which warns of “worrying shortages” of key medications following pandemic lockdowns and Brexit.

Recently, North Tees & Hartlepool and South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts formally came together to work as partners. This is an exciting opportunity for the two Trusts to work together to strengthen their collaborative offer of patient care.

On Wednesday 21st February 2024 we held our 2023-2024 Annual Event at the River Tees Water Sports Centre in Stockton-on-Tees.

The focus of the day was to help to plan for our future priorities and support the Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees Executive Board to determine our workplan for 2024-2025.

Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board (TSAB) has launched a new webpage titled 'Working with Autistic Adults' to coincide with World Autism Acceptance Week.

We would like to hear your thoughts on the new Pharmacy First service which was launched on 31st January 2024, if the service is working well or what issues you may be experiencing in local pharmacies across Stockton-on-Tees.

Healthwatch organisations across the Tees Valley worked in partnership with North East and North Cumbria NHS to find out the needs of those aged 40+ with a learning disability, to improve the planning process for when families can no longer support their family member to stay at home.

The Healthwatch network in the North East and North Cumbria are working with the ICB to gather evidence about access to dental care services.

As part of this work, local Healthwatch across North East & North Cumbria undertook a mystery shopping exercise to get a real time understanding of what is being said to people and to understand their experiences of dentists across the region.

The mystery shopping exercise involved phoning dental practices, enquiring about a specific dental care scenario and reporting the results centrally for a regional overview.

CGL Stockton Recovery Service & Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust are offering new Dual Diagnosis drop-in sessions to support clients with their mental health and offer access to substance treatment services, information and advice.

You can find out the opening hours for pharmacies across the Tees Valley for the Easter holidays below.

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees worked with Larissa Bennett, a Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees Champion and ADHD Peer Support Group Lead to support the review of local ADHD services through the views and experiences of people accessing or requiring ADHD support services.

Healthwatch England's 2022-23 annual report shares the value that the public's voices bring to health and social care services. Read about Healthwatch England's work and the next steps they plan to take.