Healthwatch

What Healthwatch does

Healthwatch is the independent statutory consumer champion for people who use health and social care services in England, established in 2013 and operating as a statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It comprises a national body (Healthwatch England, ~30 staff) and a network of 153 local Healthwatch organizations that together employ over 500 staff and engage more than 4,000 volunteers, covering every local authority area in England. Its primary function is to collect public feedback on NHS and social care experiences and channel that insight to commissioners, providers, and regulators.

The organization's core digital products are the public-facing "Have Your Say" feedback platform (collecting approximately 1,500 responses per month), the National Data Store (a secure centralized repository with per-organization logins), the Data Sharing Platform (which maps local taxonomies to a standard schema and uploads to the National Data Store), the SmartSurvey tool for standardized survey deployment, and the Healthwatch Network Portal for internal staff and volunteer resources. The public website publishes advice and information across 16 health and social care policy topics. Underlying technology is conventional SaaS: WorkVivo (replacing Facebook Workplace from July 2025) for internal communications, Canva for branded templates, Google Analytics for site measurement, and GDPR-compliant data handling with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility.

Healthwatch is funded entirely through government channels. Healthwatch England is resourced via the CQC, which acts as employer and data controller, while local Healthwatch services are commissioned by local authorities. There is no commercial pricing, no product revenue, and no external shareholders or investors. Collective real-terms network funding has fallen to less than half of 2013/14 levels, and following the 2024 Dash Review the UK government has announced legislation to abolish Healthwatch and transfer its functions to a new DHSC Patient Safety Directorate (national) and to Integrated Care Boards and local authorities (local). Healthwatch England has issued closure-planning guidance to local organizations while continuing to deliver statutory functions during the legislative transition.

Name

Healthwatch

Legal name

Healthwatch England

Website

https://healthwatch.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Healthwatch is the statutory consumer champion for health and social care users in England, comprising a national body and 153 local organizations that collect public feedback on NHS and social care services and channel insight to government commissioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health and Social Care Advocacy Services

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Systems Performance & Quality Measurement (Public Sector) (HLAJANAK)

Keywords

• Health and social care advocacy
• Patient experience feedback
• NHS public engagement
• Consumer health champion
• Healthwatch network services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Healthwatch England is a statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The Care Quality Commission is the employer for Healthwatch England staff. Local Healthwatch services are commissioned by local authorities. The network has experienced real-terms budget cuts, with collective funding at less than half of 2013/14 levels.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Healthwatch England operates as the independent statutory consumer champion for people who use health and social care services in England. It collects public feedback on NHS and social care experiences via its 'Have Your Say' platform, provides free advice and information to the public, helps individuals make complaints about services, and channels patient insight to NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Care Quality Commission, Integrated Care Boards, and local authorities to inform service improvement.

Product overview

Healthwatch is the independent champion for people who use health and social care services in England, operating as a statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission. The organization functions as a service-oriented platform rather than a technology product company, comprising a network of 153 local Healthwatch organizations supported by Healthwatch England. The core product offering centers on the public-facing 'Have Your Say' feedback platform, which collects approximately 1,500 responses monthly, combined with a Local Healthwatch Directory enabling people to find their local representative. Supporting infrastructure includes the National Data Store and Data Sharing Platform for systematic data collection and analysis across the network, SmartSurvey tool for survey distribution, and the internal Healthwatch Network Portal providing training, resources, and communications support. The organization also publishes policy positions across 16 health and social care topics and operates an Impact Programme to help local Healthwatch demonstrate effectiveness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Have Your Say Feedback Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of people have shared their experiences, enabling health and care improvements
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Care Quality Commission (CQC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthwatch England is a statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission. CQC is the employer for Healthwatch England staff and hosts Healthwatch England as part of its structure. CQC's privacy statement applies to staff data processing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Citizens Advice: National consumer advocacy network in England and Wales providing independent advice and gathering evidence on public services including health, social care, and benefits. Closely analogous model: distributed local footprint, public funding, evidence-led policy influence, and complaint/signposting services.
• Patients Association: UK patient advocacy charity that collects patient experiences and lobbies for improvements in health and social care. Directly comparable mission: amplifying the patient voice to influence NHS service quality and policy.
• Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: Investigates complaints about councils and care providers in England. Comparable to Healthwatch's complaint-handling and signposting function for residents experiencing problems with social care services.
• Which?: Independent UK consumer champion with strong brand, evidence-based campaigning, and a national infrastructure for collecting and analyzing user feedback. Closely analogous consumer-advocacy operating model applied to a wider set of public and private services.

Broad incumbents

• Care Quality Commission: Statutory regulator of health and adult social care in England and the parent body of Healthwatch England. CQC uses Healthwatch insight in regulatory assessments and shares a close structural and informational relationship, making it the most direct incumbent peer.
• NHS England: National body overseeing the NHS in England. Healthwatch provides insight and recommendations directly to NHS England on patient experience to inform policy and service improvement, making it a primary customer and structural peer in the health system.

Regional players

• Patient Advice and Support Service (PASS): Scotland's equivalent of Healthwatch, providing advice and support for users of NHS Scotland. Comparable role in a different UK nation, offering a regional analogue of the patient champion model.

Emerging players

• National Voices: Coalition of health and care charities in England that aggregates patient perspectives to influence NHS policy. Comparable mission of synthesizing user voice into system-level change, though narrower in advocacy channels.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK charity providing patient information, support, and advocacy for people affected by cancer, with significant evidence-collection and policy-influence functions. Comparable in collecting service-user experience and feeding it back to the NHS, though focused on a single condition area.

Others

• The King's Fund: Independent health and care policy think tank in England that produces influential research used by NHS leaders and government. Comparable in shaping health policy through evidence, though from a research rather than patient-feedback perspective.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/healthwatche
• YouTubeyoutube.com/HealthWatchEngland
• Facebookfacebook.com/HealthwatchE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/healthwatch-england
• Instagraminstagram.com/healthwatchengland

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Healthwatch