Healthwatch Doncaster

28/10/2026

SHARE: Please think carefully before attending our DRI Emergency Department. ⚠️

Our Emergency Department remains very busy, and people with non-urgent conditions may face longer waits.

If your health concern is not an emergency, there are other services available:

🔹 NHS 111 – for advice on the right service for your needs
🔹 Minor Injuries Units – for suitable minor injuries
🔹 Your GP – for ongoing or routine health concerns
🔹Same Day Health Centre - for minor illness and injury
🔹 Your local pharmacy – for advice on many common conditions

If you have a life-threatening emergency, such as chest pain, severe difficulty breathing or heavy blood loss, call 999. 🚨

Please help us keep our Emergency Department available for those who need emergency care - thank you.

30/09/2026

📣 Do you use Bawtry and Blyth Medical or The Oakwood Surgery?

Healthwatch Doncaster wants to hear from you.

As part of our upcoming Enter and View work, we’re asking local people to tell us about their recent experiences of accessing care at:

🏥 Bawtry and Blyth Medical
🏥 The Oakwood Surgery

Whether your experience has been positive, difficult, or somewhere in between, we’d really value hearing from you.

We want to understand what it’s actually like for patients trying to access care: what’s working well & anything that could be better.

Your experiences will help inform our upcoming Enter and View work and the feedback we provide to services.

👉 Complete our short survey here:
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/DYS07I/

Please feel free to share this with friends, family, neighbours or local groups who use either practice. The more local experiences we hear, the clearer the picture we can build.

Thank you so much.
Healthwatch Doncaster

We are here to ensure those running services put people at the heart of care. Our sole purpose is to understand the needs, experiences and concerns of people who use health and social care services and to speak out on their behalf. 

20/09/2026

UPDATED 1.30pm: The earlier incident has been resolved. Normal access to the Emergency Department and Outpatients has resumed, and all hospital entrances are open as usual.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

21/08/2026

📣 We’ve listened. Now we’re asking for action on DRI parking.

Over recent weeks, people across Doncaster have shared their experiences of the move from ANPR pay-on-exit to pay-and-display parking at Doncaster Royal Infirmary at the Women’s & Children’s Hospital car park.

We’ve heard from patients, parents, carers, disabled people, hospital staff and local residents.

The message has been clear: the issue isn’t simply paying for parking. It’s being asked to predict how long healthcare will take when nobody can know the answer.

Healthwatch Doncaster exists to make sure local people’s experiences reach those who can make change. So we have now published an open letter to Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, as well as local MPs, calling for:

📍 ANPR pay-on-exit to be reinstated at the Women’s & Children’s Hospital
📍 Enforcement to be suspended and recent penalty charges reviewed
📍 A genuine, independently facilitated consultation with the people who use and work at the hospital

People have spoken clearly. We’re making sure their voices are heard.

👇 Read our open letter and the evidence from Doncaster residents below.

13/08/2026

👻 You’re not a ghost. So why could you disappear from your GP’s list?

This amazing video, created by Dr Adam Janjua, GP, wants to raise awareness of NHS England currently carrying out checks of GP patient lists across England.

But GPs have raised concerns that some people could be removed if they don’t see or respond to communications asking them to confirm their details.

🎥 Dr Adam Janjua, GP and Chief Executive Officer of the Consortium of Lancashire & Cumbria LMCs, has made this short video to explain why he’s concerned.

Adam told Healthwatch Doncaster:

“This programme of patient removals by NHS England treats silence as proof that a patient no longer exists. But the people who don't reply to an official letter aren't ghosts - they're often the most vulnerable patients we have: the elderly, the isolated, those who struggle with English or with paperwork.

They're being quietly (but rapidly) removed from their GP list without ever knowing, and they'll only find out when they're ill and discover they no longer have a doctor.

We made this film because these patients deserve someone to notice they've gone. We're grateful to Healthwatch colleagues for helping make sure they're seen”

💗 Please watch and share Adam’s video - particularly with someone who might not see or respond to NHS communications.

And make sure your GP practice has your up-to-date address and contact details.

🎥 youtube.com/watch?v=MGFUKP70ZwE

Have you or someone you support been unexpectedly removed from a GP list? Healthwatch Doncaster wants to hear from you!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

05/08/2026

📢 Have your say: Changes to parking at Doncaster Royal Infirmary

You may have seen the recent news about changes to the parking system at Doncaster Royal Infirmary for the Women’s & Childrens’s patient & visitor car park.

At Healthwatch Doncaster, we want to understand how these changes are affecting patients, carers, visitors and staff. We're looking to build a balanced picture of people's experiences.

💬 We'd love to hear from you:
• Have you used the new parking system?
• Did you experience any problems?
• Has it made your visit easier or more difficult?
• If you could change one thing, what would it be?
• Any other past experiences, which makes you worried about using the new system?

Whether your experience has been positive, negative or somewhere in between, your feedback matters. It helps us understand how changes are working.

Share your thoughts here:
https://yourvoicedoncaster.org.uk/contact-us/ -form

Or email us at [email protected]

Or comment below.

Thank you for helping us make sure local people's voices are heard. Please share this so we can hear from lots of people!

13/07/2026

Musculoskeletal Community Event!

Are you living with pain? Whether it’s a new ache or something more persistent, this community event has something for you.

Join us for an afternoon and evening focused on support, advice, and practical ways to improve your wellbeing. There will be a wide range of activities and services available, so you can explore what works best for you.

What to expect:



• Advice and support from physiotherapists

• Creative Health workshops

• Health Checks from local GP services

• Employability support

• Mindfulness sessions

• Local opportunities to stay active in your community

• Qi Gong demonstrations

• Women’s Health offer (including cervical screening)

• And much more



📅 When: Thursday 16th July, 12pm–7pm (drop in at any time that suits you!)

📍 Where: Bullcroft Memorial Hall, Carcroft, DN6 8AP

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Book your place here: Musculoskeletal Community Event Tickets, Thursday, July 16 • 12 PM - 7 PM | Eventbrite

They welcome both booked attendees and walk-ins on the day. Come along, have a look around, and take the first step towards feeling better.

29/06/2026

It’s co-production week!

We’re proud to say how much co-production & co-creation we do with residents and partners: from carers to community groups. We’re also one of the members of the Making It Real Board.

If you draw on social care in Doncaster & would like to use your experiences and ideas to co-create & make things better for others, we would recommend getting in touch with the email below!

It is Co-Production Week - an annual awareness campaign to recognise the benefits of working in equal partnership with people using health and social care provision.

At City of Doncaster Council, we are a big believer in this way of working and one example of this is our Adult Social Care Account. Every year the council looks back on the changes that have taken place across Adult Social Care and looks forward to setting out further improvements help make the biggest difference to local people who use social care services.

Our Local Account shows how we’ve worked with local people to bring about change. But we want to do more! If you have lived experience of care and support and want to make a difference then we want to hear from you: https://shorturl.at/zHK0E

Please email us at [email protected] to find out more. You may have ideas that we haven’t even thought of yet!

22/06/2026

🔥 England is experiencing red and amber heat alerts this week.

While many of us enjoy the sunshine, hot weather can pose serious risks to our health. Please take a few moments to look after yourself and check in on others who may be more vulnerable.

A phone call, a knock on the door, or helping someone stay hydrated could make all the difference.

Remember:
💧 Drink plenty of water
🌳 Stay in the shade where possible
🏠 Keep cool indoors
☀️ Avoid the midday sun
❤️ Check on older relatives, neighbours and friends

Let's work together to keep our communities safe and well during this hot spell.

Find NHS advice on coping in hot weather here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/heatwave-how-to-cope-in-hot-weather/

12/06/2026

What a fantastic morning at our Carers Café today at Woodlands Community Library! ☕💜

The room was buzzing with energy, conversation, laughter, cake, and connection as unpaid carers, local residents, and community partners & organisations came together.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us, and especially to Jo-Anne from the Wellbeing Team, who shared some brilliant information about the support available locally. This video is sharing that information wider. Please share it so people know what support is out there.

Many carers spend so much time looking after others that they forget to look after themselves. Today's conversations were a powerful reminder that reaching out for support isn't a luxury, it's an important part of caring too.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the morning so welcoming and full of life. We loved seeing new connections being made and people leaving with useful information, friendly faces, and hopefully a reminder that they're not alone.