Independent Consumer Champion for Health & Social Care (Healthwatch) (2022) - Market Engagement

Contract Purpose:

To provide a seamless portal for the public and patients in Reading to allow them to find out what they need to know; understand what their choices are and how to act on them. To help resolve complaints and concerns about health and social care services; and act as a powerful local consumer voice for all aspects of health and social care.

Contract Vision:

Run by local people for local people. It will be the independent consumer champion for health & social care to enable people of all ages and from all backgrounds to enjoy high quality care and to understand their care choices.

This is a statutory service. (The Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, which was amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012t, outlines the main legal requirements for provision of Healthwatch. Each local authority has a duty to make provision for the delivery of Healthwatch statutory activity in their local area.)

The provider and their obligations

Healthwatch England was established under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to understand the needs, experiences and concerns of people who use health and social care services and to speak out on their behalf. Local Healthwatch services are funded by and accountable to local authorities. Their main statutory functions are to: Obtain the views of people about their needs and experience of local health and social care services. Local Healthwatch make these views known to those involved in the commissioning and scrutiny of care services; Make reports and make recommendations about how those services could or should be improved; Promote and support the involvement of people in the monitoring, commissioning and provision of local health and social care services; Provide information and advice to the public about accessing health and social care services and the options available to them; Make the views and experiences of people known to Healthwatch England, helping us to carry out our role as national champion; Make recommendations to Healthwatch England to advise the CQC to carry out special reviews or investigations into areas of concern. Additional information: This phase of the process does not constitute a formal tender or other competitive bidding process and will not result in the letting of a Contract. This market engagement event is solely to test the market to gather information, ascertain the level of interest and help shape our future requirements for the subsequent procurement