Healthwatch Hertfordshire

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Healthwatch Hertfordshire

We are Hertfordshire's independent health and social care champion. We’re Hertfordshire's independent health and social care champion.

We make sure NHS leaders and other decision-makers hear your voice and use your feedback to improve care. If you use GPs and hospitals, dentists, pharmacies, care homes or other support services, we want to hear from you. We listen to your needs, experiences and concerns about local health and social care services, so we can speak out on your behalf. We gather your feedback through high-quality research and engagement and by inviting you to share your experiences. Our aim is to get services right for the future and ensure your worries and concerns about current services are addressed. We want to make sure those in charge put you at the heart of care and, if local needs are not being met, we have statutory powers to hold the system to account. We can also help if you have a question about health or social care services, but aren’t sure where to go to find the answer. Our experienced signposting team can help – whether you need to know how to make a complaint, how to access a service, or would like to give feedback. You can be confident that we are entirely independent and impartial and anything you share with us is confidential. We can only do our job with your help.

04/09/2025

This the charity found that nearly 3 in 4 people would be willing to take up genetic testing if they were eligible.

But there is widespread misunderstanding of what cancers may be hereditary.

Find out more on their blog: https://bit.ly/4g62QiH

01/09/2025

🧭 Need Help Finding the Right Health or Social Care Support?

We know the health and social care system can be confusing. That’s why Healthwatch Hertfordshire offers a free signposting service – helping you find the right person, place, or organisation to get the support you need.
Whether you're wondering:

✔️ Can I choose where my GP refers me?
✔️ How do I arrange care for a family member at home?
✔️ How do I make a complaint about poor treatment or care?

We're here to guide you.

📋 Just fill in our quick Signposting Feedback Form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can:

👉 https://buff.ly/vPAuRxZ

30/08/2025

No safe time, no safe amount

Drinking alcohol while pregnant can put your baby at risk, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and miscarriage.

Support your partner to go alcohol-free.

Hertfordshire County Council’s free, supportive, and flexible services can help parents-to-be work towards an alcohol-free pregnancy.

Give Bump the best start: https://buff.ly/gKmUprS

29/08/2025

🌟Shining a Light on Craniosynostosis: https://buff.ly/GvxFKqs 🌟

Craniosynostosis happens when a baby’s skull plates fuse too early, affecting head shape, brain growth, and development. It's a rare condition and not very well known — this can lead to delayed diagnoses, which can have serious consequences, including increased pressure on the brain and developmental difficulties.

Signs to watch for include:
➔ Unusual or asymmetrical head shapes
➔ Ridges along the skull
➔ Slowed head growth
➔ Facial asymmetry

With early referral to one of the UK’s specialist craniofacial units, children can receive expert treatment, often surgery, that leads to safer outcomes and brighter futures. Families can also find vital support through charities like Headlines.

Take action today:
➔ Share this post to raise awareness of this little-known condition
➔ Learn more about craniosynostosis and available support
➔ Encourage early conversations with healthcare professionals

29/08/2025

Struggling to find a dentist and not sure what to do? We have the answers: https://buff.ly/420STOE

28/08/2025

Let’s Talk about Cancer – caring for someone with cancer.

Tuesday 30 September 2025 6-30 – 7.30pm.

The Cancer Alliance Team will be discussing the crucial role that carers play in supporting people going through cancer treatment, the support available to carers and how important it is that they look after themselves as well as their loved ones.

Email cpicb.eoecancerallianceteam@nhs.net to register.

22/08/2025

Give your Bump the best start in life!

Staying active reduces the risk of problems during pregnancy and labour.

Hertfordshire County Council’s free, supportive and flexible services can help you get active together.

Join a free health walk: https://buff.ly/gKmUprS

22/08/2025

🚨 Let’s Talk About Diabulimia—An Often Overlooked Danger

Today, as an extension of our work on diabetes awareness, we’re shining a crucial spotlight on diabulimia: https://buff.ly/ghb7ppD.

Diabulimia is a disordered-eating behaviour where individuals with Type 1 diabetes deliberately restrict or skip insulin to lose weight. This pattern is increasingly recognized clinically as T1DE (Type 1 Diabetes with Disordered Eating) or ED-DMT1.

Skipping insulin may lead to weight loss, but the risks are staggering, ranging from diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) to long-term organ damage, and even premature death.

Signs to watch for include:

➔ Frequent high blood sugar readings or unexplained fluctuations

➔ Rapid or unexplained weight loss

➔ Secretive or erratic insulin usage

➔ Other disordered eating behaviors or shifts in mood and routine

But there’s hope.

Diabulimia is treatable with the right support. A holistic care approach—medical, psychological, nutritional—is vital. Cognitive-behavioural therapy, multidisciplinary teams, and compassionate, informed support from loved ones can pave the way to recovery.

If you—or someone you know—is struggling, you’re not alone. Early intervention saves lives.

Take action—today.

➔ Share this post to raise awareness

➔ Learn more about T1DE and how you can help

➔ Encourage support, understanding, and professional help

Let’s break the silence on diabulimia and bring hope to those living with it.

21/08/2025

📰 Stay Informed – Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter!

Want to stay up to date with local health news, research, practical advice, and how we’re working to improve care in Hertfordshire? Sign up to our free newsletter and get all this – plus opportunities to have your say and help shape health and social care services in your community.

📧 Our newsletter is sent by email, but we also offer a paper version for those without digital access.

➡️ Sign up here: https://buff.ly/PW2yHwi

19/08/2025

Do you work with young people or young parents/parents-to-be?

Families First Hertfordshire are seeking views from professionals on the proposed priorities for the Teenage Pregnancy and Young Parents Strategy 2025–2030 and to help inform education, support and services for young people in Hertfordshire.

Complete the survey here: https://buff.ly/ZbZ5BUa

19/08/2025

Have your say and get the chance to win a £20 shopping voucher.
Are you a parent or parent-to-be in Hertfordshire? Are you 24 years old or younger? Your voice matters. We know that parenting at a young age brings both joy and unique challenges, and we want to make sure the support available truly meets your needs. Complete our survey here:- https://surveys.hertfordshire.gov.uk/s/YPYP2B/

18/08/2025

As an independent charity with statutory powers, Healthwatch Hertfordshire is empowered to make a real impact to people's lives. This is demonstrated in our signposting service, which has been developed to help people access health and social care services.

Last year we repeatedly received reports concerning the online Health Exchange Diabetes Prevention Programme from an individual who contacted us uses British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate. They were having tremendous difficulties participating in the sessions. Despite the claim on the programme’s website that all access needs are accommodated, an interpreter was never offered on the online calls.

The individual told us that they had requested the same thing every year for the 5 years that their GP had referred them to the service. Each time it had not been made available.

Following Healthwatch Hertfordshire’s repeated raising of this issue, the Integrated Care Board (ICB) investigated and learned of other commissioners who had raised this same concern. They also learned that it was a flaw in the contract for the service, which had been drawn up by NHS England.

The ICB and other commissioners in the East of England region are now considering routes to close that gap.

We will continue to monitor the situation, and continue working hard to ensure people receive the help they need.

If you need help, contact us today: https://buff.ly/AicnMb1.

Address

London Road
Stevenage
SG12NG

Website

http://www.healthwatchhertfordshire.co.uk/

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Who We Are

Helping service users and communities Healthwatch helps people to find information about local health and social care services. We promote patient involvement and choice, and point people in the right direction when something goes wrong. We also have a role to promote the involvement of Hertfordshire’s communities in improving and developing services. Helping those who commission and deliver services We help commissioners to plan and design services making sure that the views, experiences and needs of patients, carers and users are taken into account. We also highlight where services are doing well and also where they can be improved. We carry out visits to services to see how well they are working. We can also take concerns to the inspectors and regulators if necessary. We are YOUR voice If you have had any problems with health or social services, have any comments or observations, then please get in touch. We can only do our job with your help.