Although a formal committee of Brighton & Hove City Council, the Health & Wellbeing Board has a remit which includes matters relating to the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the Local Safeguarding Board for Children and Adults and Healthwatch.

Title: Healthwatch Brighton & Hove Annual Report: 2021/21
Date of Meeting: 02 November 2021
Report of: Healthwatch Brighton & Hove
Contact:  Giles Rossington	Tel: 01273 295514
Email: giles.rossington@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Wards Affected: all
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
Executive Summary Healthwatch is the local independent consumer champion for health and care. Healthwatch is a co-opted member of both the Brighton & Hove Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) and the Health & Wellbeing Board (HWB), and is this year presenting its annual report for 2020/21 to the Health & Wellbeing Board.

1. Decisions, recommendations and any options

That the Board agrees to note the Healthwatch annual report

2. Relevant information

2.1      The 2012 Health & Social Care Act required each upper-tier local authority in England to commission a local Healthwatch organisation to undertake the statutory responsibility for being the independent consumer champion for health and social care.

2.2      Originally Community Works was the successful bidder for the local Healthwatch contract, and Brighton & Hove Healthwatch became operational in April 2013.

2.3      Healthwatch B&H incorporated as an independent Community Interest Company (CIC) organisation with an asset lock on 14 October 2014. This meant that staff moved from Community Works to the new CIC and operated under the new company as of 01 April 2015. This is the current structure of Healthwatch.

2.4      The council as part of its statutory responsibility for performance management continues to monitor Healthwatch Brighton & Hove contract through its performance monitoring framework.

 2.5     There is no statutory requirement for Healthwatch to present its annual report to the HWB, but there are obvious benefits in Healthwatch sharing its intelligence with the Board.

2.6      Healthwatch are required to produce an Annual Report as part of their statutory requirements. The development of the Annual Report is based on Healthwatch’s consistent approach to seeking to hear people’s stories about their experiences of health and social care services, using these to develop an effective evidence base. They use their statutory powers to Enter and View any premises so that their authorised representatives can observe matters relating to health and social care services. Enter and View has not been possible this last year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, during which time more attention has been given to online and telephone engagement. They also gather information and insight through outreach and by sending trained volunteer representatives to a wide range of public meetings, specialist and strategic committees and decision making forums.

3.      Important considerations and implications

3.1 Legal: There are no legal implications arising from this report

Lawyer consulted:        Elizabeth Culbert                         Date:131021

3.2 Finance

            There are no direct financial implications arising from this report.

Officer consulted:    Sophie Warburton                           Date: 08/10/21

3.3 Equalities:

Healthwatch B&H updated their Equalities Impact Assessment when they became a CIC. Their most recent EIA was published in April 2021. Their reports and work include demographic breakdowns and try to reflect the profile of the city and its residents. https://www.healthwatchbrightonandhove.co.uk/report/2021-04-26/equality-impact-assessment-2021

Supporting documents and information

Appendix1: Brighton & Hove Healthwatch Annual Report 2020/21