Healthwatch South Tyneside

10/03/2026

Our new regional GP access report is now live!

All 14 Healthwatch across the North East & North Cumbria have worked together to listen to people’s experiences of accessing GP care, the NHS App and Pharmacy First.

Hundreds of people shared their stories with us, and the ICB is now using this insight to shape improvements across primary care. Thank you to everyone who took the time to talk to us - your voice really is helping to shape change.

The report has already been praised at the Quality & Safety Committee and will now be included in GP bulletins and the March Primary Care Sub‑Committee.

Read the full report here:

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/modern-general-practice-access-what-people-across-our-region-told-us/

04/03/2026

Nearly one in four people have missed an NHS appointment because they forgot or arrived too late, according to a new survey.

In response the NHS has launched a new campaign urging people to turn on ‘push alerts’ from the NHS App so they get reminders about appointments and can rearrange any they can’t make, helping to free up millions of appointments for others.

Find out more 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/nhs-urges-tap-the-app-as-one-in-four-miss-appointments/

25/02/2026

All patients needing an urgent GP appointment must be seen the same day under a new requirement announced by the Government.

The 2026/27 GP contract includes a £485m funding uplift, with £292m of funding ringfenced for a practice-level GP recruitment scheme estimated to translate to 1,600 full-time equivalent GPs.

Find out more 👇

The 2026/27 GP contract includes a £485m funding uplift, with £292m of funding ringfenced for a practice-level GP recruitment scheme. The Government estimates this could translate to 1,600 full-time equivalent GPs. The contract also includes a new requirement that all patients who are deemed clini...

24/02/2026

Adult mental health and hospital discharge will be the key priorities for Healthwatch South Tyneside for the next year.

Details of the two projects – and why they were chosen – are set out in our newly published 2026-27 Operational Plan.

Find out more 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/adult-mental-health-and-hospital-discharge-the-key-focus-for-this-year/

23/02/2026

Hundreds of thousands more women attended NHS breast screening last year and thousands more cancers were diagnosed early in England.

New figures show that in 2024/25, 1.94 million women aged 50 to 70 attended screening within six months of invitation – up nearly 200,000 on the previous year.

As a result, nearly 20,000 cancers were detected – nine cases in every 1,000 women screened – which is up almost 16% on the previous year.

Full story 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/women-attending-first-nhs-mammogram-hits-10-year-high-as-thousands-more-cancers-found/

20/02/2026

Construction of Sunderland’s new Eye Hospital continues at pace with the landmark facility on track to open this summer.

Find out more 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/progress-update-on-sunderlands-new-eye-hospital-as-opening-nears/

04/02/2026

Patients, carers and family members who want to have their say in how NHS cancer services are shaped are being invited to join a local collaborative.

Northern Cancer Voices is currently welcoming new members with lived experience of cancer to work alongside NHS Trusts, the Northern Cancer Alliance and Public Health teams to look at every stage of the cancer pathway, including screening and prevention, treatment and aftercare.

Find out more 👇

Northern Cancer Voices is currently welcoming new members to its Patient & Carer Collaboratives. The collaboratives are networks of people with lived experience of cancer – patients, carers and family members – who want to have their say in how NHS cancer services are shaped. Members work alongs...

03/02/2026

Together with the NHS, we have made contacting your GP practice easier.

Now, you can contact them online.

Find out more:
nhs.uk/GPOnlineForms

26/01/2026

Have you - or someone you care for - used health or social care services in South Tyneside over the past few months? Please tell us about your experience in our annual survey. Take part here 👇

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8R7QS2W

23/01/2026

Eye spy...our new Eye Hospital from the sky ☁️

The city centre building will welcome patients and visitors when it becomes home to our Ophthalmology services this summer.

Teams at Sunderland Eye Infirmary will make the move as they continue to offer outstanding care.

23/01/2026

A new system urging doctors to “think again” if they are unable to pin down a diagnosis after seeing a patient three times is being advertised in every GP surgery in England from this week.

The new initiative called Jess’s Rule is named after Jessica Brady, who died from advanced stage four cancer in 2020 aged 27.

Under Jess’s Rule, GPs are asked to take a “fresh eyes” approach if they have been unable to offer a patient a substantiated diagnosis or their symptoms have escalated after three appointments.

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/jesss-rule-to-be-promoted-in-all-gp-surgeries-in-england/

A new system urging doctors to “think again” if they are unable to pin down a diagnosis after seeing a patient three times is being advertised in every GP surgery in England from this week. The new initiative called Jess’s Rule is named after Jessica Brady, who died from advanced stage four ca...

22/01/2026

Health and social care leaders in South Tyneside want to improve the outcomes of people discharged from hospital by promoting 'home first' as the priority.

A programme designed to speed up hospital discharge by supporting patients to return home has been launched called ‘Guiding You Home’.

Patients and carers are being asked to take part in a short online survey to indicate what support they would like to have to enable them to return home.

Find out more and take part here 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/help-us-improve-hospital-discharge-support/