Evolving Communities wins Healthwatch Wolverhampton contract to be local people’s health and care champion

Evolving Communities is a community interest company which specialises in public and stakeholder engagement to help drive improvements in health and social care. The company has extensive experience of delivering independent local Healthwatch services on behalf of local authorities.

Healthwatch Wolverhampton’s role is to listen to people’s experiences of using health and social care services in the city, to understand the issues that really matter to local people and the challenges facing the NHS and other care providers. They use this insight to help health and social care services understand how to improve care for local people and reduce health inequalities. Healthwatch Wolverhampton can also help local people find reliable and trustworthy information and advice to help them get the care and support they need.

Healthwatch Wolverhampton is part of a network of over 150 local Healthwatch across the country. As an independent statutory body, Healthwatch has the power to make sure that NHS leaders and other decision makers listen to public feedback and use it to improve standards of care, locally and  nationally.

Lynda Williams, CEO of Evolving Communities, said: “We are extremely proud of the quality of the Healthwatch services that we run and we’re delighted that we will be working with the people of Wolverhampton. We believe that health and social care providers can best improve services and reduce health inequalities if they listen to people’s experiences, and we want everyone in Wolverhampton to be included in the conversation.

“In the coming months, we will build a strong Healthwatch Wolverhampton team of staff and volunteers and build on previous work carried out in the city. We will work with the public, voluntary and community groups, the City of Wolverhampton Council, and the local health and care sector, to make sure that Healthwatch Wolverhampton is an effective and representative champion for local people.”

Becky Wilkinson, City of Wolverhampton Council’s Director of Adult Social Services, said: 

“Healthwatch Wolverhampton has an important role to play in ensuring the city’s health and social care services are the best they can be and to reduce health inequalities. It enables people’s views and experiences to be heard and used to help improve existing services and shape future provision. It also works to ensure that action is taken to resolve concerns and problems in relation to services and prevent them from arising again.

“Patients and service users should feel they can meaningfully influence the development of their services, and we are looking forward to working closely with Evolving Communities to ensure this is the case.”