HELTHWATCH Thurrock has been nominated for a prestigious national award for their project that reached out to survivors of sexual abuse to make sure their experiences helped inform the future approach of local services.

It was shortlisted under the 'The impact we make with partners' category in the Healthwatch Awards 2020, which are run by Healthwatch England.

The award celebrates the skills, benefits and collective impact of a Healthwatch team when working with partners to deliver a project that supports improvements to health and social care services. This includes working with other local Healthwatch or sector organisations.

This annual event – which this year is taking place virtually due to the pandemic - celebrates the difference Healthwatch's 4,400 staff and volunteers have made over the past year. Healthwatch Thurrock is one of only 30 local Healthwatch out of a total of 152 across England to be in the running for one of the awards.

Kim James, Chief Operating Officer of Healthwatch Thurrock said: "We are delighted to be shortlisted for this exciting award! We knew that data alone couldn't give us a true account of an individual's experience and it is only by hearing the voices of individuals that enabled us to gain a real sense of what it really feels like.

"We would like to thank every individual who participated in bringing this report to life by allowing us to share their voice. Every quote given is from a real conversation from someone who has experienced trauma and bravely allowed us to share it."

The overall winner from each category will be chosen by a panel of judges and announced during Healthwatch Week, which runs from Monday, 2 November 2020.

The Sexual Violence and Abuse services report can be viewed here

More information about the shortlist can be found here on the Healthwatch England website.

For more information about Healthwatch Thurrock and how its team continue to support people throughout the pandemic, visit www.healthwatchthurrock.org/