• It will develop & build on relationships with local voluntary and community groups, networks and organisations.
• It will use these networks of members, partners and supporters to share information about Healthwatch and to find out what matters most to people living and working in Stockton-on-Tees.
• It will ask local partners with the right skills, knowledge and experience to help it find out what people want from their health and social care services now, and in the future.
• It will ensure it builds on the important legacy of Stockton-on-Tees LINk and national good practice.
• It will respect and promote volunteer involvement in clearly defined roles.
• It will be representative of, and accountable to, the communities it serves and will champion those communities in Stockton-on-Tees who are most vulnerable and hardest to reach.
• It will build and sustain positive relationships with all its members, partners and supporters.
• It will be expert, skilled and evidence based in its approach to its work.

Getting your voice heard:
• Gathering the views of local people, patients, service-users, carers and interested groups, and making their views about health and social care services and support, known.
• Involving local people in the scrutiny, commissioning and provision of local health and social care services.

Gathering Information:
• Providing Information and Signposting about health and social care services, to support local people to make the best possible choices about the care and support they receive.
• Supporting people who wish to complain about these services.

Ensuring local people can influence how services are planned and delivered locally:
• Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees has statutory representation on the Health & Wellbeing Board and will represent local people on other key Partnership Boards, Scrutiny Committees and Clinical Commissioning Groups, by agreement.
• Healthwatch will also work closely with key local voluntary and community organisations, networks and forums, and will develop collaborative links with GP & NHS Patient and Public Involvement Forums.

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees will build a 'Healthwatch Network' where representatives of service-users, patient and carer groups, and other organisations can get involved; making their views heard.

• You can help us circulate information about Healthwatch to your network and local community.
• You can get involved by giving us your individual views about health and social care services.
• You can join other people in working together to influence the way services are designed and provided by participating in community consultations and forums on specific issues.

You can do this by registering your details and completing either an organisation/ group membership form or an individual membership form.

You can also carry out our specific Enter and View volunteer role, which you will be offered training and support. If you are interested in more information about this roles when they become available please contact us.

To join Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees you need to be:

• An individual living in Stockton-on-Tees.
• Any voluntary, community or not for profit organisation or group that works in Stockton-on-Tees.

To ensure Healthwatch remains independent, statutory local authority and NHS organisations involved in commissioning or providing health and social care services are ineligible for membership.

Organisation and group membership form

Individual membership form

Our role

We're here to find out matters to you and to help make sure your views shape the support you need.

This video explains who we are and what we do - 

You can download a transcript of this video below.

If you need this information in a different format, please email enquiries@healthwatch.co.uk or call 03000 68 3000.