Enter and View
Under the Healthwatch regulations, local Healthwatch organisations have the power to ‘Enter and View’ providers so that our Enter and View Ambassadors can observe how services are being delivered.
The purpose of the visits are to identify good practice that can be celebrated and shared with others, and to identify any issues raised by service users. Enter and View is not an inspection; we do not look at care plans, medicines management, etc. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) look at the clinical aspects of a service. Enter and View gives a voice to the people using a service and asks them what they think of the service they receive and whether it is working for them.
Organisations must allow an Ambassador from Healthwatch to ‘Enter and View’ and look at how services are being provided, as long as this does not affect the care being delivered or the privacy and dignity of people using services. Providers do not have to allow entry to parts of a care home which are not communal areas or allow entry to premises if their work on the premises relates to children’s social services. We are also not permitted to ‘Enter and View’ local authorities’ social services for people under the age of 18.
What happens on a visit?
Enter and View visits can be announced or unannounced; it will depend on why we are there. If it is announced, a member of the Healthwatch team will contact the provider in advance and let them know about the intended visit. A small team of Healthwatch volunteers will come to observe the service. They will all have received training and will all have had a DBS check.
They will ask staff, service users, and family members if present, some questions in a friendly and informal style about their experiences of the service. Some questions may relate to experiences of health and social care services more generally.
After an Enter and View visit, a short report will be written up and shared with the provider of the service. Recommendations may be made in order to help make services better for the people who use them. The report may also be shared with relevant commissioners and be put up on this website.
Who can Enter and View?
Enter and View Ambassadors are ordinary people, often without previous experience in health or social care. However, they are all interested in giving people a say in the services they receive.
In order to become an Enter and View Ambassadors, individuals need to:
- Complete an application form
- Attend an interview
- Undertake a DBS check
- Complete the training detailed below.
Our Enter and View Ambassadors receive full training to equip them with the skills needed to carry out Enter & View visits, including:
- Enter and View Training
- Safeguarding Training
- DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) Check
- Equality and Diversity Training (not compulsory but completed by all representatives)
Our Enter and View Ambassador will wear an official badge to identify them when they are visiting a place for us.
Interested to find out more?
If you have any questions or would like further information about Enter and View visits, as a provider of services or as a service user, speak to one of the team.
Alternatively, if you are interested in becoming an Enter and View Ambassador, please see our Volunteering page.
Healthwatch Enter and View Ambassadors
Our current Ambassadors are listed below:
Individual names will be added as appointed.