2024 Healthwatch Impact Award Winner
The national Healthwatch Impact Award showcases outstanding examples of where feedback shared from local people has been used to make positive changes to health and care support.
The winner of the award was announced in March 2025.
Up against 17 other shortlisted projects from the 152-strong Healthwatch network across England, Healthwatch in Sussex took home top honours for our joint work with local Healthwatch teams to improve patient transport in Sussex.
The Healthwatch Awards recognise the work of Healthwatch in Sussex on improving Non-Emergency Patient Transport (NEPTS).
After local Healthwatch across Sussex heard about problems with Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services, we worked at a regional level to improve the situation for patients.
In a collaboration between Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, Healthwatch East Sussex and Healthwatch West Sussex, we gathered feedback from the community and made recommendations.
New plans for patient transport services in the region reflected our recommendations. This work also helped improve patient communications, give clearer guidance about who is eligible for the service, and provide better information on alternative transport services.
Dr James Ramsay, Chief Medical Officer for NHS Sussex, said:
"This award is greatly deserved and is a testament to the insight and knowledge that Healthwatch in Sussex brings to health and care services in the county, ensuring that we hear from and involve our population in all we do.
“Non-emergency patient transport services are crucial to the people of Sussex, and so when we began work to design and procure a new service it was vital for us to have Healthwatch on board to ensure that feedback from patients was considered and acted upon at every stage of the process.
“Their contribution has been invaluable and it has resulted in a service which will offer a range of new benefits to patients very soon. I look forward to continuing to work with Healthwatch as the new service goes live from 1 April, as we monitor progress and hear how patients are experiencing the service."
