This power is known as 'Enter and View'. It allows a local Healthwatch to visit providers of health and social care, such as hospitals, care homes and dentists, and to observe and report on how those services are being run. This is part of the statutory function of each local Healthwatch to identify what is working well, to identify where change is needed and listen to the care experiences of local people.
Organisations must allow an Authorised Enter and View Representative to observe activities on premises controlled by the provider, as long as this does not affect the provision of care or the privacy and dignity of people using services.
This is different to an inspection; the focus is on patient experiences, and we work in partnership with care providers to help them improve. The purpose of the visit will be to identify good practice that can be celebrated and shared with others, and to identify any issues about which service users feel concerned.
These powers do not extend to Enter and View of services relating to local authorities’ social services functions for people under the age of 18, although we can attend wards or clinics that may have children as patients.
Providers do not have to allow entry to parts of a care home which are not communal areas, or allow entry to premises if their work on the premises relates to children’s social services.
Healthwatch Gateshead staff, committee members, and volunteers have received training to provide the Enter and View in accordance with the Healthwatch England good practice guide, their quality framework, and branding standards. These individuals are trained to deliver Enter and View visits as the legally recognised authorised representatives.
Our Authorised Enter and View Representatives:
- Afsana Begum
- Alan Guest
- Alex Hoole
- Lynn Boyle
- Courtney Peel
- Daniel Milburn
- Iqra Hussain
- Izabela Gray
- Jack Tinkler
- Mairi Cox
- Michael Brown
- Nooshin Shabani
- Peter Wilson
- Terry Bearpark