News and reports

Celebrating ten years of Healthwatch Islington

Have you recently received eye surgery services or are you going through the process now? The NHS in North Central London is seeking feedback on proposed changes to where some patients have planned eye surgery.

Our staff and volunteers have been putting that question to shoppers at Chapel Market and partygoers at the Caledonian Road street festival.

Since July 2022, nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists have been able to legally certify and issue a statement of fitness for work, informally known as a ‘fit note’. Previously only GPs or hospital doctors could issue fit notes. Find out what a fit note is, when you might need one and how to go about getting one.

Many people who provide unpaid care are unaware of their rights. Find out more about the help and support you are entitled to.

Mental health problems are more common among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) people. If you are struggling, feel alone or need a little help, then check out our guide on how you can get the support you need.

It's been a great year of growth for Healthwatch Islington. We are the independent champion for people who use health and social care services in the borough.

GP websites can be hard to navigate and present many barriers to patients who are not confident online. We've been working with residents and commissioners to make things better.

In Islington, participation in bowel, breast, and cervical cancer screening programmes is below the national and the London average.

Decision-makers responsible for GP services have worked with us to produce this resource, which is being distributed across general practice in Islington to support providers to improve their messaging.

Yussuf Ahmed is the Coordinator at Islington Somali Community, an organisation belonging to our Diverse Communities Health Voice partnership. In this guest blog, Yussuf talks about the benefits of the collaboration.

Our analysis of GP websites in January 2023