1. Where can I go to get help for my health out of hours?

    Advice and Information -

    Health issues unfortunately don't leave us alone at the weekend and people are often in need of medical assistance out of hours. Using NHS guidelines, we have provided some advice and information on where you can go for help when your GP is closed.

  2. Do you need help getting to hospital?

    Advice and Information -

    Find out what support is available to help you travel to your hospital appointments.

  3. Thinking about end of life care for you and your family

    Advice and Information -

    End of life care is support for people who are in the last months or years of their life. The guidance on the NHS website helps you know what to expect, how to plan ahead and how to manage your day to day decisions.

  4. Accessibility checklist for GP surgeries

    Advice and Information -

    Help make sure that your practice meets people’s accessibility requirements using this checklist from Healthwatch Slough.

  5. What is domestic abuse and how can I get support?

    Advice and Information -

    If you are experiencing or feel at risk of domestic abuse, or are worried about someone who might be, find out where you can go for advice and help.

  6. Getting the most out of the virtual health and care experience

    Advice and Information -

    National Voices, Traverse, PPL and Healthwatch England put together some tips on how to get the most out of the virtual health and care appointments both for patients and health and care professionals.

  7. How to communicate better with people with hearing loss

    Advice and Information -

    COVID-19 poses a unique challenge for health and social care professionals when talking to someone with hearing loss. Here are some important tips to help you communicate effectively.

  8. Policies and procedures - managing Healthwatch Havering

    Report -

    Our policies and procedures set out how we carry out our activities. These policies describe how we manage our organisation.

  9. Policies and procedures - Safeguarding

    Report -

    Our policies and procedures set out how we carry out our activities. This policy describes how we deal with safeguarding issues.

  10. Safeguarding Adults in Havering

    News -

    Who are the Havering Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) and why they are important?

  11. Community Rehabilitation Community Treatment Team

    Report -

    We visited this facility to find out about the services provided there, and what service users and staff think about it.

  12. King George Hospital, Foxglove, Jasmine and Japonica Wards

    Report -

    We visited this facility to find
    out about the services provided there, and
    what service users and staff think about it.

  13. Queen’s Hospital: Outpatients’ Department – Fire Evacuation Procedure

    Report -

    We visited this facility to find out about the services provided there, and what service users and staff think about it.

  14. Saint Francis Hospice - visited 9 October 2015

    Report -

    We visited this [home/practice/facility] to find
    out about the services provided there, and
    what service users and staff think about it.

  15. Safeguarding Adults is everybody’s business

    News -

    Last year, the Havering Safeguarding Adults Board asked us to find out what local people understand about safeguarding and its implications.

    We have now completed another survey - see below..

  16. Improving health and social care in Havering...

    Report -

    Plans and programmes for improvement in health and social care services are proposed by NHS organisations or the local authority. In many cases, we will have supported the development of these plans in some way.

  17. Your Guide to Self-Care and Staying Active While Stuck at Home

    Advice and Information -

    Over the last year, everyone has been spending a lot more time at home. But more time at home means you need to get creative with keeping your body moving and managing stress.

  18. Advocacy - help with getting yourself heard

    Advice and Information -

    If you find it difficult to express yourself, and you don’t have a friend or relative who can support you, Havering Integrated Advocacy service can help make sure your voice is heard.

  19. Havering and the Coronavirus pandemic - the story so far: March 2020- October 2021

    Report -

    This review examines the course of the Covid pandemic in Havering, bringing together various facts and figures into a single document that will hopefully help understanding of how the pandemic evolved in Havering.

  20. How can your pharmacy help you?

    Advice and Information -

    Did you know that pharmacies provide advice and information on minor illnesses and ailments? Take a look at how they can help you.

    Pharmacists are qualified healthcare professionals who can offer clinical advice and over-the-counter medicines.

  21. The Care Act 2014

    Advice and Information -

    The Care Act 2014 underpins all the welfare work done by local authorities, setting out in one place, local authorities’ duties in relation to assessing people’s needs and their eligibility for publicly funded care and support.

  22. 5 Healthy Ways to Lose Body Fat

    Advice and Information -

    Whether you want to get in shape, build muscle and get stronger, or simply look better in your favorite jeans, stubborn body fat can feel like an obstacle to achieving your fitness goals.

  23. Our Friends Network Archive

    Advice and Information -

    We regularly send emails to our Friends Network to keep people updated about changes to local health and social care services and facilities, and to pass on other information and news.

  24. Because we all care - Voices of disabled residents and Covid 19 - North East London

    Report -

    Over several months in 2021, at the request of the North East London CCG, we worked with all of the Healthwatch organisations covering North East London to find out how disabled people had coped during the Covid pandemic.

  25. Help for people with learning disabilities and Autism who need to go to hospital

    Advice and Information -

    Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust (BHRUT) has a number of resources available to support patients with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism and their care networks, before, during and after their hospital visit or appointment.

  26. Make Your Move

    Advice and Information -

    The Richmond Group of Charities’ physical activity coalition - Movement for All - has developed a new physical activity programme aimed at people living with multiple long term health conditions.

  27. Post-Covid Syndrome (PCS) - also called Long Covid

    Advice and Information -

    Post-Covid Syndrome (PCS), or Long Covid, is affecting an increasing number of people who have recovered from Covid infection but find it has left long term effects.

  28. Government's new plan for social care

    News -

    The Government has now published its new social care plan in a white paper, "People at the Heart of Care: adult social care reform".

  29. Strong bones after 50 - osteoporosis and fragility fractures

    Advice and Information -

    There are an estimated half a million fragility fractures in the UK each year, many of which could be prevented with earlier diagnosis. Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bones, making them fragile and more likely to break.

  30. Are you interested in workingout?

    Advice and Information -

    Since the pandemic, many people have found it easier to workout at home than go to a gym, even though gyms are open again.

    Options for home workouts are available from BarBend.

  31. Care Homes Direct Enhanced Service (DES) Survey

    Report -

    Healthwatch across North East London came together to deliver this additionally commissioned project seeking insight into GP services provided to Care Home residents, in each of the eight boroughs in the region.

  32. North East London Local Maternity and Neonatal System Equity and equality strategy and action plan

    Report -

    Healthwatch Havering, with other Healthwatch and the NHS in North East London have worked to find out what changes are needed in the Local Maternity and Neonatal System to improve the service, especially for minorities and deprived communities.

  33. Save a life - Use a Defibrillator

    News -

    A defibrillator is a machine that is used to restart someone's heart when they are suffering from cardiac arrest.

    Defibrillators are increasingly available, including at railway stations, sports centres, supermarkets, and other public places.

  34. Take Charge of Your Health Care Now — Here’s How

    Advice and Information -

    When it comes to your health care, you must be your own best advocate. After all, you are the one who is most familiar with your body. You might wonder, though, how you can even begin to advocate for your health. Read on for ideas to get you started.

  35. London Ambulance Service - What you told us

    Report -

    Earlier this year, we joined Healthwatch across London to discover what Londoners thought about the London Ambulance Service (LAS). The LAS commissioned this work as part of the background to developing their five-year Strategic Plan for 2023-2028.

  36. House Hunting Considerations for Parents of Children with Autism

    Advice and Information -

    For parents of children on the autism spectrum, the process of house hunting and moving can be particularly stressful.

  37. Maternity Choices

    Report -

    In December 2022, we joined with Healthwatch across North East London to carry out an extensive survey on behalf of NHS North East London to find out the demand for, and nature of, culturally sensitive Maternity care provision with North East London.

  38. Allied Health Professionals Public Awareness Survey

    News -

    The support on offer for patients at their GP practice is expanding across Greater London, with thousands more healthcare staff working in local communities.

    While people will always be able to see their family doctor when they need to, the NHS is giving people more options with the type of healthcare professional they can see at their general practice.

  39. North East London Community Insights

    Advice and Information -

    Healthwatch Havering works with the other Healthwatch organisations that together represent people across North East London (the City of London, Barking & Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest) to gather Community Insights and to present them to NHS North East London, the eight local authorities and health and social care provider organisations across the region.

  40. Havering Energy Doctors

    Advice and Information -

    The Energy Doctors service is here to help Havering residents save money on energy bills and get their homes ready for next winter, by offering professional advice on energy efficiency and making small changes and repairs to their homes.

  41. Urgent Treatment Centre at Harold Wood Polyclinic - Enter & View visit

    Report -

    We carried out an Enter and View visit to the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Harold Wood Polyclinic in December 2023.

  42. The Accessible Information Standard - What you can expect from services

    Advice and Information -

    A year ago the Accessible Information Standard came into force. It requires any organisation providing NHS or social care to communicate in a way that everybody can understand. Here's a reminder of what you should expect.