NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board

Healthwatch Barnsley is your local health and social care champion. From Penistone to the Dearne and everywhere in between, we make sure NHS leaders and other decision makers hear your voice and use your feedback to improve care.

The introduction of the Integrated Care Board gives us a unique chance to feed people’s views into the planning and running of services – especially the voices of those who are not currently being heard.

Here at Healthwatch Barnsley we will work hard to make sure the views of local people are represented in the new NHS structure. We are also committed to playing our part by championing equality and inclusion, and helping services reach every bit of the community.  

When services listen and act on the experiences of patients and service users, it results in better care. We have a real chance, if we can get the new system right by creating a true partnership between services and the public here in Barnsley.  

The move to integrated care systems generally should herald a culture shift in the engagement of people and communities, so we can move beyond fragmented consultation when health and care services are legally required to, towards meaningful and proactive listening at all levels of decision-making.