Healthwatch in Sussex wins national Impact Award

The three Healthwatch in Sussex (Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex) are delighted to announce the impact of their work has been recognised through a national award for improving the care of local people.

The Healthwatch Impact Awards recognise outstanding examples of people sharing their experiences to improve care for their community.

Up against 17 other shortlisted projects from across England, Healthwatch in Sussex took home top honours for our work gathering feedback on Non Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS).

To read more about the annual Healthwatch Impact Awards, visit: Impact award: Outstanding work leads to first-ever joint win | Healthwatch

Our work included collecting feedback from NEPTS service users over several years, sharing insight with the provider, and collaborating with Integrated Care Board commissioners on the procurement of NEPTS services in Sussex.

We shared user feedback and aspirations, calling for improved patient communications, clearer guidance about who is eligible for NEPTS, and better information on alternative transport services.

Healthwatch are now exploring how to continue to gather people’s experiences of NEPTS locally, which will be delivered by a new provider (EMED) in Sussex from the 1st April 2025.

Commenting on the news, Veronica Kirwan, Chief Executive of Healthwatch East Sussex said:

“We are extremely happy the hard work of the three Sussex Healthwatch on NEPTS over several years has been recognised, but more importantly that local people’s feedback has fed into the design of services which will hopefully better meet their needs and aspirations. 

This project, the other projects shortlisted for the award, and all those submitted to the process illustrate the breadth of work undertaken by local Healthwatch across the country, and highlight what is possible when people’s views are shared with health and care decision-makers.  

We hope this encourages people in Sussex to continue to share their experiences of health and social care services with us.”

Feedback from partners

Praising the teams at Healthwatch in Sussex, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England, Louise Ansari, said:

“Every year, we are consistently impressed by the quality of entries for our Impact Award, and this year is no different.

“However, this project really stood out because it shows exactly why listening to local people and acting on their views is key to helping unlock better health and social care services. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
 

Dr James Ramsay, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Sussex, said:

"This award is greatly deserved and is a testament to the insight and knowledge that Healthwatch in Sussex brings to health and care services in the county, ensuring that we hear from and involve our population in all we do.

“Non-emergency patient transport services are crucial to the people of Sussex, and so when we began work to design and procure a new service it was vital for us to have Healthwatch on board to ensure that feedback from patients was considered and acted upon at every stage of the process.

“Their contribution has been invaluable and it has resulted in a service which will offer a range of new benefits to patients very soon. I look forward to continuing to work with Healthwatch as the new service goes live from 1 April, as we monitor progress and hear how patients are experiencing the service."

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