Healthwatch South Tyneside

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/

14/01/2026

Women aged 47 to 53 are being invited to help the NHS improve breast screening by giving feedback on their own experiences.

A short online survey running until the first week of February can be completed by scanning the QR code on the poster or by visiting:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6989W6R

09/01/2026

Would you like to help shape future palliative or end-of-life care in South Tyneside?

The North East and North Cumbria Healthwatch Network is supporting the NHS in the region to hear how people feel about discussing death, dying and the care they would want for themselves or their loved ones.

Find out how you can take part 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/help-shape-the-future-of-palliative-and-end-of-life-care/

Palliative care supports people who are living with an illness that unfortunately cannot be cured. This illness may be cancer but is more likely to be a long-term condition such as serious heart or lung disease where cure is not possible. It focuses on helping someone feel as comfortable as possible...

06/01/2026

We have launched a survey of young people to find out their views on mental health services in South Tyneside, including new provision in schools to support emotional wellbeing.

Are you aged under 25 and have you accessed mental health services in the borough? If so, please take part and you will have the opportunity to enter a draw for a £50 Amazon voucher.

If you know a young person (under 25) who has accessed services in the borough, please share this survey link with them:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TNPRJJ8

03/01/2026

Record numbers of people are using the NHS App to manage their health, according to the latest statistics.

The App now has more than 39m registered users and 67.8m repeat prescriptions were also ordered through the app in the past 12 months (1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025).

The latest usage figures show 62.3m logins for the NHS App during November alone – a 43% increase on the monthly average over the past 12 months. There were also 20.8m views of GP health records, 6.6m appointments managed for hospital and other secondary care services, and 6.3m repeat prescriptions ordered during November.

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/record-numbers-using-nhs-app-to-manage-health/

The NHS has released a Spotify Wrapped-style end-of-year update which shows the NHS App now has more than 39m registered users. A total of 67.8m repeat prescriptions were also ordered through the app in the past 12 months (1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025). The latest usage figures show 62.3m log...

02/01/2026

Hundreds of thousands of families with young children will be offered protection against chickenpox as part of their routine childhood vaccinations from today (January 2).

The NHS’s vaccination programme is being expanded to include chickenpox (also known as varicella) for the first time to help shield young children from getting seriously ill.

From now on, GP practices will start to offer children a combined MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months of age to add chickenpox to the protections against measles, mumps and rubella.

Find out more 👇

https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/hundreds-of-thousands-of-young-children-now-to-be-protected-against-chickenpox/

The NHS’s vaccination programme is being expanded to include chickenpox (also known as varicella) for the first time to help shield young children from getting seriously ill. From now on, GP practices will start to offer children a combined MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months of age to add chi...

01/01/2026

The UK Health Service Agency have issued a cold health alert for the North East until 12pm on Monday 5th January ❄️

With temperatures expected to drop, there are things you can do to prepare for the cold weather to ensure yourself and others, stay safe.

For more information: https://bit.ly/3NPKDJm