Healthwatch Brent wins national award

We are pleased to announce Healthwatch Brent is the winner of the ‘Outstanding individuals who’ve made a difference’ category at the 2019 Healthwatch Network Awards.
Two Healthwatch Brent volunteers and a member of staff receiving award certificate

Healthwatch Brent has been recognised as the winner at this year’s Healthwatch Network Awards in the ‘Outstanding individuals who’ve made a difference’ category.

This year our Enter & View volunteers focused their visits on Sheltered Housing Schemes, with the aim of grasping a deeper understanding of the resident’s health and social care experience provided by the Schemes. Mary Evans and Margaret Oyemade entered one of these schemes and identified an air of discomfort amongst residents due to anti-social behaviour occurring in the local area. Additionally, the Sheltered Housing residents had come across intruders, some under the influence of drugs, which in turn made residents feel extremely unsafe. With the help of Ibrahim Ali the Volunteer and Projects Officer for Healthwatch Brent, thorough evidence was gathered and a series of changes were implemented – the Housing Scheme has been transformed. CCTV was approved, doorways were monitored, suspicious activity was reported to the police straight away, and security lights were installed. Importantly, residents now feel more confident in communicating with the Housing Officer and the police.

Every year, the Healthwatch Network Awards celebrate the many positive stories of how the local Healthwatch network is helping to make care better for thousands of people. The awards are an opportunity to demonstrate where local Healthwatch worked within the local community to make sure health and social care services meet people's needs.

Healthwatch listen to what people like about the NHS and social care and what needs to be improved. Their views are shared with health and care professionals, so that services can understand what people and their families want from care.

These awards recognise how people’s feedback is vital to improving services. Thanks to the many hundreds of thousands of people who shared their experiences with Healthwatch last year. This has led to positive changes to the way local health and care services are run.

The local Healthwatch shortlisted for 2019 Healthwatch Network Awards were picked from almost 150 award entries.

The winner from each category was chosen by a panel of external judges and announced at the Healthwatch England Annual Conference on 1 October 2019.

CommUNITY Barnet’s CEO, Julie Pal was delighted when she heard Healthwatch Brent had won the award and said,

“The success of Healthwatch hinges on the incredible role volunteers play and it’s fantastic that in this instance, the Healthwatch Brent volunteers’ success has been recognised. These individuals give their time to improve other people’s lives, and their selfless attitude is invaluable. Brent is a fantastic borough, with so many enthusiastic, passionate and committed volunteers at its heart, who all enable dramatic improvement and confidence in the local area.” 

If you are interested in volunteering for your local Healthwatch, have a look at our website or our social media and get in touch.

Imelda Redmond, CBE, National Director of Healthwatch England said,

“The Healthwatch Network Awards is a fantastic event which showcases the very best of local Healthwatch and it’s an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate the impact our teams and volunteers have in improving health and care across the country.

The awards demonstrate the breadth of issues local Healthwatch work on every year. Their work makes sure people’s experiences are placed at the heart of the services they receive. I'd like to acknowledge and thank all the network and congratualte those who took part, they have done their communities proud."

If you'd like to find out more, have a look at page 17 on our Annual Report 2018-2019