News
Latest news from Healthwatch Sunderland

Become a Tyne & Wear Sight Loss Council member
Are you living in Tyne & Wear, blind or partially sighted and interested in advocating for others? The Thomas Pocklington Trust are looking to...
Staff Wellbeing Hub launched to support health and care staff through pandemic
A regional hub has been launched to support health and care staff across the North East and North Cumbria to cope with the immense pressures of...
Sunderland Mental Health Strategy survey deadline is approaching
The engagement for the NHS Sunderland Adult Mental Health Strategy will continue until Friday 22 January 2021 . Thank you to everyone who has...
New emergency phone line for Sunderland Eye Infirmary patients
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing rules, patients who have an urgent eye problem and need to attend the Emergency Eye Department at Sunderland Eye Infirmary should now call a new 24/7 emergency number - 0191 5699952 - before arriving at the hospital. Patients calling the...
Make sure you know which pharmacies are open over the Easter bank holiday
You can find details of pharmacies open over the bank holiday here
Support for the people of Sunderland
Sunderland City Council has put together a range of support to help our residents and communities stay safe and well throughout the Coronavirus outbreak and are asking those who can help them to do this to come forward. Read more here!
COVID-19: A message from your local pharmacies
As the UK responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacies in Sunderland are working tirelessly to ensure that everyone’s medicines and healthcare needs will be met over the coming days and weeks. Pharmacy teams are a critical part of the NHS and in the past weeks they have seen demand for...
Pause in complaints processing
Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic NHS England and NHS Improvement are supporting a system wide “pause” of the NHS complaints process which would allow all health care providers in all sectors to concentrate their efforts on the front-line duties and responsiveness to COVID19. This means that: ·...
Are you vulnerable during the Coronavirus outbreak? Register your needs!
Please visit gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable to register if you need support. You can register if you have a medical condition that makes you extremely vulnerable to coronavirus. For example, you’ll be able to ask for help getting deliveries of essential supplies like food. If you’re not...
Region’s NHS steps up plans to tackle Coronavirus
Health chiefs in the North East have announced that they are now suspending non-urgent patient transport services to hospitals and clinics and starting to postpone non-urgent planned operations and outpatient appointments to ensure the NHS is as prepared as possible for Coronavirus. Read more here!
Age UK Sunderland supporting the most vulnerable during Coronavirus
Crisis food packs all prepared by Age UK Sunderland's dedicated staff to ensure the most vulnerable older people in Sunderland who have no family and friends to do their shopping get their essentials (please note that the crisis packs are limited and are for people in a crisis situation we are...
Coronavirus is affecting my mental health – what can I do?
The current Coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic may cause you to feel worried, anxious, or scared. Read the Healthwatch seven steps to looking after your wellbeing while staying informed.
Information on Coronavirus
For advice on how to help prevent contamination, as well as what to do if you think you are at risk, please see the NHS overview To access the NHS 111 on-line service to check if you need medical help please click here For information on the Coronavirus which has been translated into short, helpful...
Mums-to-be can be reassured of excellent maternity care as Sunderland Royal Hospital is rated best in the NHS
Maternity services at Sunderland Royal Hospital have been rated as the best in the NHS in a national survey which measures patient satisfaction in maternity care. The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) 2019 national survey of ‘women’s experiences of maternity care’ has revealed maternity services at...
Your GP Surgery Websites - What you told us
With the development of online consultation services in GP practices, it’s more vital than ever for surgeries to have an online presence. A GP website is an effective way of introducing patients to the surgery's services, letting them know their opening times, who their staff are etc. They can also...
Hospital text appointments update
Over the past couple of months we have been working to understand and influence improvements with the South Tyneside and Sunderland Hospital Trust's appointment via text, which many of you are now receiving. Some of you told us that you have found them to be confusing and worrying. This sparked off...
Have your say about Sunderland Wheelchair Services
Have you or a family member used Sunderland Wheelchair Services in the last year? Healthwatch Sunderland would like to invite you to share what you thought about using this service. We would like to hear how services could be improved for people with a learning disability and or autism. Come and...
Non-Emergency Patient Transport review - Call for evidence
Opened 30 January 2020 Closes 13 March 2020 Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) take patients to and from their homes, to their care provider, for planned appointments and treatment. NEPTS are for those patients who: Have a condition such that they need additional medical support...
A review of Points of You (PoY) and the new Friends and Family Test (FFT)
From 1 st April 2020 the Friends and Family Test question is changing nationally. The mandatory change is being made to give service users, families and carers an opportunity to provide more detailed feedback about the care they and their loved ones have received from services. The question has...
New Wound Care Hubs
From Monday, 6th January 2020, the wound care service in Sunderland who offer services such as removal of stitches, management of wounds and leg ulcer treatments, will move to the new Wound Care Hubs at these six locations across the city of Sunderland: Southwick Health Centre Riverview Health...
Region’s NHS launches major public awareness campaign in appeal for people to help our vital services by using them wisely
The NHS across the North East and North Cumbria is today launching a major public awareness campaign in a bid to help ease pressure on busy frontline teams and make sure people use our valuable NHS resources wisely. As the NHS prepares to manage the increase in demand which is expected at this time...
Christmas and New Year pharmacy opening times
Make sure you know which pharmacies are open over the festive season. You can find details of the pharmacies open over Christmas and New Year here http:// bit.ly/34xgLI3 Published 18/12/2019
Sunderland Safeguarding Children Partnership (SSCP) have launched their updated Neglect Toolkit
On Monday 2nd December 2019, SSCP launched an updated SSCP Neglect Toolkit. Neglect of children and young people can be one of the most complex areas for identification and intervention within child safeguarding. Neglect can have a devastating and long-term impact on children’s lives. The Neglect...
Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE)
During October our staff and some of our volunteers took part in PLACE inspections at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust's Sunderland Royal Hospital and Sunderland Eye Infirmary and Monkwearmouth Hospital and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW)...
Phase 2 Path to Excellence - Could you help by holding a focus group? Payment available
Phase Two of Path to Excellence is looking at how hospital services in South Tyneside and Sunderland can provide the best possible care for people who need emergency hospital-based care, as well as how to best organise planned hospital care for people who need a test, scan or operation. An updated...
Integrated care system prevention research - your help needed!
Those involved in the health and care system would like your views on what wellbeing means to you and what may prevent you from looking after yourself as well as you can. They would also like to know how you think the health and care system can support you further to look after yourself. Your...
Sunderland People First Autumn newsletter
Sunderland People First have just published their Autumn 2019 Newsletter . We hope you will enjoy reading it! To find out more about Sunderland People First visit their website: http://sunderlandpeoplefirst.com/
Better Health Roadshows are coming to town!
NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) vision is to achieve ‘Better Health for Sunderland’. They aim to improve the health and wellbeing of local people so they live longer with a better quality of life. They want to give people the right support to help them stay healthy and well. The...