We are pleased to once again hold an information stall at the Leeds #AutistiCon event. It is a free information and celebration event all about autism. This year, it is taking place on Friday 10 October at Nexus. Come join us between 9:30 am and 4 pm. #ActuallyAutistic #AutismEvent

As today is #WorldSmileDay, we would like to share the 'Taking Care Of Your Smile' project, where our young volunteers went out and spoke to children and young people across Leeds to find out about their access to a dentist and how they are looking after their teeth.

Thank you for having us. It was such a lovely visit to the service with lots of happy faces and positive feedback 😀

💛Pudsey had a wonderful visit from @healthwatchleeds.bsky.social ! They enjoyed sharing their experiences & feedback about the services we provide. 💛💬 It was inspiring to hear such positive thoughts from the group. Thanks to everyone for their openness and Health Watch for joining us.

10% of the people who contacted us in April to June were about Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The 3Cs – Communication, Coordination, Compassion - are essential to good health care experiences. When they are not done well, they have a detrimental impact on people's experiences. #3Cs #LTHT

It is heartwarming to see so many smiling faces during our visit to one of the Aspire day services. People told us that the staff looked after them well and they enjoyed outings in local areas.

Digital healthcare can make life easier – but not for everyone. Our new briefing Keeping Every Door Open looks at why choice beyond digital matters & how to make sure no one is left behind. healthwatchleeds.co.uk/reports-reco... #DigitalHealthCare

Have you heard of BID Services? They provide a range of specialist support services for Leeds residents who are d/Deaf, hard of hearing, sight impaired, severely sight impaired or deafblind and their family/carers. youtu.be/bkBJrBtJVxY?... #InternationalDayOfSignLanguages #Deaf

We are an organisation that is here to listen to people’s experiences of health and care and give people a voice to shape and improve health and care services for everyone. We want to share our solidarity and support in light of recent anti-migrant and racist events.

Happy #InternationalDayOfSignLanguage and #InternationalWeekOfTheDeaf. Between April and June, someone contacted us, raising that their GP practice was struggling to book a British Sign Language Interpreter with the new language booking service, Dals. #DeafCommunity #BSL #SignLanguage

Happy Rosh Hashanah to our Jewish followers. This is a celebration to reflect and marks a fresh start and a sweet new year.

Finding an NHS dentist remains a big issue. From April–June, 1,306 people visited our webpage on NHS dentistry, and 21 people contacted us directly for support. Need advice? Visit healthwatchleeds.co.uk/advice-and-i... #HealthwatchLeeds #NHSDentistry

Happy World First Aid Day! Two of our staff, Annie & Gemma, have completed first aid training with St John Ambulance - learning CPR, bandaging & more (with help from two “Annie” dolls!). Thanks to the trainers for sharing their skills. #WorldFirstAidDay

The Baton of Hope is a powerful symbol to raise awareness of suicide prevention and toured through Leeds yesterday during #WorldSuicidePreventionDay. It was a pleasure to welcome the final baton bearer over the finish line at The Old Fire Station in Gipton along with many other supporters.

It's great to see the significant support we have received in Leeds, which will enable us to continue providing an independent service for people to share their voices. The petition is nearly at 7,000 signatures. Please sign and share to help us reach our goal. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

When people face a mental health crisis, it is important to make sure they are treated with compassion. We recently looked at people's experiences, and this is what they told us. Their experiences (along with many others) will be used to help make mental health crisis support better in Leeds #NHS111

The Baton of Hope tour is passing through Leeds today. 84 baton bearers, all bereaved or affected by suicide, are taking turns to carry the symbolic baton along a 24km route. The Baton of Hope is a tour across the UK to raise awareness of suicide and spread the message of hope. #BatonOfHopeTour

Suicide can affect every one of us. By raising awareness, reducing the stigma & encouraging action, we can help to reduce the instances of suicide around the world. #WSPD2025

Changing the narrative on suicide requires systemic change. It's about shifting from a culture of silence and stigma to one of openness, understanding, and support. Talking about suicide, helps people open up when it is affecting them and help prevent. #WorldSuicidePreventionDay #MentalHealthMatters

Talking about suicide builds a more supportive and understanding society. Together, we can prioritise suicide prevention, ensuring everyone gets the help they need. Check out the following services for help in Leeds: @mindwellleeds.bsky.social MindMate NHS 111 Time for young people #WSPD

22% of all enquiries we received this quarter were about audiology & hearing aids. We know that many people are still struggling to access the right support, and we continue to share this feedback to help improve services. #HealthwatchLeeds #Audiology #HearingAids

Between April–June 2025, 134 people contacted our Information, Advice & Signposting service. We supported people on a range of issues, including GPs, audiology, dentistry, Leeds City Council, the hospital trusts and more. We share anonymised feedback with those who can make changes. #PeoplesVoices

This week, we have seen more and more people contacting us about finding an NHS dentist. Sadly, we are not aware of any practices in Leeds that are taking on new NHS patients, and many have long waiting lists. If you need urgent help, call 111. You can find more information on our advice page #NHS

If you or someone you care for is on a waiting list for an appointment at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, they would love your feedback. 💬 The survey is anonymous and helps us make things better for you and others. Take part here:

Good Luck with your GCSE results today from the team at Healthwatch Leeds. We wish you all the best for your futures! #GCSEResultsDay #HealthwatchLeeds

This is a 6-minute audio that our @westyorkshirevoice.bsky.social colleague, George, produced to show how people’s health has been affected by their housing. We shared this video with Leeds ICB. It is great that people's experiences are providing real-life examples, more than just numbers.

There is a national petition to highlight the importance of local places having an independent health and care voice organisation. Thanks to the 200 people have already signed it in Leeds. For the government to take action, each local Healthwatch need 500 more petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Following the Govt’s 10-Year Health Plan & Dash Review, our Chief Exec & Co-Chairs wrote to all 10 Leeds MPs on the need for an independent voice organisation. I followed up to request meetings. Sign the petition: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73... - Isaac #HealthwatchLeeds #YourVoiceMatters

Good luck with your A-Level results from the team at Healthwatch Leeds! We wish you all the best for your futures! #ALevelResultsDay #HealthwatchLeeds

Sign our national petition calling on the government to protect the independence of local voices in health and care. We ask for your support: Keep independent services that give the public a voice in NHS and Social Care petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73... #ProtectIndependentVoice #YourVoice

Diane and Gemma’s video story sparked up a lot of discussion at the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation NHS Trust's service user network meeting yesterday. youtu.be/Vk8BJrDsah0 Find out more, go to our 'How Does It Feel For Me?' page healthwatchleeds.co.uk/our-work/how...

Today, Isaac, our Administrator, joined thousands across the UK for #CycleToWorkDay. We make sure your voice is heard when it comes to health and care services, including how active travel and transport can impact your wellbeing. Let us know how travel affects your health and access to care?

We’re working with the NHS to improve services for people with Multiple Long Term Conditions, one of the things people are telling us is that they’d like more involvement in their own care plans. - Stuart #HealthwatchLeeds #MLTC

Pharmacy First is an NHS service which enables community pharmacists to supply prescription-only medicines, where clinically appropriate, to treat seven common health conditions without needing a GP appointment. For more information, visit: www.cpwy.org

Did you know we have an advice and information service with a lot of opportunities for people to join and continuously share their feedback. Here is what someone said about using our services. If you would like to get in touch with us, visit our website: healthwatchleeds.co.uk/ - Craig

Check out our latest news and views as we share the impact of recent reports, videos and opportunities for you to have your voice heard. mailchi.mp/2fb9a547addd... #Newsletter

Leeds and York Partnership Foundation NHS Trust want to hear from anyone with thoughts, experiences, or ideas to share around racial equity in their services. It’s a safe and anonymous space to tell them what you think. Feed back here: forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

What do you need to manage your health? We are seeing a shift in health and care services towards asking people and communities to manage their health and care, sometimes called ‘supported self-management’.

Join us at the Morley and District Health & Wellbeing Event, a FREE community event packed with information, support, and friendly faces! Wednesday 30 July 2025 11 am to 2 pm Queen St, Morley Town Centre, LS27 8DS #MorleyCommunity #HealthAndWellbeing #LeedsEvents #LocalCarePartnership #MorleyLife

Have you been refused non-emergency patient transport to a hospital appointment in West Yorkshire and Craven since May 2025? From 1 May 2025, new eligibility criteria for patient transport have been introduced in West Yorkshire and Craven. www.surveymonkey.com/r/PatientTransportWY

We had a really positive meeting with the Care Quality Commission today. We discussed some of the themes about access to primary care and how digital solutions don’t work for so many people... 🧵

We are listening to the experiences of people in Leeds living with multiple long-term health conditions. Katie and Jude have been working with us to carry out interviews and gather people’s stories. You can share your experiences too: re-url.uk/W4TL #HealthwatchLeeds #LongTermConditions

Last chance to tell West Yorkshire Voice what you do to manage your health and care. Your feedback will help health and care services support self-management of conditions. If you want to share your own experiences, please complete this survey: re-url.uk/WLSM

Annie, one of our community project workers, is currently analysing feedback about NHS 111's mental health crisis line. We asked what they’d like to see more of in mental health services. This is what some people said. Annie has been actively providing feedback to the service to make improvements👏

We are attending this event on 30 July 2025. Let’s hope the weather stays nice 🌞 We are here to listen to your experiences of health and social care services to make sure your voice is heard and at the heart of shaping health and care services in Leeds.

We are working to improve support for people living with multiple long-term conditions. If you have any three or more of the following conditions, we'd love to hear your experiences. Share your feedback by completing this quick survey or get in touch. re-url.uk/W4TL

"Worked and celebrated my first Pride today! Despite the pouring rain, the energy was electric. It is filled with so much love, joy and resilience." Tatum #LeedsPride

We presented the Healthwatch England report A Pain to Complain at the Quality and People's Experience Committee last week. The report highlights the barriers people face in making complaints. We have offered to work with our local NHS and Social Care providers to make improvements to this process.

We had a great time at Pride and loved hearing people's feedback on health and care. Thank you to Gemma, Annie and Tatum for running the stall and our amazing volunteers for giving up their Sunday to stand in the rain with us, Meg, Ben and Helin 🥰 #LeedsPride #LeedsPride2025

Read July's Friendly Communities newsletter - news, events, campaigns - how you can get involved in making Leeds a more Age and Dementia Friendly city: mailchi.mp/9544d6945d06... @leedsopf.bsky.social @forumcentral.bsky.social @alzheimerssoc.bsky.social @healthwatchleeds.bsky.social @leedsth.nhs.uk