Commissioning an effective local Healthwatch
Read this update to our guide on how to commission an effective Healthwatch.
English local authorities have a legal duty to commission local Healthwatch. Healthwatch England has a role to play in supporting local authorities with this function to make sure they understand their duty and learn from good practice. We do this through publishing a guide for commissioners and through individual support to them.
We have launched an update to our guide, following the enactment of the Health and Care Act 2022, and to reflect local authorities’ key learnings from their experience of over a decade of commissioning local Healthwatch.
About the commissioners' guide
The guide:
- explains the key statutory requirements relating to Healthwatch;
- outlines local authorities' role in commissioning local Healthwatch for their area;
- explains Healthwatch England’s role and how this relates to both local authorities and local Healthwatch;
- sets out how commissioners can use the Healthwatch Quality Framework to commission and monitor local Healthwatch;
- identifies ways that commissioners can set clear expectations on outcomes and impact to ensure their Healthwatch is effective;
- provides a checklist to support local authorities when developing a tender specification, contract or grant agreement.