Healthwatch is an independent body whose role is to improve local health and social care. It strives to make sure that health and social care services meet local needs. We ensure that the public’s voice is heard regarding how local services are run, any plans to change those services, and in identifying gaps in services.

As an intern you will be involved in a variety of tasks dealing with patient experience. You will help establish projects looking into key concerns and issues that have been reported by the general community, ensuring that members of emerging communities have access to health and social care services and are not barred by issues such as lack of knowledge or communication in English.

You will receive a training session that will review some of the essential aspects of working in the organisation, and will help you understand how essential your role is to our services.

For the first couple weeks of the programme, you will focus on tasks dealing with patient experience. You will be working on issues related to patients and local groups to find out what their health issues and priorities are, and listening to people from every part of our community in the borough. You will collate patient experiences anonymously into a report for NHS/LAS providers (eg hospitals, GPs, care homes, etc) summarising the main themes and issues raised. You will make recommendations, and all providers are obliged to respond to reports stating how they are going to address any issues. You will provide support to the patients and their families/caregivers and listen carefully to their feedback. When appropriate, you will signpost people to the Feedback and Complaints Team and other organisations that can support people to feedback on their experiences. Other tasks will include answering phone calls, dealing with any incoming patient experiences, and inputting patient experiences into our database.

You will also be working on current projects dealing with key concerns brought to our attention by the community. This will include working on research projects and attending meetings to plan and develop work and practical activities to engage with the local community. You will meet with NHS or social care staff and managers to find out information and present Healthwatch findings, visit services, and talk to patients/service users. You will use your findings to draft recommendations for projects.