Healthwatch - Bury

Welcome to Healthwatch Bury

Welcome to your local healthwatch site. We are here to make sure your views on local health and social care services are heard. Healthwatch Bury came into being on April 1st 2013 and replaced Bury LINk. This change was part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.  

What is Healthwatch

Healthwatch is the new independent consumer champion created to gather and represent the views of the public. Healthwatch will play a role at both national and local level and will make sure that the views of the public and people who use services are taken into account.

What we do

Local Healthwatch will take on the work of the Local Involvement Networks (LINks) and will also: - represent the views of people who use services, carers and the public on the Health and Wellbeing boards set up by local authorities - provide a complaints signposting service from 2013 to support people who make a complaint about services - report concerns about the quality of health care to Healthwatch England, which can then recommend that the Care Quality Commission take action.

How we work

Every voice counts when it comes to shaping the future of health and social care, and when it comes to improving it for today. Everything that local Healthwatch does will bring the voice and influence of local people to the development and delivery of local services.

People need to feel that their local Healthwatch belongs to and reflects them and their local community. It needs to feel approachable, practical and dynamic and to act on behalf of local people.

• We're helping you to shape and improve the services you use.
• We're engaging with people in your community & if you haven't met us yet, please get in touch!
• We're an open organisation and want to make it easy for you to talk to us
• We're inclusive & we want people from every part of your community to join us
• Ask us what we're doing & we'll always tell you what's happening.
• You can hold us to account
• We're here to help services to improve.
• We'll notice the bad things they do, and the good
• We use your evidence to build a true picture of your local services

How we are set up

We are currently forming the new board for Healthwatch Bury. If you are interested please go to http://www.healthwatchbury.co.uk/about/docs/general-membership-0  for an apllication pack.

All the local Healthwatches will be social enterprises. However there is a variety of legal forms of a social enterprise and this will be up to the shadow board of Healthwatch Bury to decide over the coming months.

Healthwatch Bury work with local partners -  for more information on social enterprises, legal structures of groups or how to set up a local community group please go to Bury's local support for the community and volunteary sector which is Bury Third Sector Development Agency, www.b3sda.org.uk Tel : 0161 798 1968