Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire publishes Annual Report 2025–26: Speaking up for better care
Our Annual Report showcases how local people's feedback is driving positive change and ensuring patient voices remain at the heart of decision-making.
During the year, Healthwatch also supported 31,544 people to find trusted advice and information about local health and care services, including GP appointments, mental health support and hospital care.
The report highlights how patient experiences have shaped improvements across Leicester and Leicestershire.
Key highlights include:
- Listening to over 15,000 local people to better understand their experiences of health and social care, publishing 19 reports to help improve services.
- Helping shape women's health services after engaging more than 2,700 women and girls to understand their priorities, with findings informing local plans for future services.
- Driving improvements to ophthalmology services following Enter and View visits, leading to increased clinic capacity, better communication with patients, improved signage and enhanced support for people attending appointments.
- Giving Deaf and hard of hearing people a stronger voice by gathering evidence on barriers to healthcare, helping strengthen the case for more accessible and inclusive NHS services.
- Improving understanding of community mental health cafés, with visits to 24 cafés resulting in recommendations to improve consistency, awareness and referral pathways.
"Every story shared with us represents an opportunity to improve care for others. This report demonstrates the real difference that listening to local people can make. Whether highlighting barriers to accessing services or recognising examples of excellent care, we are committed to ensuring that people's experiences lead to meaningful improvements across health and social care. Working with our partners, we will continue to make sure the voices of patients, carers and local people are heard, helping to improve health and care services for everyone."
The report also outlines Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire's priorities for the coming year, including understanding how well Pharmacy First is meeting local needs, exploring people's experiences of NHS digital access and strengthening collaboration with local authorities to improve services across Leicester and Leicestershire.
Local people can continue to share their experiences of health and care services through the Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire website.
Read the Healthwatch Leicester and Leicestershire Annual Report 2025–26
