Andy Burnham To Warn Wes Streeting About Closure Of Health Bodies
4 min read
Andy Burnham will issue a warning to Health Secretary Wes Streeting over the government’s abolition of a national network of “patient voice” bodies.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester's intervention comes amid fears that the government move could “silence” the views of residents and undermine transparency amid major NHS reforms.
Burnham and Sir Richard Leese, the ex-leader of Manchester council, are to write to Streeting over the planned dismantling of the Healthwatch network.
The network comprises Healthwatch England, which works at the national level, and around 150 local Healthwatch organisations that represent the views of health and social care users and feed into discussions about local services.
This summer, the government announced plans to abolish Healthwatch along with hundreds of other NHS agencies as part of its Ten-Year Plan for the NHS.
Dr Penny Dash’s review of patient safety subsequently recommended transferring Healthwatch England’s role to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with the network’s functions absorbed into councils and local NHS integrated care boards.
The plans sparked opposition from the Patients’ Association, but the letter from Burnham and Leese – while not outright calling for the closure to be reversed – is the most significant political challenge to Healthwatch’s abolition so far, with Burnham having been the last Labour health secretary before Streeting during the premiership of former prime minister Gordon Brown.
“We are writing to you as co-chairs of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership [ICP] Board to express our concerns regarding the proposal within the NHS 10 Year Plan to dissolve Healthwatch England and local Healthwatch bodies,” says a draft of the letter published last week.
“In Greater Manchester, Healthwatch plays a vital role in ensuring that the voices of our residents, particularly those who are seldom heard, are captured and acted upon.
"Their independence is central to this.
"Healthwatch organisations across our ten localities have built trusted relationships with communities, local authorities, NHS providers, and the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector.
"They are uniquely positioned to act as a bridge between people and the system, offering insight that is grounded in lived experience. People speak to Healthwatch because they are outside the system — they are impartial, trusted, and provide a safe space for concerns to be shared.”
The letter, which PoliticsHome understands is expected to be sent this week, includes a four-page appendix listing some of the work of Greater Manchester’s Healthwatch bodies, including work with ethnic minority communities to increase cancer screening, and public engagement on menopause support and children’s mental health services.
Burnham and Leese do not call on the government to reverse its decision in their letter, but emphasise that the replacement system in Greater Manchester would maintain an “independent public voice”, given the government’s intention for councils and NHS bodies to absorb Healthwatch’s functions.
“The independence of resident and patient voice is a necessity,” the draft letter says. “Without it, we risk losing the trust of the public, the richness of lived experience, and the ability to challenge and improve the system from within, particularly during this time of significant system reform in the delivery of the three shifts and development of neighbourhood health.”
The letter is the result of concerns among members of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), which brings together local health and council leaders as well as care providers and voluntary organisations.
A report presented to an ICP board meeting last week said: “There was a view [among ICP members] that the proposal to dissolve Healthwatch threatens to silence this essential voice at a time of significant NHS reform, undermining transparency, accountability, and co-production across the system.”
A DHSC spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “For too long, a maze of more than 50 overlapping patient safety bodies has made it harder — not easier — for patients to be heard. The Dash review called this cluttered landscape confusing and slow to drive change.
“We’re acting to simplify the system so patients’ feedback goes straight to those responsible for their care.
“We value the work of Healthwatch, but this reform will give patients a stronger, clearer voice and help put their experience at the heart of the NHS.”
