Healthwatch Bedford Borough Work Programme 2026-2027

Sometime in 2027, our statutory duties will likely be transferred to the NHS and Bedford Borough Council.

Our work programme for 2026/27 reflects our ambition for the time we have left. We will continue to deliver our statutory role - listening to residents, patients, carers and the workforce, highlighting issues, and working with local services to improve care. Instead of longer-term projects, our priority this year is to achieve impact where we can for local people.

Our recipe for success remains the same:

Grounding everything we do in our values. We are always independent, inclusive and committed.
Focus on equity, prioritising listening to those that suffer the greatest inequalities in health and social care outcomes.
Partnering with local health and care leaders, service providers, the VCSE sector and the Healthwatch network to amplify your voice and drive change.
Promoting your right to be informed and involved in your care and designing services in collaboration with health and social care teams.
Taking continuous action with our presence, evidence and recommendations for service improvements.

For the next year, our aims are simple:

Information
Making sure that, if Healthwatch Bedford Borough closes, you still know exactly where to go for help and support.

Impact
We will concentrate on the things that matter the most, that will leave lasting improvements to health and care services and patients across Bedford borough and beyond.

Insight
We’ll ensure your insights become the foundation for the future work of local teams who are responsible for acting on patient feedback and improving health and care services.