Plans to dissolve regional Healthwatch groups have caused worry in North Lincolnshire, as these changes may potentially mute public feedback. Healthwatch, initiated in 2012, gathers autonomous comments from the public regarding health and care facilities. The government is contemplating the obliteration of all 153 local boards throughout England, incorporating feedback procedures to a central point.
Carrie Duran, who is affiliated with the Hull Community Voluntary Service that oversee the Healthwatch groups in North Lincolnshire, cautions that this restructuring could take away a crucial platform for susceptible individuals to share their apprehensions. Local Scunthorpe resident, Lorna Fillingham, who has collaborated with Healthwatch North Lincolnshire to address healthcare availability complications for disabled persons, is apprehensive. She perceives the shutting down of these groups to be a wrong move, as they have been instrumental in underlining local healthcare difficulties.
A group comprising 131 Healthwatch organisations has implored the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to reassess these proposals. This article has been adapted by The Lincoln Post from the original reporting on www.bbc.com.
