1. Someone I love has died - where can I find support

    Advice and Information -

    Take a look at our advice article on the organisations and groups that can support you if you’re grieving.

  2. What is domestic abuse and how can I get support?

    Advice and Information -

    If you are experiencing or feel at risk of domestic abuse, or are worried about someone who might be, find out where you can go for advice and help.

  3. Getting the most out of the virtual health and care experience

    Advice and Information -

    With more and more appointments happening online, we've put together some tips on how to get the most out of the virtual health and care appointments both for patients and health and care professionals.

  4. What support can I get as a carer?

    Advice and Information -

    Many people who provide unpaid care are unaware of their rights. Find out more about the help and support you are entitled to.

  5. How to look after your mental health while self-isolating with COVID-19

    Advice and Information -

    The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may cause you to feel worried, anxious, or scared. Read our tips to looking after your wellbeing when self-isolating.

  6. Young Healthwatch Report

    Report -

    Young Healthwatch is a network of volunteers aged 14-25 who represent the views of children and young people living, working or studying Westminster. This report details the review of services from a young persons perspective.

  7. Annual Report 2019-20

    Report -

    This report details our staff and volunteers’ response to the Covid-19 crisis so far. It is clear from our findings that COVID-19 has affected people in different ways and exacerbated existing health inequalities.

  8. Your Experience Matters: Responses from Black Asian and minority residents

    Report -

    The COVID-19: Your Experience Matters survey was developed to capture the broadest range of experiences: in this report, we look at physical health and access to services; mental health and wellbeing; personal and family relationships; housing, environment and finances; and information.

  9. Healthwatch Central West London is changing!

    News -

    Over the last nine years, Healthwatch Central West London (CWL) has delivered the Healthwatch function across Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. As with most publicly funded contracts, these are put out to tender by the Local Authority on a regular basis, and potential providers are invited to apply.

  10. An update on COVID-19 vaccinations for children

    News -

    The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. It gives you the best protection against COVID-19. Although COVID-19 is often mild in children, it can make some children unwell.

  11. Report shines a light on possibilities for future mental health provision in Westminster

    News -

    The Voice Exchange was a project we ran throughout 2021. Commissioned by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, the project focused on speaking with people in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea, to explore how mental health services in the bi-borough could look in the future.

  12. Listening to what’s important to young care leavers

    News -

    Following an email exchange with the group lead, our Youth Engagement Manager, attended Westminster Council’s ‘Tuesday Group’ in March to run an engagement workshop that would start discussions with young care leavers.

  13. Community events to mark the five year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower Fire

    News -

    Today marks the five year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire. This is an important day for our community and many local groups have organised events of commemoration and remembrance.

  14. How well are dental health services working for care home residents?

    News -

    We have been carrying out engagement with care home residents, their family and friends, and staff across Westminster to find out how well dental care services are working for residents. Our engagement found mixed results.

  15. Survey: Shape the future of pharmacies

    News -

    NHS England use a technical document called The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment to make decisions about applications to open new pharmacies or to change their locations within Kensington and Chelsea. A public survey has recently been launched to find out what local residents in Kensington & Chelsea think of local pharmacy services.

  16. The connection between young people and local GP practices: Young Healthwatch volunteers investigate…

    News -

    Findings from our young people’s survey highlight a distinct lack of connection between young people and their GP practices (Primary Care) in a time when they need it more than ever.

  17. How you can influence decisions about the range, shape, and quality of services provided by your GP practice

    News -

    If you are a patient or carer in any of the wards across Westminster or Kensington & Chelsea and are registered to a local GP, then the good news is you can join your GP practice Patient Participation Group (PPG).

  18. Thank you to everyone who attended our virtual Annual Meeting

    News -

    Last week we were excited to host our first virtual Annual Meeting.
    We brought together over 80 Healthwatch Central West London members, stakeholders, volunteers, staff, trustees, external colleagues and local people to present our annual report and showcase our work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though we could not meet in person, we had a fantastic turnout, and it was great to see so many familiar faces.

  19. What have we learnt from recent engagement work on COVID-19?

    News -

    We have published a COVID-19 insight report in collaboration with Breathe Easy Westminster. The report highlights the impact of COVID-19 on those living with a long-term respiratory condition.

  20. Your experience matters: how have you been affected by the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak?

    News -

    This week we have launched an updated version of our survey Coronavirus: Your Experience Matters.

  21. Improving public health messaging: what we have learnt from recent engagement work

    News -

    At the moment, awareness of public health messaging is particularly important. A key part of our role at Healthwatch Central West London is raising awareness of Government and NHS public health messaging and working to ensure these messages are available to everybody.

  22. How the pandemic is changing the training we offer

    News -

    The way we carry out our work has changed substantially over the past eight months. We are not in the office anymore and have not been since March.

  23. Learning lessons from the lock down: how we use technology

    News -

    As we adapt to living with COVID-19 long-term, technology has become increasingly central to how many of us communicate. With opportunities for face-to-face interaction limited, technology like video calling software has provided somewhat of an alternative. From doctors’ appointments to family catch-ups, how we communicate, receive information, and interact with others has changed considerably.

  24. Disability Confident Employer

    News -

    We are pleased to announce that we are an accredited Disability Confident Employer.

  25. Your Experience Matters Survey – experiences of people identifying as Black Asian and minority ethnic residents - latest findings

    News -

    We have surveyed people about how they have been affected by COVID-19. We wanted to highlight the experiences of those who responded to our survey who identified as being from a minority ethnic group.

  26. The latest update documents from our COVID-19 engagement

    News -

    We have been asking you to tell us how COVID-19 has affected you and your loved ones.
    We all know by now that there is much more to the impact of this pandemic than catching COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

  27. We’re on a mission to reach residents who are not online

    News -

    The most important part of our work is listening to local experiences of health and social care. It influences the information we publish, the resources we produce, and the recommendations that we share with local NHS providers. We want to reach more people who do not have digital access: this means email, social media, and even this website you’re looking at right now.

  28. PPGs are responding to Coronavirus outbreak

    News -

    During the Coronavirus outbreak, many PPGs suspended their activities allowing practice staff to focus on health emergency. However, most proactive PPGs continued working and were creative in their approach.

  29. How do you feel about visiting GP surgeries, as lockdown eases?

    News -

    The Patients Association is currently carrying out a survey to find out how patients feel about visiting GP surgeries as lockdown eases.

  30. Q&A Discussion: your experiences and recommendations for mental health services

    News -

    We want to speak to local users of NHS mental health services in Central North West London about how local care can address their protected characteristics.

  31. Young people’s experiences of mental health before and during the COVID-19 outbreak

    News -

    The latest results from Young Healthwatch’s ongoing survey with young people in London is here: YHW Mental Health Survey Final.
    When we first began reaching out to young people in 2019 (between the ages of 14 and 25) who were living, working or studying in Westminster, we wanted them to tell us about the health and social care issues that mattered the most to them.

  32. Creative resilience workshops for young Londoners

    News -

    Join a series of online workshops facilitated by The Fandangoe Kid, a Hackney-based print artist, to explore challenges and issues facing young people.

  33. Call NHS 111 before turning up to your local A&E

    News -

    The pre-booking process, using the NHS’s triage line, will allow A&E departments to be managed more efficiently and reduce waiting times. The NHS is to pilot a “call first” model of Accident & Emergency which could be rolled out across the country, health chiefs have said, as reported in The Telegraph.

  34. Our 2020 Annual Report has landed

    News -

    Our Annual Report is here!

  35. What multi ethnic communities say about COVID-19 and the response to the pandemic

    News -

    Your Experience Matters
    In April this year, we launched Your Experience Matters, our most comprehensive survey to date, in which we asked residents to share their experiences of the COVID-19 outbreak.

  36. Insights from Black Asian and ethnic minority communities: community wellbeing and primary care services

    News -

    We are pleased to share our latest report, Insights from BAME Communities in Central West London 2020, which presents the views of 73 individuals from BAME communities, who we held focus groups with, in partnership with BME Health Forum, last year.

  37. Small Grants awarded to five organisations

    News -

    In January, we launched our first ever small grants project.

  38. What is monkeypox and what are the symptoms?

    Advice and Information -

    The UK Health Security (UKHSA) is investigating a number of cases of Monkeypox in England. UKHSA is rapidly investigating the source of these infections because the evidence suggests that there may be transmission of the Monkeypox virus in the community, spread by close contact.

  39. Why get involved?

    Advice and Information -

    If you have an hour to spare or you’re looking for a longer-term role as a volunteer, we offer a wide range of ways to get involved, from representing us at events, circulating surveys, or assessing the delivery of local health and care services.

  40. Join us as a Community Listener Volunteer

    News -

    Help to improve local health and social care services and record what people say about the services they use.

  41. Complaints process

    Report -

    Our complaints process outlines how to make a complaint about us and our approach to making sure complaints are resolved.
    We aim to provide the best possible service, but we do not always get it right.

  42. How can Healthwatch Westminster make a difference? Our priorities for 2022-23

    News -

    We've been working with our volunteers to put together a set of priorities, focusing on the issues that matter most to you.

  43. What do you think about the London Ambulance Service?

    News -

    Share your views to improve urgent and emergency care – it only takes a few minutes.