Syndicated content feature: a national news solution for all those using our Healthwatch Drupal CMS platform
This new feature, launched in December 2024, facilitates the publication of advice and information articles by Healthwatch England on the local Healthwatch websites.
What is syndicated content?
We have developed a way to push our advice and information content to the local Healthwatch websites. The content is pushed to the local Healthwatch Drupal CMS template as unpublished content, so the owner can choose what to publish and whether to tailor the content to include local information as well.
To view the syndicated content feature, please login and select the 'Content' tab. In the ‘Content type’ list you will find ‘HWE advice and information’ content that you can edit and publish.
Please download the guideline below, for more details.
The goal of this project for Healthwatch England is:
- To distribute advice and information of national interest across the local network.
- To ensure the national advice and information we publish is timely and up to date e.g. national information on seasonal illnesses, diabetes, dentistry etc.
- To ensure our national advice and information is edited in one place and stays consistent.
- To ensure a good supply of content to the local 'Advice and Information' tab of any local Healthwatch website, which should increase our national reach.
- To reduce the need for duplicating content on local Healthwatch websites and the burden on local resources.
- To offer local Heathwatch the option to promote our national advice and information.
For more details please download the guidelines. If you have further questions about the syndicated content feature or to suggest improvements, please contact digital@healthwatch.co.uk.
Download the syndicated content guideline
Accessibility improvements to the template
Our Healthwatch Drupal CMS website template meets level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 (WCAG 2.2).
Our template is tested every 12 to 18 months by an independent company specialising in accessibility. Over this period we also collect user feedback from our network regarding template errors that impact accessibility. The results of the testing and the errors reported by the network feed into a list of improvements.
Currently, work has started on making a set of improvements to the template identified through testing and reporting.
Expected rollout date: January 2025
Network site improvements
The Healthwatch Network website is a critical platform that connects all Healthwatch organizations and serves as a valuable resource for information and collaboration.
To ensure its continued success and relevance, it is essential to implement a digital development plan of the website, in conjunction with the development of the newsletters and social media channels. This is part of the Network Development Team (NDT) strategic plan which the Digital Team supports.
The digital development plan has focused on improving the network website's performance, functionality, user experience, accessibility, content management and search functionality. It has involved key Healthwatch stakeholders, a Network Working Group, content owners, publishers, and developers.
The project has had the following milestones:
- Website migration from Drupal 7 to 10
- Website content review
- Internal consultation
- Local Healthwatch consultation
- Website development
- Relaunch
Project completion date: September 2024 - COMPLETE
Have Your Say
Our Have Your Say platform is now open for applicants; to be added to the list, please contact Digital@Healthwatch.co.uk.
What is Have Your Say (HYS) form?
The Have Your Say (HYS) form is a web form on our website that collects data directly from the public.
Legacy HYS form
We distribute this data collected to you via email as it arrives. This means that you must then transfer the data we supply from the email to your contacts solution. Due to security concerns, we cannot provide people's contact details through this process.
New HYS module
The new HYS module allows us to supply you with the contact details when they are submitted and when people consent for them to be shared with their local Healthwatch. We've also changed the way you access the data. Instead of an email, you can collect the data in bulk from our website in a CSV file and collect the contact details the same way.
HYS improvements
The HYS module project aims to streamline the process by reducing staff overheads by simplifying data handling, improving data portability, and including the ability for Healthwatch to access contact details where the submitting user supplies them. The new HYS module replaces the legacy HYS webform and distributes data to Healthwatch more securely.
Project objectives
- Greater data availability
The new solution improves how we make data available to you. It uses a CSV download on both the network site and National Data Store (NDS: where all Healthwatch data is stored when you share with Healthwatch England), and the data is viewable through an interface on the NDS. - Easy-to-use interfaces
We have worked hard to ensure the system interfaces are simple and easy to use without extensive training. - Self-service solution
The new solution is self-service. Once you have an account on the platforms, you can access it at any time. - New NDS Activity Page
The Activity page allows you to collect your HYS data easily and provides supporting information on your activity on our National Reports Library (NRL) and Data Sharing Platform (DSP). - Improved Have Your Say form
The updated Have Your Say form is more accessible for users. We have reduced the text on the form, making it smaller and less daunting and improving the user submission rate.
Project completion date: COMPLETE
Project rollout: LIVE