Running an effective Healthwatch

Members of the public contact Healthwatch for advice and information about health and social care services. You might receive calls from people in distress, who could be at risk to themselves or others, or where there might be a safeguarding concern. We have a duty of care to keep the person safe, while getting them the help they need.

Note: this course will discuss suicide.

This session led by Healthwatch Bucks will help you to manage these types of calls

Type of event

Interactive learning session to small audience

Members of the public contact Healthwatch for advice and information about health and social care services. These calls can be complex and at times you may find some or all parts of a call challenging. Find out how to best manage difficult calls in this session led by Healthwatch Bucks.

Type of event

Interactive learning session to small audience. Please come prepared to share examples from your own experience and support your colleagues. Joining in with your camera on will be appreciated.

This session will take you through our visual brand, the key ingredients of using visual design to engage your audiences and how to apply this in your work.

Type of event

Interactive learning session to large audience with time to ask questions.

Who is this event for?

This event is for Healthwatch staff and volunteers involved in communications.

What you will learn?

This session will help you know how to write engaging and accessible content for your website.

Type of event

Interactive learning session where you will be asked to participate in some exercises to help boost your knowledge and understanding. Joining in will be appreciated.

Who is this event for?

This event is for Healthwatch staff or volunteers who write content for their website or are involving in maintaining their website.

This session will help you to better support your personal wellbeing and resilience and will be useful to Healthwatch staff who provide information and signposting to the public. It will be helpful to anyone who gathers views from the public and hears experiences of health and social care services.

Type of event

Small group workshop with active participation.

Having your camera on and joining in with the discussions will be appreciated by the trainer and help you and the rest of the group get the most benefit from the session.

Listening skills are essential for Healthwatch staff and volunteers. They are also important for engagement staff and volunteers who speak to members of the public to gather experiences of using health and care services.

This session will show you new approaches on how to better listen to people, which will build your confidence and skills and support your information and signposting, and engagement activities.

Type of event

Small group workshop with active participation.

Listening skills are essential for Healthwatch staff and volunteers. They are also important for engagement staff and volunteers who speak to members of the public to gather experiences of using health and care services.

This session will show you new approaches on how to better listen to people, which will build your confidence and skills and support your information and signposting, and engagement activities.

Type of event

Small group workshop with active participation.

The Engagement Leads Network is an opportunity for anyone involved in Healthwatch engagement to learn from each other and share good practice.

The topic for this meeting is ‘living our values in our engagement work and strategies’.

We’ll talk you through how to make the most of your social media and email marketing.  

Type of event

Interactive learning session to large audience, with time to ask questions.   

Who is this event for?

This session is for anyone involved in their Healthwatch’s social media strategy, social media content or creating email marketing.  

What you will learn?

In this session you will:  

The Engagement Leads Network is an opportunity for anyone involved in Healthwatch engagement to learn from each other and share good practice.

The topic for this meeting is ‘making the most of community networking opportunities’.

Healthwatch Darlington will share their approach to community networking and showcase the mental health network that they have set up and now receive funding to host. They will lead a discussion on how we can identify opportunities and develop them to give more people a voice and make a difference.