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Advice and Information -
Find out information on local services and what is available to you through this free information and signposting hub. -
Report -
Children and young people from across Medway have been sharing their stories with us about their experiences of health and social care services. -
Advice and Information -
What is available on the NHS? What do you have to pay for? How much is it going to cost? These are some of the questions you have asked that we can answer. -
News -
Lots of people contact us asking questions about dentists.
We hear from people who are struggling to get an NHS dentist or who are confused about the charging system. We also hear from lots of people who need emergency dental care.
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News -
New Urgent Dental Care Centres are being opened to provide emergency dental treatment during the Coronavirus pandemic. -
News -
The NHS wants to hear about your experience of using translation or interpreter services when you visit the dentist, pharmacy or optician. -
Advice and Information -
We’ve heard from hundreds of people since the pandemic started with questions about how to get a dentist appointment or emergency dental care. Here are some of the answers. -
Advice and Information -
It’s all about stopping plaque and tartar build up on our teeth. -
News -
Healthwatch England warns dental crisis shows no signs of slowing, with four in five people, 80%, struggling to access timely care during the last lockdown. -
News -
You are not alone! More people than ever before have been in touch this month to share their story about finding an NHS dentist and ask for information. -
News -
That's the question we are asking people across Medway this month. -
News -
We have co-signed an open letter addressed to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak calling for a recovery plan for NHS dentistry. -
News -
The NHS has today announced emergency funding to help create hundreds of new dentist appointments. -
Report -
Nearly 100 people from Medway have talked to us about how easy (or not) it has been to get an appointment with an NHS dentist. -
Advice and Information -
We get more calls about dentistry than anything else. The dental system is complicated so we've chatted to Tim Hogan, a dentist himself and Chair of the Kent & Medway Local Dental Committee to understand more. -
News -
A new survey of public attitudes to NHS dentistry shows half of adults in the South East find dental charges unfair amid escalating costs of living. 45% of people in the South East told us they struggle to get an NHS dental appointment. -
News -
Hundreds of you have been in touch to tell us your story about NHS dentists. We've been raising your concerns and now the NHS are making changes. -
Report -
This report summarises the feedback received from people via Healthwatch Kent, Healthwatch Medway and Kent and Medway Voice about their experiences of primary care dentistry from November 2022 to April 2023. This includes 34 separate pieces of feedback. -
News -
In June we released out Annual report, which you can download at the bottom of this page. It shows the various ways Healthwatch continues its efforts to ensure the public experience is heard. -
Advice and Information -
Everyone should be able to access good quality NHS dental services. Take a look at our top tips to help you get the most out of your next dental appointment. -
News -
Five people and groups have been shortlisted for a national award that celebrates local people who, through their dedication, have helped improve health and care for their community. -
Advice and Information -
The UK Charity, Different Strokes have started a new group in Chatham for stroke survivors under 65. Are you interested? -
Advice and Information -
Allied health professionals (AHPs) are one of the largest workforces in the NHS, but do you know who they are? -
Advice and Information -
Across the UK there are seven million unpaid carers supporting a friend of family member. Many people are unaware of their rights as a carer and, as a result, are not accessing the help and support they are entitled to. -
Report -
This week is Deaf Awareness Week. To celebrate we are publishing the feedback we heard from the Deaf community in Medway. -
News -
All adults with learning disabilities in Medway are now being offered the vaccine. -
News -
Today is International Women's Day. To celebrate we're talking to the inspirational Ginny Bowbrick. Ginny is a Mum of four and has worked in the NHS for 32 years, working at Medway hospital for 16 of those. -
News -
In the second of our interviews to mark International Women's Day, we chat to Jackie Brown who is Assistant Director of Adult Social Care in Medway. -
News -
Would you like Medway to be a place where all young people are involved and benefit from the local decisions, services and spaces that shape their lives? -
Report -
We chatted to five women, and three men, about their experience of being homeless in Medway. They want you to hear their story. -
Report -
In April we published a report detailing the feedback we heard from five women and two men who had experience of living on the streets of Medway. They told us about the challenges they faced to get access to healthcare. -
News -
If you need help to attend an NHS appointment, you may have used the Non Emergency Patient Transport Service to help you get there. This is a free transport service that is available to some, but not all, patients based on their eligibility. -
News -
Local NHS trusts are only partially meeting their legal duty to help people with additional communication needs, new FOI findings show. -
Advice and Information -
When people arrive in the UK for the first time, it can be confusing to know where to go if you need medical help. Here we outline your rights as a refugee, where you can access emergency help and how to register for a GP. -
News -
Every day people contact us because they can't register with a GP surgery. This month we helped Bill to get registered. -
News -
Medway Maritime Hospital are now offering people with autism or learning difficulties the option of having a general anaesthetic for procedures that would normally be done under a local anaesthetic. -
Advice and Information -
A year ago the Accessible Information Standard came into force. It requires any organisation providing NHS or social care to communicate in a way that everybody can understand. Here's a reminder of what you should expect.