From time to time, we offer the opportunity for local Healthwatch to tender for specific work and projects.
What can I expect?
- We will promote any opportunities that suit the specific skills and role of local Healthwatch;
- If your response is successful, you will be offered a contract to deliver the work; and
- We will usually make payment for any work upon the completion of the project.
Current opportunities
How do patients experience the 'front door' of general practice?
£5,000 available - deadline for applications 9am 15 May 2026
Healthwatch England is looking to better understand how patients experience the 'front door' of general practice - specifically how they decide which route they use to contact the GP, how they navigate appointment systems, and how they think the experience could be improved.
This work takes place in the context of recent changes to GP contracts and access arrangements, including the requirement introduced from 1st October 2025 for GP practices in England to keep online consultation tools open during core hours (8am-6.30pm Monday to Friday).
We want to understand how patients are experiencing this change, and how GP access is working in practice more broadly. We will use four focus groups to explore the factors shaping people's choices about how they get in touch, where problems arise, and what changes would make the biggest difference to patients’ experience.
We are looking to commission one focus group for each of the following groups:
- Older people (70+)
- People in full time paid work (i.e. at least 35 hours a week)
- People aged under 60 with one or more long‑term condition or disability
- People on low incomes living in a deprived area
We will use this evidence to strengthen the public voice in the debate on GP access, and to inform any role Healthwatch England may play in future GP contract discussions for 2027/28. The focus group findings will sit alongside national polling which we will commission separate to the network.
To apply, please answer all the questions in this survey - https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/GPAccess2026funding/.
The deadline for expressions of interest is 9am on 15 May 2026 - please see the document below for further details.