Healthwatch Barnet Annual Report 2024 - 2025

Throughout 2024 - 25, Healthwatch Barnet championed local residents' voices and successfully advocated for improvements to services. Read our Annual Report to find out more.

About us

We are the independent champion for people who use health and social care services in Barnet. We are here to find out what matters to people, and help make sure their views shape the services they receive.

Our year in numbers

In the year 2024 to 2025 we supported more than 11,300 people to have their say and get information about their care.

  • 941 people shared their experiences of health and social care services with us, helping to raise awareness of issues and improve care.
  • 10,434 people came to us for clear advice and information on topics such as adult social care and cancer screening.

Key achievements

  • On GP access, through our mystery shopping project, we provided bespoke feedback to surgeries. To date, 30 of Barnet’s 48 GP surgeries have taken steps to ensure our recommendations are embedded in their reception team’s phone conversations with patients.
  • On GP websites, with the North Central London Integrated Care Board, we identified 30 priority websites and wrote reports for each GP surgery. So far, 22 out of 30 surgeries have implemented changes, significantly improving patient access.
  • We carried out six Enter and View visits to care homes. We’re pleased that homes accepted our recommendations on points including dementia-friendly place settings, offering a broader range of menu options for people from different cultures and arranging more resident feedback meetings.
  • We ensured that patients’ voices shaped Barnet’s new Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment and the Fit and Active Barnet Strategy. 

Healthwatch Barnet’s role is to ensure that patients’ voices are at the heart of decision making. I’m proud that, over the last year, we’ve been able to achieve real change for local people in relation to GP access, heart health and mealtimes in care homes.

Debra Gordon, Healthwatch Barnet Chair

Download and read our Annual Report 2024 - 2025

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