Making a Difference Where It Matters: The Power of Our Independence - Annual Report 2025/26
As we continue to work to shape the way the NHS and social care services listen to people in future, we’ve taken this opportunity to look back and mark some of our biggest achievements.
“Since 2021, a staggering 247,292 people have come to us for advice and information. This includes 32,458 people who have shared their experiences with us and 2,262 people who we have helped through signposting.
In the past five years, we have published 38 reports, made 295 recommendations and influenced the work of 40 organisations.
This past year alone, 35,842 people came to us for clear advice and information and 3,196 people shared their experiences of health and social care services. We raised their concerns at more than 200 meetings with health and care leaders and made 71 research-based recommendations about services. We also spent more than 450 hours signposting and took 562 people’s concerns directly to those who provide services.
Our commitment to tackling the big issues that matter to local people, helping to make care fairer and ensuring that communities are involved in improving services is unwavering. People need us to help the health and care system hear their voices, and the system needs us to help it make effective use of what it hears.”
— Ivana Chalmers, CEO Healthwatch Hertfordshire
Spotlight on our impact:
We listen to your voices, so we can champion for real change in health and social care. Your experiences help improve access to services for everyone.
Here are some examples of what we have achieved in the past year:
People’s Voices, Local Choices
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1,700 people completed our survey about health and social care in Hertfordshire. It highlighted that people with long-term conditions and neurodiversity reported worse health outcomes and experiences. Also, that access and availability of healthcare services needed to improve.
Hertfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board accepted our recommendations, which are being used to shape forward plans, increase accountability and develop actions.
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We heard from refugees and asylum seekers, a group that faces significant health inequalities.
Hertfordshire County Council has taken our recommendations seriously and is acting to improve services.
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Older residents told us they were eager to live well in older age and asked for more support and information from their GPs and the Council.
We made recommendations to the local NHS, social care providers and relevant organisations about better ways to help older people and communicate with them about reduced mobility and better health.
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We spoke to people who had received diagnoses of autism in adulthood. Our report showed that receiving support post-diagnosis was often very difficult.
Hertfordshire County Council has integrated our findings into its autism support program of action and committed to further engaging with this community.
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The Hertfordshire Armed Forces community explained the difficulties encountered in accessing health and social care.
We made numerous recommendations to improve provision for the armed forces community. We asked local health and care providers to ensure patient records recognise members of the armed forces community and that these are kept updated. We also said they should ensure that priority treatment is available to those eligible.
Drugs and alcohol support services
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Our work has enabled us to make numerous recommendations which are actively shaping service provision, including a campaign aimed at breaking the stigma around drug and alcohol use.
Stigma can lead to people being unable to get the support and help they need, so our work aimed to help increase awareness that drug and/or alcohol dependence is not a choice - it is a health condition.
Deaf Community
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To better understand the difficulties faced by deaf British Sign Language users when accessing healthcare, we supported Hertfordshire Hearing Advisory Service, Communities 1st and Gobby in a community-based engagement project.
Through this project we are helping to amplify the voices of deaf people, promote inclusive healthcare practices and strengthen the understanding between healthcare providers and the deaf community.
- This project led to recommendations to improve services for the public, such as widening awareness about the help pharmacies can offer, increasing confidence in pharmacist expertise and improving accessibility for all. We will be monitoring progress in responding to these.
Downloads
Read our full Annual Report 2025-26 here.
