Partner and Stakeholder Testimonials

“Cheshire East Council is very pleased to be able to comment on this year’s Healthwatch annual report. The local Healthwatch is designed to hear views of the people and their needs and experiences of local health and social care services. Their work in collaboration with our commissioning and operational teams has helped to scrutinise services in order that positive outcomes are delivered for our population.

Despite a very challenging year with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Healthwatch have been outstanding and ensured that individuals voices have been heard on a number of significant issues and developments such as access to services during COVID, impacts that COVID has had on communities and most importantly keeping the resident voice at the centre of health and social care integration.

Healthwatch provides excellent insight and knowledge to enable us to achieve better outcomes for the residents of Cheshire East.”

Nichola Thompson – Director of Commissioning/People Directorate, Cheshire East Council

Dr Matt Tyrer – Director of Public Health, Cheshire East Council

“Healthwatch has continued to be a supportive but critical friend of the CCG and has proven to be an invaluable partner over the last year as the local and national system responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The insight and intelligence provided by Healthwatch around the public experience of health and social care services during this time and access to local COVID-19 services have helped shape and guide our response. The support provided to engage directly with our underserved communities has also been critical in the push to vaccinate these communities. As the local system progresses in implementing the changes resulting from the NHS white paper, and as local NHS services reset and recover, the continued support and involvement from Healthwatch will be crucial in communicating these changes to the public and other stakeholders.”

Clare Watson – Accountable Officer, NHS Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group

“I mentioned it on the last system call, but just wanted to say thanks to you and your team for pulling together the central coronavirus web page – it looks great, and we’ve been promoting it on our social media channels, as well as in staff briefings.”

Jonathan Forrester – Communications Manager, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

“Absolutely amazing – coverage, impact… The value, richness, sheer breadth and depth of your and your team’s remit – phenomenal.”

Claire Heaney – PMO Programme Director, Cheshire East Partnership

“What a great piece of work the Care Communities reports are… we want to make sure that the positives and lessons are learned far and wide, and particularly the positive messages about the vaccine rollout. The messages about hesitancy to use the NHS are also pertinent to us at the moment.”

Anna Collins – SRO Communication and Engagement (COVID Vaccination Programme), NHS Cheshire CCG

“Thank you very much for sharing this really interesting report and all your work which is hugely appreciated.”

Sheena Cumiskey – Chief Executive, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

“The scheme has literally saved my life. I am at high risk of the coronavirus and had no one else who could help. I would have had to go out and risk my health to shop if I hadn’t had this support.”

“I am very grateful for the help. I was worried how I was going to manage but feel reassured that I will now have the food and essentials that I need to get by.”

“Thank you for all of your help and service it has been brilliant. You helped me at a very difficult time and kept me going. Very supportive, friendly and kind too.”

“I am so grateful to Healthwatch and the Healthwatch Volunteer for the way they have shopped for me and for the chats at the front gate. They have been truly wonderful and I thank them so much.”

Cheshire East residents helped by Healthwatch Cheshire staff and volunteers during the People Helping People scheme

“Thank you so much for the information from the [Fertility] Focus Group. It is really interesting, fears about fertility are completely understandable and it is good to know that the women attending the group were reassured by accurate information particularly from the GP. It is difficult sometimes to compete with social media when so many negative messages and misinformation is out there.”

Cllr Laura Jeuda – Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, Cheshire East Council

“This work enables comprehensive coverage of the network that will give boaters the confidence to register at any surgery, despite being miles from home or without the luxury of having a home surgery.”

Martin Buck, North West Waterways Chaplaincy

“Thanks so much for this [COVID-19 vaccinations Citizens Focus Panel report]. There is some really useful insight which we will share internally and for communications activity.”

Jodie D’Enrico – Head of Communications, Marketing and Public Engagement, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

“We made a lot of progress with your help, thank you. We feel that they took more notice of our complaint because of Healthwatch.”

Cheshire East resident regarding the Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service

“It would be very remiss of me not to mention Dave straight away as he is doing a fantastic job communicating with the volunteers. His daily email is a light hearted ray of sunshine in these very strange times and widely enjoyed.”

Erica – Healthwatch Cheshire East volunteer and Board member

“Thank you so much for the kind delivery and thoughtful gesture [donating books]. The books have provided great entertainment for our Service Users and has been a very welcome new boost to our library. Thank you so much for the kind gift and for thinking of our lovely people here at Clumber House.”
Manager, Clumber House Care Home, Poynton

“Credit Healthwatch for the fantastic work that they’ve shared earlier this week pulling all our organisational updates on our COVID response in a one stop shop on their websites.”

Cheshire System Partners Communication Cell

“We don’t know each other, and my organisation doesn’t have any links to the boating community but I just wanted to drop you an email to say what a great piece of work this is. Well done to everyone involved. I do, however, have a personal interest as someone whose parents had a 30ft barge for many years!”

Bev Morgan, CEO, Koala North West

“On behalf of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please accept my thanks and appreciation for the support of Healthwatch with the Trusts annual review of it Equality Delivery System.”

“This engaging and transparent approach ensures accountability on behalf of the Trust for maintaining progress in equality of opportunity for our workforce and across our services whilst associated discussion around the review further help strengthen the relationship between the Trust and Healthwatch in addressing health inequalities within our community.”

Ian Howarth, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

“Thank you for being an outstanding Volunteer Coordinator at Healthwatch Cheshire. You continually keep volunteers fully involved of opportunities, you bring a smile to everyone’s face I’m sure with your motivational emails, and you make sure all volunteers are kept in the loop with everything the wider team are doing.” Alison Kaye, volunteer and Board Member, July 2021

“Wow – didn’t know which home to click on first – greedy to read it all! Thank you so much for this brave and innovative piece of work. You took a leap of faith and it’s paid off. I think people will use this as a reference point when researching choice of homes.” Paula Wedd, Executive Director of Quality, Patient Experience and Safeguarding, NHS Cheshire CCG

“Thanks for sharing this report. It’s great to have such contemporaneous intelligence to influence future plans.” Paula Wedd, Executive Director of Quality, Patient Experience and Safeguarding, NHS Cheshire CCG

“Thanks for sharing this important intelligence. At our Team Brief today I took the opportunity to highlight to CCG staff the relevance of HW reports to our work and I highlighted the list of the reports published just over the last few months – it was a long list! Awesome thank you.” Paula Wedd, Executive Director of Quality, Patient Experience and Safeguarding, NHS Cheshire CCG

Firstly, I want to thank you and your team for the amazing work you have done to support the families we are currently supporting in Cheshire East.

Every time we have called or emailed you for support you have jumped to our support and been there.

Today’s donations were absolutely unreal and overwhelmed us with your generosity.

We are making packs up for the families and as we discussed earlier receiving 5 more families this weekend so these donations will make a massive difference.

It is wonderful to know that communities and groups can come together to help those in need so I would like to give my sincere thanks to everyone at Healthwatch Cheshire THANK YOU.

On behalf of the families here you have supported we thank you all so much for your continued support and look forward to continuing to work with you.”

Richard Stephenson-Evans, Community Liaison Officer, Communities, People Directorate, Cheshire East Council regarding Afghan refugee volunteer donation

“Please would you pass on thanks from all in the CCG for this work. It is really something to be proud of and I do not underestimate the hours and hours that this took much of which was provided by volunteers in their spare time.” – Tracey Cole, Executive Director Strategy & Partnerships, NHS Cheshire CCG

“Thank you for the contribution you make to supporting health services to be as good as they can be.” Alan Yates, Chair, Cheshire & Merseyside Health and Care Partnership

“I continue to find the reports you’re producing of great interest… value the insight they give me to issues across your area… reports that gave great, very localised information.” Jon Tuner, North West Regional Lead, Healthwatch England

“Excellent report from Healthwatch CW and Healthwatch CE about experiences of health and care during the COVID-19 pandemic. People generally understanding of the pressures the NHS has been under and accepting of changes in how to access. The report does also detail the challenges that have been faced and the fear that has existed with people not wanting to overburden services or catch Covid. I sense a desire for increased face to face contacts now, which is already happening. The report is worth reading.” Dr Jonathan Griffiths, Cheshire GP

“You’re all doing a grand job of keeping us in touch with what our population are thinking.”

Paula Wedd, Executive Director of Quality, Patient Experience and Safeguarding, NHS Cheshire CCG

“It’s a fantastic piece of work, extremely useful and informative.” Shelley Brough Head of Integrated Commissioning, Adult Social Care and Health, Cheshire East Council