Visiting Services

Our powers to Enter & View allow us to visit health and social care services to find out what care is like for people.

We'll talk to people who use services, their family, carers, and staff, to help us understand what care is like.

About our visits

We use what people tell us and what we know about local services to decide which services to visit. 

We can do either an announced visit - where the provider knows we are coming - or an unannounced visit.

We also do announced/unannounced visits - where we give an approximate time period when we will visit, but not the specific date e.g. month of September.

We always have the right to do an unannounced visit, if we think this is the best way to find out what care is like for people.

After the visit

After our visit we will write and publish a report. We will share this with the people who make decisions about the service we have visited.

We also work with service providers to help them make positive changes based on our recommendations. 

Our reports are published on our website, and include the service’s response to our recommendations. You can find and read our reports below.

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic we have paused our Enter & View activity until further notice.

Meet our Authorised Representatives

Our Enter & View staff have an Enhanced DBS check and are trained to a high standard.  

They will wear an official badge to identify them when they are visiting a place for us. This includes their name and the date their badges are valid until.

Meet the Team

Enter and View Policy

Pad of paper on desk with pen and pencil on top

Our Enter & View work is done using legal powers given to us by the act of parliament that set up Healthwatch. 

We have a duty to write reports and make recommendations to improve services. 

Find out more