News and reports

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched an NHS campaign to encourage members of the public who could be living with undiagnosed high blood pressure to get their blood pressure checked at a participating pharmacy. 

The campaign, backed by British Heart Foundation, Stroke Association, Heart Research UK, Blood Pressure UK, May Measurement Month, British Society for Heart Failure, and more, warns that there are often ‘no clues’ about who might have high blood pressure. 
Who can get a free blood pressure check
You can get a free blood pressure check if you:
are aged 40 or over and live in England

You cannot get a free blood pressure check if you:
already have high blood pressure and have had your blood pressure checked by a healthcare professional in the past 6 months

What happens when you get your blood pressure checked
A pharmacist, or member of the pharmacy team, will wrap a blood pressure cuff around your upper arm to measure your blood pressure. They will then share the result with you.
Depending on the result, they might:
give you advice to support healthy living
give you a blood pressure monitor to take home with you and return later advise you to see a GP

If you’re registered with a GP surgery, your GP health record will be updated.
To find a pharmacy near you that offers free blood pressure checks, click on the link below!
Or pop into your local pharmacy and ask about a `Free blood pressure check.`

Merlin Manor is a new, purpose built care home situated on the Bishop Cuthbert estate in Hartlepool. It is registered to provide personal and nursing care for up to 94 people. The home supports older people, those with physical disabilities or sensory impairments and people living with dementia. At the time of our visit there were 78 residents.

We need your views and feedback to help shape future services, including planning the next phase of the NHS’s dental recovery plan in the region.
So if you are living in the North East and North Cumbria, have recent experiences with using or trying to access dental services, then share your experiences with us here.
Across the North East and North Cumbria, local Healthwatch are working together to tackle this important issue. You can find more information about our Healthwatch Network here.
The survey closes on 31 March 2024 and as a thank you for your time we are offering £100 of Love-to-Shop vouchers to a lucky prize draw winner.
If you require a paper copy or have any questions about this survey, please contact 0800 254 5552 or email yoursay@healthwatchhartlepool.co.uk

Click on the link below to complete the online survey!

The Healthwatch Hartlepool March 2025 mini bullitin is here! Click on the link to read or download!

The Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board works in partnership with a wide range of organisations, to safeguard and promote the well-being and independence of adults at risk of abuse or neglect. (Safeguarding means “protect from harm”). We want to hear from you to help us plan our work for the next year. Please take a few minutes to fill in the survey below from your point of view – the form can be completed on someone’s behalf if the person is asked for their views. The survey is completed anonymously, so if you have any specific issues or queries about the survey that you would like to raise with us, please contact us directly by emailing tsab.businessunit@stockton.gov.uk. Questions marked with an asterix are required fields

Healthwatch Hartlepool Newsletter for September is now available to download
Click on the link!

Clifton House is our first visit conducted fully in line with pre-covid visit
arrangements. This allowed us to return to our normal practice of giving
the service provider a two week window during which the visit would take
place rather than a set date and time.

Our Healthwatch colleagues have worked in collaboration with a range of professionals to gather information in response to questions and issues raised by local people. We present the most common questions and answers in the document

The Healthwatch Hartlepool Newsletter for July is now available to download!

Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy supports people to raise their concerns and complaints about NHS care and treatment.
Call our helpline on 03003 038037 for information, guidance and support. 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday.

The Healthwatch Hartlepool Annual report for 2022/23 is now available to view or download.

Click on the link below!

Are you aged 16-25?