Healthwatch West Sussex

What Healthwatch West Sussex does

Healthwatch West Sussex is the statutory local independent champion for health and social care services in West Sussex, England. It gathers public feedback on the experiences of residents using NHS and social care services, analyses common themes, and works with NHS bodies, local authorities, and care providers to drive service improvements. The organization operates statutory powers including the ability to Enter and View health and care settings, and it publishes annual and spotlight reports (130 reports in 2020-21) documenting recommendations, of which 85% were acted upon. It also provides free information, signposting, and Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCAS) to residents, reaching 17,379 people in the most recent reporting year and advising over 3,000 individuals.

Name

Healthwatch West Sussex

Legal name

Healthwatch West Sussex

Website

https://healthwatchwestsussex.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The statutory local independent champion for health and social care in West Sussex, England, gathering public feedback, publishing reports, and providing free advice, signposting, and complaints advocacy to residents on NHS and social care services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Christchurch

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Statutory/Charitable Funding: Healthwatch West Sussex operates as a charitable organization hosted by Help & Care (registered Charity No. 1055056). It functions as the local independent champion for health and social care, funded to carry out its statutory role of gathering public feedback and improving services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Healthwatch West Sussex is the local independent consumer champion for health and social care services in West Sussex. It gathers public feedback on NHS and social care experiences, provides free advice and signposting, supports people making complaints through its Independent Health Complaints Advocacy service, conducts Enter and View visits to care settings, and publishes reports and polls to influence service improvement.

Product overview

Healthwatch West Sussex is an independent consumer champion for health and social care services in West Sussex, operated by the registered charity Help & Care (Charity No. 1055056). It does not offer a commercial software product but provides a suite of public engagement and advocacy services centered on its website and survey tools. Core offerings include: the Heads Up monthly newsletter (via Mailchimp) delivering local health and care updates; online Feedback Survey Tools (via SmartSurvey) for collecting public experiences; an Information and Signposting Service helping residents navigate care options; statutory Enter and View visit powers to observe health and social care settings; Spotlight Reports profiling local services and organizations; Independent Health Complaints Advocacy (IHCAS) supporting NHS complaints; and Healthwatch in Sussex collaborative polls gathering rapid community feedback. Healthwatch in Sussex refers to a tri-locality collaboration between Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, Healthwatch East Sussex, and Healthwatch West Sussex on shared research projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heads Up Monthly Newsletter Monthly email newsletter delivering the latest health and social care news, insights, and events to West Sussex subscribers, keeping residents informed about local services and Healthwatch activities.
• Feedback Survey Tools Online survey tools powered by SmartSurvey that enable local residents to share their experiences of health and social care services, supporting Healthwatch West Sussex's role in gathering public voice data to influence service improvement.
• Information and Signposting Service A free advice and signposting service helping West Sussex residents navigate health and social care options, understand their rights, and find appropriate local services.
• Enter and View Service Statutory power enabling Healthwatch West Sussex representatives to visit health and social care settings to observe service delivery and gather experiences directly from service users.
• Spotlight Reports In-depth reports profiling specific health and social care services, charities, and community organizations in West Sussex, highlighting what works well and where improvements are needed, based on local engagement and research.
• Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS) Statutory advocacy service supporting individuals in West Sussex to make complaints about NHS services, helping people navigate the complaints process and have their voices heard.
• Healthwatch in Sussex (HWiS) Polls Short online polls conducted collaboratively by Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, Healthwatch East Sussex, and Healthwatch West Sussex to gather rapid local views on specific health and care topics across the Sussex region.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% of recommendations made were acted upon
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Healthwatch EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthwatch England is a statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that acts independently. Healthwatch West Sussex is required to share information with Healthwatch England to ensure local views are considered at national level, enabling analysis of service provision across the country.
• Help & CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelp & Care is the host organization for Healthwatch West Sussex. It is a registered charity (No. 1055056) and company limited by guarantee (No. 03187574) based in Christchurch, Dorset.
• Care Quality Commission (CQC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthwatch England is a statutory committee of the CQC. The CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.
• NHS SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board to gather public feedback and improve local health services. Works on joint initiatives including community palliative care technology and Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services.
• Healthwatch in SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Healthwatch Brighton and Hove and Healthwatch East Sussex to conduct Sussex-wide polls and research on shared health and social care issues.
• West Sussex County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with West Sussex County Council on various health and social care initiatives, including the Planning for Your Future guide and West Sussex Care Guide.
• Macmillan Cancer SupportsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Macmillan and NHS organisations across Sussex to ensure local voices are heard in the development of digital healthcare services and remote monitoring for community palliative and end of life care.
• DocclasecondaryTechnology or IntegrationDoccla provides Virtual Health Services for patients, including those on Virtual Ward programmes. They partnered in the development of the Comfort Tracker App for community palliative care.
• Sussex Community NHS Foundation TrustsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorks with Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust on the Living Well Programme and Comfort Tracker App development for community palliative care.
• Royal Voluntary ServicesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner providing Good Neighbours service for older people in West Sussex who are socially isolated.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK cancer charity with which Healthwatch West Sussex has a documented strategic partnership on community palliative care and digital healthcare co-design. Adjacent ecosystem participant sharing the same local health-and-care feedback loops.
• Help & Care: Host charity for Healthwatch West Sussex and provider of governance, data protection oversight, and operational support. Parent/echo organization providing structural backbone rather than a market competitor.

Direct peers

• VoiceAbility: UK advocacy charity delivering statutory advocacy services including Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), Care Act advocacy, and NHS complaints advocacy. Directly comparable advocacy service portfolio with NHS-mandated delivery models.
• POhWER: UK-wide advocacy charity delivering Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Services (IHCAS) — the same statutory advocacy function Healthwatch West Sussex provides in West Sussex. Direct functional peer in NHS complaints advocacy delivery.
• Healthwatch East Sussex: Sister local Healthwatch organization covering East Sussex. Collaborates with Healthwatch West Sussex on joint Sussex-wide polls and shared health/social care research.
• Healthwatch Brighton and Hove: Local Healthwatch body operating under the identical statutory model in an adjacent Sussex geography. Active partner on the tri-locality Healthwatch in Sussex polls and research collaboration.

Emerging players

• The Patients Association: National UK charity campaigning for improvements in health and social care, including a national helpline for patients. Comparable patient-advocacy mission with similar information/signposting and complaint-support functions, though operating nationally rather than locally.

Broad incumbents

• Healthwatch England: National statutory committee of the Care Quality Commission that oversees the local Healthwatch network. Direct structural peer as the umbrella body that Healthwatch West Sussex reports into and shares information with.
• Care Quality Commission (CQC): Independent regulator of health and adult social care in England and the parent body of Healthwatch England. Adjacent in mission (overseeing health/social care quality) with Healthwatch West Sussex as a formal information-sharing partner.
• Citizens Advice: UK-wide independent advice and advocacy charity providing free information, signposting, and complaints support to consumers on a broad range of issues including health. Comparable model of free public-facing advocacy with similar volunteer-driven engagement.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/healthwatchws
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjk317moFLD1zZfIaadhKTg
• Facebookfacebook.com/healthwatchwestsussex
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/healthwatch-west-sussex
• Instagraminstagram.com/healthwatchws

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 West Sussex