Our Response to the NHS 10-Year Plan and Future of Local Healthwatch
Healthwatch Nottingham and Nottinghamshire shares the deep concern expressed by colleagues across the country in response to the government’s newly published NHS 10-Year Plan, which outlines proposals to abolish Healthwatch England and dismantle the national and local Healthwatch network.
As our Chair, Sarah Collis, has said:
“We are deeply concerned by the what the NHS 10-Year Plan contains in that Healthwatch England and the local network including our own organisation are to be abolished and responsibility for patient voice taken ‘in house’ split between Integrated Care Boards and Local Authorities.
I wish to reassure the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire that whilst this news creates uncertainty, Healthwatch Nottingham and Nottinghamshire is not closing, nor are we deterred to continue to listen to and amplify the experience of local people to improve our health and care services. As an independent charity, Healthwatch Nottingham and Nottinghamshire delivers statutory functions empowering us to be the ‘independent’ consumer champion of users of NHS and social care services. Our independence and deep knowledge of the impact of health inequalities is valued, by providers, commissioners and the thousands of individuals and members of our communities who we have listened to and deeply heard.”
We echo the concerns raised by other local Healthwatch organisations around the country:
- The loss of independent scrutiny is a serious risk. Our independence enables us to speak truth to power, challenge decisions, and highlight when health and care services are not meeting people's needs — especially for those most marginalised.
- “Bringing voice in-house” risks silencing it. Transferring the statutory duty to hear and act on patient voice into the very bodies responsible for service delivery—like ICBs or local authorities—creates a real conflict of interest.
- Communities deserve more, not less. Over the last decade, we have heard from thousands of people across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Their experiences have shaped local services, held providers to account, and exposed deep health inequalities that would otherwise remain invisible.
We are proud to be a trusted, local, independent voice. This independence is not a luxury — it is essential to fulfilling our statutory function. Any move to reduce or dilute that role would be a step backward for transparency, accountability, and people’s right to influence the services they use.
We acknowledge that change is coming — but change must be meaningful, co-produced, and rooted in equity and lived experience, not political expediency.
“We are not afraid of reform,” Sarah Collis continues. “We welcome the opportunity to elevate the discussion on Voice in our health and care system. What we ask in any legislative changes is that the voices of people affected by health inequity are respected and translated into stronger influence and power.”
We urge local decision-makers — especially within the NHS and local authorities — to stand with us in defending the principle of an independent patient voice.
And to our communities: We are still here. We are still listening. And we will continue to make your voice count.
What’s Next?
- The government’s proposals will require legislation, which takes time.
- In the meantime, we remain operational and active, delivering our statutory duties and advocating for people across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
- We will engage locally and nationally to influence any new model, ensuring that independence, equity, and community power are at its heart.
