HEALTHWATCH Gloucestershire is celebrating its second birthday today as part of the national network of 148 Healthwatch organisations across England.

Healthwatch now has over 800 members and has gathered in excess of 4,000 views and experiences from patients and the public on health and social care locally.

Healthwatch is proud to have been able to represent Gloucestershire’s residents over the past two years and looks forward to continuing to use their views and experiences to help shape, influence and improve the way health and social care is planned and provided in the county.

The 830 members are all ages and from all walks of life, with whom Healthwatch can communicate, work with and consult about the issues that affect them.

Membership if free, it’s simple and only takes a few moments to complete the registration form.

Please visit the website at healthwatchgloucestershire.co.uk/Join_Us/Registration_Form.aspx?page=51100 . Alternatively, you can call Pamela for free on 0800 652 5193 and she will register you over the phone.

Healthwatch has had such a busy second year, building on the work started in year one.

The GP patient experience and Patient Transport Surveys and will be published very soon and the task group reports are in the process of being written up on Hospital Discharge, Podiatry and Patient Transport which will also be available on the website.

The community engagement team has been working hard to make sure seldom heard groups are heard; groups like stroke support, neurological, young mothers, young people, the polish community and older people.

Healthwatch wants Gloucestershire to keep sharing their experiences of care with them and are particularly interested in hearing from people about home care (domiciliary care) and care homes.

Please email stories to info@healthwatchgloucestershire.co.uk or call for free on 0800 652 5193.