Yvette Cooper, the health secretary, has abandoned plans to abolish Healthwatch England after widespread criticism from MPs from across the political spectrum and will keep and extend the organisation’s remit. Healthwatch, which acts as an independent patient champion, had been slated for removal under the government’s wider proposals to reorganise the health service in England.
Healthwatch England’s supporters argue the body plays a key role in holding health services to account and amplifying patient concerns. The decision to preserve and expand the watchdog follows an outcry in Parliament and among campaigners who had warned that axing the organisation would weaken independent scrutiny of NHS services.
Other elements of the reorganisation had included proposals to abolish the Health Services Safety Investigations Body, end automatic council representation on integrated care board (ICB) boards, and remove the statutory requirement for a nurse to sit on every NHS foundation trust board. Those measures were part of the package of changes put forward by ministers, but the announced reversal applies specifically to Healthwatch England.
The move is likely to reshape discussions about the scope and oversight of NHS governance as ministers prepare to set out further detail on their reform plans. Keeping Healthwatch in place and expanding its role addresses one of the most contested elements of the proposals, but it leaves open questions about the future of the other bodies and duties affected by the reorganisation.