Read our latest insight on health and care

We used these to create publications setting out our key findings and recommendations for change.  
 
Recent publications include:

Healthwatch in Sussex - ‘You and Your GP’ mapping

The autumn of 2025 saw the NHS introduce ‘You and Your General Practice’ (YYGP), which outlines principles about what patients and GP practices should expect of each other in terms of appointments, communications, support and feedback.

During November 2025, staff and volunteers from the three Sussex Healthwatch reviewed the content of 163 GP practice websites to see how YYGP was being implemented. 

We found:

• most GP practices in Sussex complied with requirements to publish ‘You and Your GP’ guidance on their website, but it's not always easy for patients to find.
• most GP websites provide information on face-to-face visits, phone calls and digital platforms, however, it is sometimes unclear and confusing for patients.
• GP websites don't always support a consistent patient understanding of how and when they can contact their GP practice. 

Read our full 'You and Your GP' report here.

Listening Tour Area Report: Rother

In 2025, Healthwatch East Sussex spoke to people in Rother about their experiences of health and care services in the area.

This included how easy they found it to access the right support for them, any particularly good or bad experiences they have had, and what factors they feel most effect their wellbeing.
 
Our latest report outlines our key findings from this activity.

Read our Rother Listening Tour Area Report here.

Healthwatch in Sussex Pharmacy Poll 2026

In January 2026, Healthwatch in Sussex sought experiences of people using pharmacy services, including Pharmacy First.
 
548 people from across Sussex shared their views with us. 

We heard:

• Approximately half our respondents were aware of the condition’s pharmacies can treat and services they offer (e.g. vaccinations).
• Respondents were most satisfied with ‘helpfulness of advice’ (78%) and ‘waiting times to be seen’ (74%).
• Respondents were least satisfied with ‘being unable to discuss issues in private’ (6%) and ‘wait times to be seen’ (6%).
• Respondents wanted more convenient opening times, more staff, shorter waits for prescriptions/medication, and better information on services pharmacies offer.

Read our Healthwatch in Sussex Pharmacy Poll Report here

January 2026: You said, we did

Every month, we review what you tell us about local health and care services.

We share your feedback with local decision-makers to help them hear and understand people's experiences locally. 

Our 'You Said - We Did' report summarises what we heard, what we raised and changes you helped us deliver.  

During January 2026:

We continued to hear about: difficulties booking GP appointments, variances in adherence to the GP charter, dissatisfaction with long waits and care at A&E, delays to complaint responses, and obstacles to registering with a GP. 

New issues this month included: challenges with palliative care provision at home, administrative issues with referrals from GP to hospital, inaccuracies in patient medical records, and difficulties changing emergency contact details with services.

Read our January 2026: 'You said, we did' here