About this resource 

We aim to use our research and engagement findings to improve people’s experiences of care.  

To do this, we need to develop effective recommendations in partnership with the right people to increase the chances of services acting on them.   

This guide will help you to consider the crucial elements behind developing successful recommendations, including:  

• What to think about at the start of a project 
• When to work with stakeholders and people  
• How to keep pressure on services once you have finalised your recommendations  

We have also included tips to help your recommendations stick and what to do when health and care decision-makers cannot put them in place locally.  

About this resource 

This guidance discusses how to structure and write a compelling Healthwatch report.  

While reports can vary significantly in their content, length, and purpose, you should follow some essential guidelines writing a report to keep them well structured. 

This guide takes you through the four areas your report must cover: 

• The background to your research or engagement project 
• The methodology of your research  
• The findings of your research 
• Any actions that are required as a result of your work.

The guide discusses each step in detail and includes: 

• How to begin your report, including choosing a title and writing a summary 
• What to include in your introduction 
• How to cover any demographic findings 
• How to report your findings, including different ways of presenting qualitative and quantitative data 
• Top tips for presenting recommendations 
• How to finish your report 

We have also developed a report template which you can download and edit. 

Background

Every organisation should have a risk and crisis communication plan in place. Anything that could affect your organisation’s profile or stall business continuity, from financial loss to staff misconduct, is an example of a risk that warrants communication with stakeholders and/ or the public.

While communication plans will differ depending on the type of risk you're dealing with, this resource brings together some common steps that will help you deliver an effective response and protect your public profile. 

Do you have a question?

If you want to discuss risk and crisis communications, do get in touch with the Network Development Team at Healthwatch England either your Regional Manager or Campaigns and Central Region Manager Chris Gorman via chris.gorman@healthwatch.co.uk.

The Health and Care Bill, introduced into Parliament on 6 July, makes some significant changes to how NHS services are planned and commissioned, including reversing some of the changes made in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. In our guidance we take you through the six parts of the bill and what the changes will mean for local Healthwatch, including:

• How the views of local people will be heard by integrated care systems
• The increased powers of the Secretary of State

This step-by-step guide will help you focus on your project objectives, plan your activity and communicate and evaluate your successes as a team. 

The project checklist will show you how to:

•    Create a robust prioritization process
•    Provide structure to your planning
•    Plan your outcomes and proposed impact at the start of your project
•    Provide handy tips and tricks to help you deliver on your projects

We offered grants to local Healthwatch to produce guides on how to replicate and adapt engagement approaches that have worked well for them. Thank you to Healthwatch Rotherham, who produced this guide on how to engage with refugees and asylum seekers.

Why use this guide

This guide will help you overcome the challenges of engaging with refugees and asylum seekers and help you break down barriers which are essential to improving health and wellbeing. 

Read the six key principles to drive good practice, as well as the methodology Healthwatch Rotherham have successfully used when engaging with local refugees and asylum seekers about the COVID-19 vaccine. 

We offered grants to local Healthwatch to produce guides on how to replicate and adapt engagement approaches that have worked well for them. Thank you to Healthwatch Darlington, who produced this guide on how to run engagement events using Facebook live.

Why use this guide

This guide will talk you through the benefits you broadcasting on Facebook as well as the things you need to consider and planning steps you need to carry out before you go live for the first time. 

We offered grants to local Healthwatch to produce guides on how to replicate and adapt engagement approaches that have worked well for them. Thank you to Healthwatch Camden, who produced this guide on how to partner with GP surgeries to use text messaging to reach the public. 

Why use this guide

Learn when this method of digital engagement is appropriate, the difference this approach can make and how Healthwatch Camden successfully used this method during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthwatch Camden have also included a step by step guide of the process together with their top tips for success. 

Since March 2020 local Healthwatch have followed government guidance and have stopped face to face engagement with the public, including Enter and View visits.  Many have started to consider other ways to observe health and care services and developed the term ‘virtual visits’.

These cannot be referred to as Enter and View but are a useful engagement tool at this time. 

Working with Healthwatch Doncaster and Healthwatch Newham and considering examples that have been shared on Workplace, we have produced this list of things you may want to consider when planning your own virtual visits.

Why use this guide? 

This guide aims to help you to: 

• Plan a virtual visit
• Support volunteers to take part
• Work with providers
• Think about technology

It is essential that we engage with all people that make up our communities to ensure health and social care services work for everyone.

This guidance sets out how to conduct research with people that often go unheard, including tips on how to talk to people who are under-represented in Healthwatch research. 

It also features examples of how local Healthwatch have engaged seldom heard communities, which you can apply to your own research projects.