Setting up and running a successful Healthwatch service can be challenging but here you'll find a wealth of guidance to make it as straightforward as possible. 

Our central 'Guide to running a Healthwatch' explains the statutory requirements for Healthwatch and sets out good governance principles when it comes to delivering a Healthwatch service.

The guide aims to provide you with key areas of focus, recommended best practice, as well as links to other legislation and resources that you will need for your Healthwatch.

Other essential considerations are the basics of Healthwatch research activity, data processing and protection, the Healthwatch brand and Healthwatch decision-making processes.

Below you'll find further guidance which will help your Healthwatch be the best it possibly can.

Research and engagement

Want help with a research project? Or starting to plan your next project and not sure what help we can offer? Check out this comprehensive guide with details of all the ways we can help make your research planning, delivery and reporting easier.

Tips

Impact

Demonstrating the impact of Healthwatch activity has never been more important to ensure a sustainable service with strong local and national support.

We’ve developed a range of resources in collaboration with local Healthwatch to help you plan for impact, identify your achievements, and more strongly communicate your contribution to change.

You can find all our impact resources here.

Keep an eye on our learning and development calendar for our two introductory workshops, 'Starters for Impact' and 'Measuring Success'.

Our annual Healthwatch Impact Awards showcase what’s being achieved across the network. It’s never too soon to think about your next entry!

Volunteers

Volunteers are vital to the work of the Healthwatch network. 

Our Guide to Volunteering provides best practice advice on the recruitment, management and support of volunteers. There are template role descriptions

Our template Volunteer Handbook provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of Healthwatch volunteers and a summary of the policies and procedures that you should have in place to support your volunteers. 

We’ve got template volunteer role descriptions covering enter and view and research volunteers and board members – and many more. 

We also share free training and online courses which can be completed remotely by your volunteers.

Quality Framework

The Quality Framework, co-produced with Healthwatch, provides a way for your Healthwatch to understand your effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. Covering all aspects of running a Healthwatch including leadership and decision-making, engagement, involvement and reach and influence and impact. 

Completed it? Get the Quality Framework logo to show your commitment to quality.

Information and signposting

Your information and signposting service is a statutory function yet is hard to define. Use our checklist to help you manage your own information and signposting service. It isn’t guidance but could be a useful conversation starter in your teams.  

Our guide on call handling covers how to structure a conversation, managing a difficult call and assessing safeguarding and risk.

Support for Healthwatch boards

Use our checklists to help you to think through your roles, responsibilities and decision-making within your Healthwatch board.

Use our templates on decision-making, code of conduct and conflict of interest to help support your board.

Holding to account and influencing

Holding to account is central to Healthwatch. Use this toolkit to review your effectiveness. 

Stakeholder relationships are also important - read about working with the Care Quality Commission and working with integrated care systems.