Annual Report 2025/26

Healthwatch Southampton report on its key achievements for 2025/26.  It:

• Influenced local services through projects on unpaid carers, care homes, community mental health services, dementia, GP access and patient participation groups, ensuring residents’ experiences informed policy and service development. 
• Strengthened patient voice in primary care by establishing a city-wide Patient Participation Group network and publishing insight on how GP practices can better involve patients in shaping services. 
• Improved understanding of the needs of unpaid carers, with findings feeding directly into the development of Southampton’s future Carers Strategy. 
• Amplified the voices of seldom-heard communities, including people with hearing loss, young adult carers, people with learning disabilities, care home residents, South Asian communities and people using mental health services. 
• Helped improve access to health services by undertaking a GP website audit, creating resources on travelling to healthcare appointments, publishing dental access information, and introducing a text service to improve accessibility.